Psychology: Learning

Operant conditioning

a theory of behaviorism that focuses on changes in an individual's observable behaviors. In operant conditioning, new or continued behaviors are impacted by new or continued consequences. Idea proposed by B.F. Skinner

Systematic desensitization

a treatment for phobias in which the individual is trained to relax while being exposed to progressively more anxiety -provoking stimuli. based on pavlo's research

Aversion therapy

a type of behavior therapy that piggy backed off Pavlov designed to encourage individuals to give up undesirable habits by causing them to associate the habit with an unpleasant effect

In operant conditioning studies, the subject's motivational state is most typically operationally defined by:

depriving the subject of some desirable stimulus item for a period of time.

Continuous schedules

reward a behavior after every performance of the desired behavior. This reinforcement schedule is the quickest way to teach someone a behavior, and it is especially effective in teaching a new behavior.

latent learning

A form of acquiring knowledge or skill that is not immediately expressed in an overt response; it occurs without obvious reinforcement, to be applied later.

Secondary reinforcers

also known as unconditioned reinforcers. require deliberate linkage to a specific behavior and have no inherent value until they are linked or paired with a primary reinforcer eg money

compound reinforcement schedules

combine 2 or more simple schedules using the same reinforcer and focusing on the same target behavior

conditioned stimulus (CS)

conditioned stimulus is usually neutral and produces no particular response at first, but after conditioning it elicits the conditioned response The conditioned stimulus was the ringing of the bell, which previously had no association with food.

mirror neurons

neurons located in the frontal and parietal lobes 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.

Wolfgang Kohler

most famous for his experiments on insight learning, which involved Sultan the chimp. Kohler argued that he used insight to learn a creative way of obtaining fruit that was out of reach

Potentiation

"Potentiation" refers to a strengthening of a nerve synapse. Long-term potentiation is based on the principle that "cells that fire together, wire together," and is widely considered one of the major cellular mechanisms that underlies learning and memory.

Reinforcement vs. punishment

refers to any consequence that increases the likelihood of a particular behavioral response, while punishment refers to any consequence that decreases the likelihood of the behavior

Which reinforcement schedule is best for quantity of output? Which is best for quality?

quantity - fixed ratio quality - fixed interval

Edward L. Thorndike

studied the law of effect by placing hungry cats inside puzzle boxes and observing their actions. He quickly realized that cats could learn the efficacy of certain behaviors and would repeat those behaviors that allowed them to escape faster.

B. F. Skinner

An American psychologist known for his work on operant conditioning. Skinner researched operant conditioning by conducting experiments with rats in what he called a "Skinner box." Over time, the rats learned that stepping on the lever directly caused the release of food, demonstrating that behavior can be influenced by rewards or punishments.

fixed-interval schedule

Behavior is rewarded after a set amount of time. This schedule is best for the quality of output -This type of schedule exists in payment systems when someone is paid hourly: no matter how much work that person does in one hour (behavior), they will be paid the same amount (reinforcement).

fixed-ratio schedule

Behavior is rewarded after a set number of responses. This schedule is the best for quantity of output This can be seen in payment for work such as fruit picking: pickers are paid a certain amount (reinforcement) based on the amount they pick (behavior), which encourages them to pick faster in order to make more money.

Flooding

Flooding is a form of desensitization that uses repeated exposure to highly distressing stimuli until the lack of reinforcement of the anxiety response causes its extinction. based on pavlo's research

Sensitization

Sensitization occurs when a reaction to a stimulus causes an increased reaction to a second stimulus. It is essentially an exaggerated startle response and is often seen in trauma survivors.

acquisition

The process of turning a previously neutral response into a conditioned response

Spontaneous recovery

spontaneous recovery refers to the return of a previously extinguished conditioned response following a rest period.

discrimination

opposite of generalization; an organism learns to distinguish two similar stimuli

Classical conditioning

- a form of learning whereby a conditioned stimulus becomes associated with an unrelated unconditioned stimulus, in order to produce a behavioral response known as a conditioned response.

unconditioned response (UR)

- an unlearned response that occurs naturally in reaction to the unconditioned stimulus - The unconditioned response was the dogs' natural salivation in response to seeing or smelling their food.

Know the four conditions that need to be met in order for observational learning to occur

1) Attention: Observers cannot learn unless they pay attention to what is happening around them. **This process is influenced by characteristics of the model, as well as how much the observer likes or identifies with the model. It is also influenced by characteristics of the observer, such as the observer's expectations or level of emotional arousal. 2) Observers have to remember the behavior 3) Observers must be physically and intellectually capable of producing the act. 4) An observer must be motivated to reproduce the actions they have seen. You need to want to copy the behavior, and whether or not you are motivated depends on what happened to the model.

Ivan Pavlov

A Russian physiologist known for his theories of classical conditioning. Pavlov conducted a famous study involving dogs in which he trained (or conditioned) the dogs to associate the sound of a bell with the presence of a piece of meat.

social learning

A cognitive process that takes place in a social context and can occur purely through observation or direct instruction.

Law of Effect

A law developed by Edward L. Thorndike that states, "responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation become more likely to occur again in that situation, and responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to occur again in that situation."

Albert Bandura

A psychologist and learning theorist who first proposed social learning theory and can be credited for first having noted observational learning. Through his famous Bobo-doll experiment experiment, Bandura learned that children would attack the Bobo doll after viewing adults hitting the doll.

John B. Watson

An American psychologist who established the psychological school of behaviorism, and is known for his controversial "Little Albert" experiment. He conditioned a little boy to fear a white mouse, and other white and furry things, by making a loud sound when ever the mouse got near. Pretty unethical

behavior therapy

An approach to psychotherapy that focuses on a set of methods designed to reinforce desired behaviors and eliminate undesired behaviors, without concerning itself with the psychoanalytic state of the subject.

heuristic

An experience-based technique for problem solving, learning, and discovery that yields a solution that is not guaranteed to be optimal. A mental shortcut or rule of thumb that can help to process a large amount of information not to be confused with insight, which is realizing a new behavior to solve a problem

variable-interval schedule

Behavior is rewarded after a varying and unpredictable amounts of time. People who like to fish experience this type of reinforcement schedule: on average, in the same location, you are likely to catch about the same number of fish in a given time period. However, you do not know exactly when those catches will occur (reinforcement) within the time period spent fishing (behavior)

Escape learning vs avoidance learning

Both are forms of negative reinforcement - escape learning seeks to reduce the unpleasantness of something that already exists. e.g. if you take an aspirin youre trying to reduce a headache - avoidance learning is meant to prevent the unpleasantness of something that hasn't happened yet

Extinction (classical conditioning)

Extinction is the decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer presented with the conditioned stimulus

Habituation

Habituation occurs when we learn not to respond to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly without change, punishment, or reward.

variable-ratio schedule

In a variable-ratio schedule, the number of responses needed for a reward varies. This is the most powerful type of intermittent reinforcement schedule, and the most resistant to extinction. In humans, this type of schedule is used by casinos to attract gamblers.

Insight learning

Insight learning does not involve gradual shaping or trial and error. Contrary to strict theories of behaviorism, insight learning suggests that we learn not only by conditioning, but also by cognitive processes that cannot be directly observed.

instinctual drift

Instinctive drift also known as instinctual drift is the tendency of an animal, of any species, to revert to unconscious and automatic behaviour that interferes with operant conditioning and the learned responses that come with it.

observational learning

Learning that occurs as a function of seeing, retaining, and, in the case of imitation learning, replicating novel behavior executed by other people. Observational learning, or modeling, is a type of learning most associated with the work and social learning theory of psychologist Albert Bandura. It allows for learning without any direct change to behavior;

vicarious punishment

Occurs when a person avoids the behavior of someone who has been punished for that behavior.

vicarious reinforcement

Occurs when a person imitates the behavior of someone who has been reinforced for that behavior.

conditioned response (CR)

The conditioned response is the learned response to the previously neutral stimulus. - The conditioned response, therefore, was the salivation of the dogs in response to the ringing of the bell, even when no food was present.

unconditioned stimulus (US)

The unconditioned stimulus is usually a biologically significant stimulus such as food or pain that elicits an unconditioned response (UR) from the start. - The unconditioned stimulus was the sight or smell of the food itself.

List the reinforcement schedules in order of most cumulative response to least cumulative responses

VR (also most resistant to extinction) FR VI FI

generalization

a broadening effect by which a stimulus similar enough to the conditioned stimulus can also produce the conditioned response. e.g. little albert was afraid of all white fluffy things even though he was conditioned to fear rats specificallyf

shaping

a method of training by which successive approximations toward a target behavior are reinforced. In his operant conditioning experiments, Skinner often used this approach

Primary reinforcers

also known as unconditioned reinforcers. they have innate reinforcing qualities and include things such as food, sex, shelter, touch, pleasure, etc.

behaviorism

an approach to psychology focusing on behavior, denying and independent significance for the mind and assuming that behavior is determined by the environment

Edward C. Tolman

first proposed the theory of latent learning when his experiments with rats showed that learning was taking place, even without the immediate presence of a reward

discriminative stimulus

in operant conditioning, a stimulus that indicates thatreward os potentially available. e.g. an animal trainer can become a discriminative stimulus

intermittent (sometimes referred to as partial) schedules

only reward the behavior after certain ratios or intervals of responses.

preparedness

the fact that its easier to do operant conditioning with behaviors that an animal is already natural to them. e.g. birds naturally peck when searching for food, so so rewarding them with food in response to pecking-based behavior works well

Among the reinforcement schedules which schedule is most resistant to extinction? Which is least resistant?

variable-ratio = most resistant, fixed-interval = least resistant

extinction (operant conditioning)

when a reinforced behavior is stopped entirely and occurs after reinforcement stops