Psyc 101 Chapter 5 Terms Liberty University (with page numbers)

(189-190) Skinner box

an experimental apparatus developed by B. F. Skinner for studying relationships between reinforcement and behavior A cage that contains a food release mechanism the animal activates when it responds in a certain way (e.g. pressing a lever or pushing a button)

(178-179) unconditioned response (UR)

an unlearned response to a stimulus e.g. salivating when food is placed on the tongue.

(193) The schedule by which reinforcements are dispensed influences the rate of learning

and resistance to extinction

(193) Organisms can learn complex behaviors through a process of shaping, or reinforcement of successive

approximations to the desired behaviors

(185) conditioned taste aversions

aversions to particular tastes acquired through classical conditioning

(178) Pavlov's discovery that dogs would salivate to particular sounds in his laboratory led him to identify

a process of learning celled classical conditioning

(185) Drug cravings and taste aversions may be acquired through

classical conditioning

(203) By reworking a problem in your mind, you may come to see how the

various parts fit together to form a solution

(180) Through a process of extinction, conditioned responses gradually weaken and eventually disappear as the result of the repeated presentation of

the conditioned stimulus in the absence of the unconditional stimulus

(185) immune system

the body's system of defense against disease

(184-185) Classical Conditioning of Drug Cravings

"Cold turkey" = Drug withdrawal. Drug cravings may be elicited by cues (CS) in the environment associated with prior drug use. Cravings may be elicited by conditioned stimuli long after withdrawal symptoms have passed, such as cues associated with a subway station where a drug abuser formerly bought drugs. Drug counselors encourage recovering drug and alcohol abusers to avoid cues associated with their former drug use patterns

(178-179) classical conditioning

(178) Can be thought of as learning by association (179) The process of learning by which a previously neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response identical or similar to one that was originally elicited by another stimulus as the result of the pairing or association of the two stimuli. **(182) We can think of classical conditioning as a kind of built-in early warning system. ***(188) Classical conditioning can explain how we learn relatively simple, reflexive responses, such as salivation and eyeblinks, as well as emotional responses associated with fear and disgust. However, it cannot explain how we learn the more complex behaviors that are part and parcel of our daily activities.

(180-181) stimulus generalization

(181) the tendency for stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response E.g. Ringing a bell with a higher or lower pitch. (180) *The greater the difference between the original stimulus and the related stimulus, the weaker the conditioned response is.

(188-189) law of effect

(188) Devloped by Edward Thorndike. He developed a "puzzle box" (cage) where an animal had to perform a simple act to escape and reach a dish of food placed within its view just outside the cage. (189) He argued that animals did not employ reasoning, insight, or any form of higher intelligence to escape. Rather, they used trial and error. Thorndike's principle that responses that have satisfying effects are more likely to recur, whereas those that have unpleasant effects are less likely to recur *Modern psychologists call the first part of the law of effect: Reinforcement. The second part they call: Punishment. "stamped in"

(190) In positive reinforcement, the introduction of a reward (positive reinforcer) after a response occurs strengthens the response. In negative reinforcement, the removal of an aversive stimulus

(negative reinforcer) after a response occurs strengthens the response

(183-185) Why classical conditioning matters and how it applies in daily life

*Helps explain such diverse behaviors like phobias, drug cravings, and taste aversions. (183) Classical conditioning to fear responses (184) Classical conditioning in advertising Classical conditioning in positive emotions (184-185) Classical conditioning in drug cravings (185) Classical conditioning in taste aversions.

(196) Diagram of the key concepts in operant conditioning

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(200-201) Applying psychology in daily life

1: Applying reinforcement: * Be specific * Use specific language *Select a reinforcer *Explain the contingency *Apply the reinforcer *Track the frequency of the desired behavior * Wean the child from the reinforcer 2: Giving Praise * Connect *Use hugs *Be specific *Avoid empty flattery *Reward the effort, not the outcome *Avoid repeating yourself (it will lose appeal) *Do not end on a sour note

(181-182) Psychologists have identified several key factors relating to the timing and intensity of stimuli that serve to strengthen conditioned responses:

1: Frequency of pairings. (Generall the more often the CS is paired with the US, the stronger and more reliable the CR will be) 2: Timing. (The strongest CRs occur when the CS is presented first and remains present throughout the administration of the US). 3: Intensity of the US (A stronger US will typically lead to faster conditioning than a weaker one).

(197-198) Punishment, especially physical punishment, has many drawbacks, including the following:

1: Punishment may suppress undesirable behavior, but it does not eliminate it. 2: Punishment does not teach new behaviors 3: Punishment can have undesirable consequences (e.g. anger, hostility, and fear toward the parent) 4: Punishment may become abusive 5: Punishment may represent a form of inappropriate modeling. **Parents who use punishment should help the child understand why he or she is being punished. If not, children will consider themselves "bad" and will fear that their parent(s) no longer love them.

(184) Classical Conditioning of Positive Emotions

Anything that triggers a nostalgic response E.g. A song that reminds you of a good day, or perfume that reminds you of someone you love.

(178) Examples of classical conditioning

Associating pain to the sound of a dentist's drill or salivating by driving by your favorite bakery.

(189) operant conditioning (and Skinner)

Deloped more formally by B. F. Skinner the process of learning in which the consequences of a response determine the probability that the response will be repeated What made him famous was his ability to bring behaviorist principles into the public eye through his books, articles in popular magazines, and public appearances What made him controversial was his belief in radical behaviorism. Like Watson, Skinner was a strict behaviorist who believed that psychologists should limit themselves to the study of observable behavior. For Skinner, the mind was a "black box" whose contents cannot be illuminated by science. Skinner found in Throndike's work a guiding principle that behavior is shaped by its consequences. However, he rejected Thorndike's mentalistic concept that consequences influence behavior because they produce "satisfying effects". Skinner proposed that organisms learn responses that OPERATE on the environment to produce consequences; he therefore called this learning process operant conditioning. **(190) operant conditioning is also called instrumental learning (because the behavior is instrumental in bringing about rewarding consequences).

(180) Extinguished responses are not forgotten but may return spontaneously in the future if the

conditioned stimulus is presented again

(204) latent learning

Edward Tolman and C. H. Honzik trained rats to run a maze. learning that occurs without apparent reinforcement and that is not displayed until reinforcement is provided A kind of "hidden" learning that occurs without apparent reinforcement and that is not revealed in performance at the time it occurs. The displayed behavior is only displayed when it is reinforced.

(184) phobias

Excessive fears of particular objects or situations

(183-184) Classical conditioning in fear responses

John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner (1919) selected an 11 month old boy whom they called Albert B. (Little Albert) Experiment was with inducing fear of a white rat (NS) by banging a loud steel pipe on the floor behind the child (UR) creating a Conditioned Emotional Reaction (CER) **No one knows what happened to Little Albert, but investigators believe he succumbed to an illness at age 6. Phobias are excessive fears.

(185) Classical Conditioning of Taste Aversions

John Garcia and colleague Bob Koelling noticed something unusual in the behavior of rats that had been exposed to nausea-inducing radiation. The radiation was the US; the nausea it produced was the UR; the flavored water was the CS; and the aversion (nausea) the CS elicited on its own was the CR. They were shocked when they discovered that classical conditioning could still be developed when the CS was no immediately followed by the US. John Garcia and his colleagues developed an ingenious way to prevent coyotes from killing ranger's sheep. They injected poison into the carcasses of the sheep that would sicken (but not kill) the coyotes. They later developed an aversion to sheep and sheep-killings went down.

(184) Classical conditioning in advertising

John Watson also left a mark here. His success in the field of advertising rested on his application of the principles of classical conditioning. He suggested to advertisers to pair their products with emotionally arousing cues, especially sexual stimuli.

(204) cognitive map

a mental representation of an area that helps an organism navigate its way from one point to another

(180) conditioned stimulus (CS)

a previously neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a conditioned response after it has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus E.g. the bell is no longer a neutral stimulus.

(193) Fixed Ratio (FR) Schedule

Reinforcement is given after a specified number of correct responses. FR-6 schedule = Reinforcement given after the sixth repsonse E.g. Piecework On fixed ration schedules, the faster people work, the more items they produce and the more money they earn. However, quality may suffer if quantity alone determines how reinforcements are dispensed.

(194-195) Fixed Interval (FI) schedule

Reinforcement is given only for a correct response made after a fixed amount of time has elapsed since the last reinforcement. FI-30 schedule = rat is given a pellet of food after making the required response after an interval of 30 seconds. Fixed interval schedules tend to produce a "scalloped" response pattern in which the rate of response typically dips just after reinforcement and then increases as the end of the interval approaches. E.g. Workers who receive monthly performance reviews and show more productive behaviors in the days leading up to their evaluations than in the days immediately afterwards.

(191) primary reinforcers

Reinforcers, such as food or sexual stimulation, they are naturally rewarding because they satisfy basic biological needs or drives E.g. a child's fascination with holograms on credit cards Primary reinforcers satisfy basic biological needs and drives. They include food, water, sleep, relief from pain or loud noise, oxygen, sexual stimulation, and novel visual stimuli (such as holograms).

(196-197) Negative punishment

Reinforcing stimulus is removed as a consequence of an undesirable behavior, which over time tends to reduce the frequency of the undesirable behavior. E.g. Turning off the TV when a child misbehaves, taking away privileges, removing the child from a reinforcing environment ("time-out")

(186) Conditioning the Immune system

Robert Ader and Nicholas Cohen (1982). The researches had rats ingest saccharin-sweetened water (CS) while at the same time giving them a drug (US) that suppressed immune system responses (UR). Immune suppression (CR) occurred when the rats drank the sweetened water alone. Perhaps classical conditioning can be used to suppress the tendency of the body to reject transplanted organs, lessening the need for immune-suppressant drugs. Perhaps classical conditioning can give the immune system a boost in its fight against disease, perhaps even to strengthen the body's ability to defend itself against cancer.

(199) Behavior Modification (B-mod)

Systematic application of learning principles to strengthen adaptive behavior and weaken maladaptive behavior. Skinner and his colleagues established the first token economy program in a mental hospital. E.g. Plastic tokens and gold stars that can be traded in to "buy" small prizes.

(199) Biofeedback Training

Technique for teaching people to change certain bodily responses, including heart rate and tyoes of brain waves. The feedback reinforces behaviors (E.g. Thinking calming thoughts) that bring about these desirable changes.

(195) Variable Interval (VI) Schedule

The amount of time that must elapse before reinforcement can be given for a correct response is variable rather than fixed. VI-60 schedule = The period of time that elapses before reinforcement is given varies around an average of 60 seconds across occasions (trials). Variable Interval schedules tend to produce a slow but steady rate of response. More resistant to extinction than fixed Interval. E.g. Teachers who have regular "pop" quizzes

(194) Variable Ratio (VR) Schedule

The number of correct responses needed before reinforcement is given varies around some average number. VR-20 schedule = reinforcement is given after an average of 20 responses. E.g. Gambling More resistant to extinction than fixed ratio schedules because one cannot reliably predict whether a given number of responses will be rewarded.

(190-191) Positive reinforcement

The strengthening of a response through the introduction of a stimulus after the response occurs. Also called a REWARD E.g. food, money, and social approval. (191) The difference is that in positive reinforcement, behaviors are strengthened when they are followed by the introduction or presentation of a stimulus.

(203-204) insight learning

Wolfgang Kohler and his chimp the process of mentally working through a problem until the sudden realization of a solution occurs "aha!" phenomenon, but may not "appear out of the blue" as a spark of inspiration. Insight may occur by reconstructing or reorganizing s problem in your mind until you see how the various parts fit together to form a solution. In the behaviorist view insight is neither sudden nor free of prior reinforcement. In this view, insight learning is nothing more than the chaining of previously reinforced responses.

(192-193) discriminative stimulus

a cue that signals that reinforcement is available if the subject makes a particular response E.g. Having the lever in Skinner's box only provide reinforcement when a light is on. Our physical and social environment is teeming with discriminative stimuli: When is the better time to ask someone for a favor?

(199) token economy program

a form of behavior modification in which tokens earned for performing desired behaviors can be exchanged for positive reinforcers

(199) computer-assisted instruction

a form of programmed instruction in which a computer is used a guide a student through a series of increasingly difficult questions

(184) behavior therapy

a form of therapy that involves the systematic application of the principles of learning to help people overcome phobias and other problem behaviors.

(199) programmed instruction

a learning method in which complex material is broken down into a series of small steps that learners master at their own pace Skinner even designed a "teaching machine" taht guided students through a series of questions of increasing difficulty. After students responded to a question the answer would immediately appear (immediate reinforcement). Skinner paved the way of Computer assisted instruction.

(192-193) shaping

a process of learning that involves the reinforcement of increasingly closer approximations of the desire response Shaping involves learning in small steps through applying the method of successive approximations in which the experimenter reinforces a series of ever-closer approximations of the target response. E.g. Animal trainers. We put the method of successive approximations into practice in our daily lives when we attempt to teach someone a new skill, especially one involving a complex set of behaviors.

(177-179) learning

a relatively permanent change in behavior acquired through experience

(190) operant response

a responce that operates on the environment to produce certain consequences Called an "operant" A well-trained operant response becomes a habit.

(190-191) reinforcer

a stimulus or event that increases the probability that the response it follows will be repeated E.g. the act of answering questions when students raise their hands Skinner observed the longer reinforcement is delayed, the weaker its effects will be.

(179) neutral stimulus (NS)

a stimulus that before conditioning does not produce a particular response e.g. ringing a bell or striking a tuning fork (before the conditioning has caused a learned response)

(178-179) unconditioned stimulus (US)

a stimulus that elicits an unlearned response e.g. the food that was placed on your tongue.

(193) schedule of continuous reinforcement

a system of dispensing a reinforcement each time a response is produced Reinforcement follows each instance of the operant response. E.g. Flipping a switch to turn on the light when you walk into a dark room. Continuous reinforcement leads to rapid extinction when reinforcement is withheld. But it is unlikely to be forgotten or lost from memory.

(193) schedule of partial reinforcement

a system of reinforcement in which only a portion of responses is reinforced Extinction takes longer. Partial reinforcement is administrated under two general kinds of schedules: 1: Ratio schedules: reinforcement is based on the number of responses. Can be administrated on either a fixed or variable basis. Remember, reinforcement depends on the number of responses and not on the length of time elapsed since the last reinforcement. 2: Interval schedules: reinforcement is based on the timing of the responses. Can be administrated on either a fixed or variable basis.

(180) conditioned response (CR)

an acquired or learned response to a conditioned stimulus e.g. salivation in response to the neutral stimulus (bell).

(183) conditioned emotional reaction (CER)

an emotional response to a particular stimulus acquired through classical conditioning

(196) Positive punishment:

aversive or unpleasant stimulus is imposed as a consequence of an undesirable behavior, which over time tends to reduce the frequency of the undesired behavior. E.g. Fines for speeding or illegal parking or spanking a child for "talking back"

(199) Applications of opersnt conditioning:

biofeedback training, behavior modification, and programmed instruction

(178) Three major types (or forms) of learning:

classical conditioning operant conditioning cognitive learning

(178) Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov discovered

classical conditioning.

(185) Investigator shave found that even immune system responses can be

classically conditioned

(180) Japanese investigators Hidehiro Watanabe and Makoto Mizunami stimulated the antennae of

cockroaches a scent of peppermint.

(182) Robert Rescorla takes a

cognitive perspective in explaining classical conditioning. Argued that conditioning depends on a cognitive factor -- the informational value of a conditioned stimulus as a reliable signal for predicting the occurrence for the unconditioned stimulus (US). **The more reliable the signal, the stronger the conditional response (CS).

(182) The Rescorla's view, classical conditioning involves a cognitive process by which organisms learn to anticipate events based on

cues, called conditioned stimuli, that come to reliably predict the occurrence of these events

(190) In general, learning progresses more slowly as the

delay between response and reinforcement increases.

(177) Learning is adaptive -- it enables organisms to adapt their behavior to the

demands they face in the environment. (178) Learning helps prepare organisms to meet the demands that their environment imposes on them.

(190) Behavior therapists use methods based on the principles of reinforcement to strenghten

desireable behavior and weaken or eliminate undesirable behavior

(200) To modify behavior through reinforcement, it is important to establish a clear connection, or contingency, between the

desired behavior and the reinforcement

(190) Negative reinforcement helps account for the avoidance of fearful stimuli or situations in people with phobias and may contribute the

development of obsessive compulsive disorder

(192) A green light is a

dsicriminative stimulus signaling that driving through an intersection is likely to be reinforced by safe passage. People learn to respond to discriminative stimuli by performing behaviors that are reinforced in those situations.

(177) For learning to occur, changes in behavior must be

enduring. Not permanent. It is possible to unlearn behavior.

(181) By learning to differentiate among related stimuli, we are able to fine-tune our responses to the

environment

(190-191) superstitious behavior

in Skinner's view, behavior acquired through coincidental association of a response and a reinforcement E.g. A baseball player who hits a home run after a long slump and then wears the same pair of socks he had on at the time for good luck in every remaining game of the season. Superstitious behavior could be understood in terms of mistaking a coincidence (wearing a particular pair of socks) and a reinforcement (a home run) for a connection between the two. Are often part of our cultural heritage, handed down from generation to generation. Perhaps there was a time when these behaviors were accidentally reinforced, but they have become so much a part of our cultural tradition that people no longer recall their origins.

(192-193) secondary reinforcers

learned reinforcers, such as money, that develop their reinforcing properties because of their association with primary reinforcers E.g. Money is a secondary reinforcer (also called a conditioned reinforcer). More examples: good grades, awards, recognition, smiles, and praise. Most of our daily behavior is influenced by secondary reinforcers in the form of expressions of approval by others.

(180) Stimulus generalization has survival value by enabling organisms to generalize their

learned responses to new stimuli that are similar to an original threatening stimulus

(205) observational learning

learning by observing and imitating the behavior of others (also called vicarious learning or modeling) imitating behaviors we see in others. The person whose behavior is observed is called a model Practice and aptitude also count in developing and refining skilled behavior. Albert Bandura Modeling effects are generally stronger when the model is similar to the learner and when positive reinforcement for performing the behavior is evident. People also develop styles of dealing with conflicts in intimate relationships based on their observations during childhood of how their mothers and fathers dealt with marital disagreements. Modeling may also explain fears.

(203) cognitive learning

learning that occurs without the opportunity of first performing the learned response or being reinforced for it E.g. Learning how to reach a destination by looking at a map. Involves processes such as thinking, information processing, problem solving, and mental imaging. Psychologists who study cognitive learning maintain that humans and other animals are, to a certain extent, capable of new behaviors without actually having the chance to perform them or be reinforced for them. Three types: insight learning, latent learning, and observational learning.

(182) The strength of the classically conditioned response depends on the frequency of pairings and the timing

of the stimuli, as wel as the intensity of the US

(205) In observational learning, behaviors are acquired by observing and imitating the behaviors of

others

(180) A therapy technique called gradual exposure to help

people overcome phobias

(193) schedules of reinforcement

predetermined plans for timing the delivery of reinforcement Skinner is well-known for his contributions in showing how schedules of reinforcement influence learning.

(199) Principles of operant conditioning are used in biofeedback training, behavior modifications, and

programmed instruction

(197) Though punishment may suppress or weaken behavior, psychologists generally advise parents not to rely on

punishment as a means of disciplining their children

(204) Latent learning occurs without apparent reinforcement and is not displayed until

reinforcement is provided

(195) In escape learning, organisms learn responses that allow them to escape aversive stimuli, whereas in avoidance learning, they learn

responses that allow them to avoid aversive stimuli

(199) After training in B-mod techniques, parents

reward children's appropriate behaviors and punish non-compliant and aggressive behaviors with time-outs and suspension of privileges and rewards.

(188) According to Thorndike's law of effect, we are more likely to repeat responses that have

satisfying effects and are less likely to repeat those that lead to discomfort (operant conditioning)

(193) There are four types of partial-reinforcement schedules: fixed-ration, variable-ration, fixed-interval, and variable-interval

schedules

(180) extinction

the gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of a conditioned response E.g. ringing the bell and not giving food. **(192) Extinction in operant reinforcement discussed here.

(196) punishment

the introduction of an aversive stimulus or the removal of a reinforcing stimulus after a response occurs, which leads to the weakening or suppression of the response The flip side of reinforcement: it weakens the behavior it follows. There are positive and negative forms of reinforcement. Difference between punishment and negative reinforcement: With punishment, the introduction of an aversive stimulus or the removal of a pleasant stimulus after a behavior occurs weakens or suppresses the behavior. With negative reinforcement, the removal of an aversive stimulus after a behavior occurs strengthens the behavior.

(195) avoidance learning

the learning of behaviors that allow an organism to avoid an aversive stimulus E.g. Opening an umbrella before stepping outside in the rain.

(195) escape learning

the learning of behaviors that allow and organism to escape from an aversive stimulus by performing an operant response. The escape behavior is negatively reinforced by the removal of the aversive stimulus. E.g. Turning on the Air conditioner on a very hot day.

(184) Feelings of nostalgia may be conditioned responses elicited by stimuli that were associated with pleasant experiences in

the past

(189) radical behaviorism

the philosophical position that free will is an illusion or myth and that human and animal behavior is completely determined by environmental and genetic influences

(180) reconditioning

the process of relearning a conditioned response following extinction Likely to be learned more quickly than in original conditioning.

(193) In operant conditioning, extinction is the weakening and eventual elimination of a response that occurs when

the response is o longer reinforced

(180) spontaneous recovery

the spontaneous return of a conditioned response following extinction ...The extinguished response is not forgotten or lost in memory.

(190-191) negative reinforcement

the strengthening of a response through the removal of an "aversive" (unpleasant or painful) stimulus after the response occurs E.g. Loud noise, cold, pain, nagging, or a child's crying. We are more likely to repeat behaviors that lead to their removal. Negative implies punishment. However, either positive or negative, all reinforcement strengthens behavior. (191) The difference is that in positive reinforcement, behaviors are strengthened when they are followed by the introduction or presentation of a stimulus, whereas in negative reinforcement, behaviors are strengthened when they lead to the removal of a stimulus. Can be a "two-way street."

(181) stimulus discrimination

the tendency to differentiate among stimuli so that stimuli that are related to the original conditioned stimulus, but not identical to it, fail to elicit a conditioned response *Allows us to discriminate between threatening and non-threatening stimuli. E.g. A man got stuck behind a refrigerator while helping his friend move and nearly suffocated, he now has claustrophobia that is often triggered in crowded elevators, but not when he rides on uncrowded elevators.

(193) Discriminative stimuli set the stage for reinforcement, which is a useful

thing to know if you want to ask someone for a favor