Chapter 7

What is punishment?

A negative environmental outcome produced by a response, which makes that response less likely to occur in the future

What is the neutral stimulus and how does it become the conditioned stimulus?

A stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning.

What is classical conditioning?

the processes involved when an organism learns to associate two events First discovered by Ivan Pavlov in studying salivation in dogs.

What is conditioned reinforcement?

When behavior is strengthened by events that have an effect because of conditioned history

How can the conditioned stimulus in classical conditioning serve as a safety signal?

When the Unconditioned Signal is aversive, the absence of the Conditioned Signal can serve as a safety signal

In operant conditioning, what is negative reinforcement?

This occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus, thereby increasing that behavior's frequency.

In operant conditioning, what is positive reinforcement?

This occurs when a behavior (response) is rewarding or the behavior is followed by another stimulus that is rewarding, increasing the frequency of that behavior

For classical conditioning, what are the unconditioned stimulus and the unconditioned response?

Unconditioned stimulus: A stimulus that naturally and automatically-triggers an unconditioned response

What is a taste aversion?

an animals learns to avoid food with a certain taste because it is associated with bad experiences (toxic, spoiled, or poisonous substance.)

What is associative learning?

- Associative learning occurs when you learn something based on a new stimulus. The most famous example is Ivan Pavlov's use of dogs to demonstrate that a stimulus, such as the ringing of a bell, leads to a reward, or food. - Two types of associative learning exist: classical conditioning, such as in Pavlov's dog; and operant conditioning, or the use of reinforcement through rewards and punishments.

What factors make reinforcement more effective?

- More pairings of the response and the reinforcement - Shorter delays between the response and the reinforcement

What are the three major differences between classical and operant conditioning?

1. What is learned •A. classical: the relationship between two stimuli •B. operant: the relationship between a response and an outcome 2. How a response is made •A. classical: the response is involuntarily elicited by the stimulus •B. operant: the response is voluntarily selected from a possible set of responses 3. The relationship between response and reinforcement •A. classical: reinforcement is independent of the animal's response •B. operant: reinforcement depends on the animal's response

What conditions need to exist in order for punishment to be effective?

1. actually aversive 2. intense 3. Immediate

In operant conditioning, what is continuous reinforcement and what is partial reinforcement?

1. continual reinforcement: reinforcing every response a. produces the fastest learning 2. partial reinforcement: reinforcing behavior only part of the time a. produces the greatest resistance to extinction Extinction: eliminating reinforcement eventually eliminates the response

Why is punishment usually not an effective way in which to change behavior?

1. only suppresses a response 2. doesn't usually eliminate the existing rewards for the behavior a. more effective if an alternative, acceptable, response is simultaneously provided 3. the learner may not know what is being punished 4. the learner may come to fear the person doing the punishing 5. punishing one behavior can accidentally RNF another 6. punishment is often inconsistent 7. punishment often makes the learner aggressive

In classical conditioning, what is the process of acquisition?

Acquisition is the initial learning, in which an association is formed between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus (whistle and food) 1. more pairings of the CS and the US produce a stronger CR a. these pairings reinforce the US-CS relationship b. called reinforced trials

In operant conditioning, what is discrimination?

Animals learn to discriminate between responses that will and will not be reinforced

What is meant by a biological constraint on learning in classical conditioning?

Biological constraints on learning refers to the limitations on a species ability to learn new tasks that are imposed by physical restraints or cognitive (mental) abilities of the species. For instance, although some of the great apes (Gorillas and Chimps) can perform many physical tasks and even learn how to communicate through sign language, it appears that they lack the mental organization or physical means to to learn to read or speak.

In operant conditioning, what is a biological constraint on learning?

Biological constraints: a response is most easily learned if it is naturally related to the reinforcement 1. animals: responses that are naturally made to a stimulus are easier to reinforce 2. humans learn arbitrary relationships better than animals

For classical conditioning, what are the conditioned stimulus and the conditioned response?

Conditioned Stimulus: a stimulus that evokes a reflexive response without prior conditioning (dog whistle)or learning and a conditioned response is an automatic response established by training to an ordinarily neutral stimulus

In classical conditioning, what is the process of extinction? What is the process of spontaneous recovery?

Extinction: if the Conditioned Stimulus is repeatedly presented without the Unconditioned Stimulus, the Conditioned Response will eventually be eliminated 1. a Conditioned Response can easily be reconditioned by reintroducing the Unconditioned Stimulus 2. an extinguished Conditioned Response can be spontaneously recovered

Why is negative reinforcement not punishment? How is negative reinforcement related to punishment?

It is not punishment in the way that it's the reward that is reactive causing the individual to want to follow a certain pattern rather than living with any type of adverse consequences.

What forms of learning is involved in conditioning?

Operant and Classical

What is operant conditioning?

Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning) is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior.

What is positive punishment? What is negative punishment?

Positive punishment- when the subject performs an unwanted action, some type of negative outcome is purposefully applied that is related to the unwanted action Negative punishment- In the case of negative punishment, it involves taking something good or desirable away, to reduce the occurrence of a particular behavior

In operant conditioning, what is a primary reinforcer?

Primary reinforcers are naturally reinforcing, i.e. there is no learning necessary for them to be reinforcing. The conditioned reinforcer is learned. For example, many people bribe children with candy to clean their room or do their homework. If the parent continued to bribe their children with candy and also had them put a checkmark on a job chart, after a while the parents could stop giving candy and only have the child make the check mark and it would still be reinforcing.

In operant conditioning, how effective are immediate and delayed reinforcement?

Reinforcement is more effective with Shorter delays between the response and the reinforcement

In operant conditioning, what is reinforcement?

Reinforcement: an environmental outcome which makes the associated response more probable in the future * by definition: reinforcement makes a response more likely

Variable-ratio schedule

Reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses. a. hard to extinguish because of the unpredictability.

Variable-interval schedule

Reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals, which produces slow, steady responses.

Fixed-ratio schedule

Reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses.

Fixed Interval

Reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed.

In operant conditioning, what is shaping?

Shaping: gradually training an animal to make a response that is not normally in its repertoire

In operant conditioning, what is a schedule of reinforcement?

The intervals at which you administer reinforcement

In classical conditioning, what is the process of generalization?

The tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses

What is the definition of learning?

a relatively long lasting change in thought or behavior produced by environmental events 1. refers to actual changes in the person 2. performance: new behaviors produced by these changes

In operant conditioning, what is a secondary reinforcer?

secondary reinforcement refers to a situation in which a stimulus reinforces a behavior after it has been associated with a primary reinforcer. While the primary reinforcers are biological in nature, secondary reinforcers require association with these innate reinforcers before they can produce a response. A dog, for example, is more likely to be highly motivated by a primary reinforcer like a treat because food satisfies a strong biological need. If a trainer wanted to pair that food with some type of secondary reinforcement such as the sound of a whistle, the sound of the whistle would eventually become associated with the food and serve as a form of secondary reinforcement.

Does the unconditioned stimulus always need to follow the conditioned stimulus to produce classical conditioning? How high does the contingency (relationship between the two events) have to be?

these contingencies don't have to be perfect to produce conditioning, but the occurrence of the US must be more probable after the CS