Psych Chapter 6

Anti-social effects

-negative, destructive roles/behaviors/observations that have a damaging impact on communities and relationships -abuse (learned from parents) -violence's/aggression=powerful source of observational learning

shaping behavior

a process of rewarding behavior that comes close to a desired response -** then rewarding only closer and closer responses until the desired response is learned

Generalization

the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses (meat powder, steak, pancakes=drool)

variable-interval schedule

time between rewards is varied (can be more confusing to the subject)

problem-focused coping

used when we feel a sense of control over a situation -attempt to alleviate stress directly-go to source of the problem

emotional focused coping

used when we feel we cant change a situation ex: when teachers pile on work -in attempt to alleviate stress we may ignore the situation

negative punishment (way to decrease behavior)

withdraw a rewarding stimulus- take away something (phone, license)

variable-ratio schedule

# of responses before a reward can be varied (random time, 1,2,5,6,7,11)

fixed-ratio schedule

# of responses is always the same -a reward can be offered for a given # of acceptable responses **(rewarded every third time)

The case of little albert

-1yr old is given a stuffed rat to play with= soft and cuddly=NO FEAR -when he is given the bear loud noises are played behind him he cries (occurred next 7 times) -albert begins to fear rat (C.S) b/c it is associated with loud noises (U.C.S) -two weeks later still afraid of rat generalization -albert becomes afraid of anything white and fluffy discrimination -albert not afraid of non-furry objects conclusion -fears of adults are learned through past conditioned experiences learning not to be afraid -desensitization (mary cover jones)

operant conditioning

-B.F Skinner= people learn by consequences -laws of conditioned behavior -basis of conditioning is association -repetition is important -subject tends to do things that feel good and avoid pain

mirror neurons and imitation

-Frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation, language learning, and empathy. -children imitate adult (role model) behavior -brain activity underlies our social nature

Albert Bandura's Bobo Doll Experiment

-children watched an adult kick inflatable toy -when children were allowed to play in the room, they inflicted similar violence on doll -we learn vicariously (learn without experience but observation) - can be used to teach individuals to avoid behavior -Children who watched the adult get scolded for punching doll were less likely to be aggressive toward doll

Watson and Behaviorism

-our behaviors/fears are learned from childhood experiences that we learned through conditioning -our behavior is a byproduct of outside forces and our experiments -learning to be afraid (case of little albert)

prosocial effects

-positive, constructive, helpful behavior -behavior modeling (training new employee-mentor new teachers) -"do as I do" not "do as I say, not as I do"

2 types of reinforcement schedules

-ratio schedule: # of responses that must be made to gain a reward -interval schedule: deals with the time that is elapsed between reinforcements

pecking pigeon experiment

-we repeat our behaviors that are associated w/reward & avoid those associated with punishment -classical= passive subject (instinct/emotion) -operant= active subject (getting someone to do something)

4 major drawbacks of punishment

1. Punishment behavior is suppressed not forgotten (swearing=grounded) 2. Punishment teaches discrimination among situations (swearing in front of parents v friends) 3. Teaches fear- subject thinks they are bad/evil not their behavior 4. if only 1 type of punishment is used= subject may learn another way (all you learn, what you teach others)

Biology-cognition learning

Biological constraints on conditioning (Garcia)

aquisition

In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response.

classical conditioning

N.S= neutral stimulus (always turns into conditional stimulus) C.S= conditioned stimulus U.C.S= unconditioned stimulus U.C.R= unconditional response C.R= conditioned response

Preparedness

The species-specific biological predisposition to learn in certain ways but not others.

low of effect

Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

intrinsic learning

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake (taking a class out of interest no matter the grade)

secondary reinforcer

a means to an end, no real value by itself until it is associated w/ the primary reinforcer NS that becomes a CS

cognitive map

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment (minds own GPS system, mental maps) ex: route to get to health room

Biofeedback

a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension

taste aversion

a type of classical conditioning in which a previously desirable or neutral food comes to be perceived as repugnant because it is associated with negative stimulation

positive punishment (way to decrease behavior)

administer an aversive stimulus-spray water on a barking dog (traffic ticket, detention)

Shaping

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

Discrimination

being able to tell the difference in a stimuli (food v paper) *aids in adopting

Two main learning processes

classical and operant

second-order conditioning

conditioning where the US is a stimulus that acquired its ability to produce learning from an earlier procedure in which it was used as a CS

Limits on Classical Conditioning

constrained by biological predispositions so that learning some associations is different than others ex: sheep with the wolf

operant chamber

in operant conditioning research, a chamber (also known as a Skinner box) containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal's rate of bar pressing or key pecking.

classical learning is a type of learning:

in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events (remember drooling dog experiment)

latnet learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it ex: showing what weve learned on a test (good grades)

Operant conditioning variations

once a response is learned it can be maintained without being reinforced each time

how do we learn?

process of acquiring new and relatively enduring info or behaviors=able to adapt to our environment

positive reinforcement

reinforcing stimuli that gives pressure to the subject

fixed-interval schedule

reward that follows a time pattern (dogs getting fed)

primary reinforcer

stimulus w/ a primary value= has meaning (U.C.S)

instictive drift

tendency for animals to return to innate behaviors following repeated reinforcement

self-control

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards

extinction

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS);

personal control

the extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless

learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

external locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate ex: student fails because the teacher doesn't like them

internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate -people that follow this (think they have some control) tend to do better in school, work, more independent, better health and less depressed

punishment

the presentation of an unpleasant stimulus after a response. Result= the response or behavior is less likely to occur -** reinforcement increases a behavior, punishment does not

changing behavior

the process of making sequences of shaped actions

Modeling

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

negative reinforcement

the stopping of a painful or unpleasant stimulus -how operant conditioning works

cognitive process and conditioning

the subject may learn to predict, the more predictable the association the stronger the conditioned response

learning

we learn by association=feed our habitual behaviors (behaviors become habits after 66 days in a row)

Observation (Social) Learning

we learn by watching and imitating others ex: copying Jennifer Anniston hair style in the 90s (the Rachel hair cut)