Chapter 8: How Learning Shapes Behavior

Behaviorism

A branch of psychology that focuses on (relatively) simple explanations for outward behavior and is unconcerned with the inner workings of the mind.

Extinction

Eliminating the conditioned response.

Habituation

Getting used to something in the environment and not responding as strongly anymore. Example, living next to a busy freeway. Don't notice the sound of cars or leaving near an airport.

Discrimination

Narrowing the conditions that produce the conditioned response. Making the fears less broad- by repeatedly showing Albert white things when he felt safe and relaxed, and without the loud noise.

Phobias and Their Cure

Phobia is an intense fear of a specific thing. Systematic desensitization is a treatment for phobias that attempts to reduce fear in many small steps by associating the feared thing with calmness. Progressive Relaxation is learning how to systematically relax your body so your mind is calm. Flooding is confronting your worst fear head-on all at once. Flooding is more acutely upsetting treatment than desensitization, but it can also be completed much more quickly.

Natural Consequences

Punishments enacted naturally as a consequence of the negative behavior. Example, touching a hot stove, you get burned.

Deconditioning

Reversing conditioning to eliminate the conditioned response.

Behavior Modification & Token Economy

Using conditioning to improve behaviors. The idea behind b-mod is to reward only acceptable behavior. Real-world applications of operant conditioning to improve behavior. Token economy: a program in which good behavior is rewarded with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges.

Shaping

Gradual training that rewards behavior progressively closer to the desired one.

Socialization & Social Learning

How children learn to become mature members of society; also known as acculturation. Social learning is an observational learning that occurs when someone watches others get rewarded or punished for behavior. Think back on Bobo's Doll experiment by Bandura.

Reinforcement Value

How enticing a particular reward is.

Reinforcement Schedules

Reinforcement schedules: giving out rewards for good behavior at certain intervals. Continuous reinforcement schedule: always giving out a reward for good behavior. (Every time your significant other takes out the trash, you give them a kiss). Partial reinforcement schedule: only -sometimes- giving out a reward for good behavior. Fixed-ratio reinforcement: giving out a reward after a certain number of behaviors. (Giving them a kiss only -after- they taken out the trash twice- so a certain number of good behaviors). Variable-ratio reinforcement: giving out a reward after a random number of behaviors. (A kiss after an unpredictable or random number of times- so a random number of good behaviors). Fixed-interval reinforcement: giving out a reward after a certain amount of time has passed. (A kiss every 3 days- a certain amount of time). Variable-interval reinforcement: giving out a reward after a random amount of time has passed. ( Kissing them randomly at intervals of 1 to 5 days- a random amount of time). Fixed variables refers to a set amount of time versus a random amount. Ratio intervals refers to whether the reward is given after the behavior versus after a certain amount of time has passed. Many jobs are paid on a fixed-interval schedule; you work and every 2 weeks you get a paycheck.

Spontaneous Recovery

Relearning a conditioned response.

Operant Conditioning

Shaping behavior through rewards and punishments. Four ways to modify behavior: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, negative punishment. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Modify Behavior Positive means the addition of something either good or bad: a reward (good thing, reinforcement) or a spanking (a bad thing, for punishment). Negative means the removal of something: an unwanted homework assignment (taking away a bad thing, for reinforcement) or a recess period (taking away a good thing, for punishment). Positive reinforcement: rewards or incentives for good behavior. Is often the most effective way to shape behavior. Negative reinforcement: rewards desired behaviors by taking away something aversive. Positive punishment: administering something aversive after misbehavior, what people usually mean when they refer to punishment. Negative punishment: stopping bad behavior by taking away something good also; known as a time-out.

Reciprocal Determinism

The idea that people choose the environments they enter and then change them. According to Albert Bandura, a person's behavior is both influenced by and influences a person's personal factors and the environment . Bandura suggests that a person's behavior can be conditioned through the operant conditioning (use of consequences like reward and punishment); he also believes that a person's behavior can impact the environment. So it is not just that you are influenced by your environment, but that you also influence the environment around you--each impacts the other.

Expectancies

What someone expects to happen based on past experiences of what was rewarding. But can also be wrong. Example, maybe you never had fun at parties, but optimistically think this party will be different because your friend is hosting it.

Generalization

When a conditioned response is elicited in a response to things similar to the conditioned stimulus. Think back on Little Albert. He displayed no fear with the white rat. But Watson and Rayner would make a loud, unpleasant noise every time Albert saw the rat. Albert would cry when he saw the rat. Which also lead him to fear other white objects (generalized).

Classical Conditioning

Associating two things not normally associated with each other. Unconditioned stimulus: the stimulus normally produced by the unconditioned response. Unconditioned response: the response normally produced by the conditioned response. Conditioned stimulus: the stimulus that produces that conditioned response after classical conditioning. Conditioned response: the response produced by the conditioned stimulus after classical conditioning. Example: The animal's food is the UCS- the thing that naturally produces the UCR of salivating. But then your pet beings to associate the sound of the can opener with food, so the can opener becomes the CS that produces the CR of your pet, salivation.

Generalized Expectancies, External Locus of Control, and Internal Locus of Control

Beliefs about how often actions lead to rewards versus punishment. Example, you are trying to decide how much you're going to prepare for an upcoming interview. Some people have the generalized expectancy that preparing won't make much of a difference- whoever gets the job is a matter of luck. External locus of control is believing that events are more a matter of luck and arbitrary decisions of powerful people. Internal locus of control is believing that your actions have an affect on events. People who are more likely to prepare.