Chapter 6 Conditioning and Learning

fixed ratio schedule (FR)

a set number of correct responses must be made to obtain a reinforcer. produce high response rates. ex) If a farmworker fills one basket, they receive $20. If they fill ten baskets, that number jumps to $200. Every day, they leave with some amount of money - but that amount depends on how much work they did.

unconditioned stimulus

a stimulus innately capable of eliciting a response. ex) the smell of food was the unconditioned stimulus. The dogs in his experiment would smell the food and then naturally begin to salivate in response.

neutral stimulus

a stimulus that does not evoke a response. ex) Pavlov introduced the ringing of the bell as a neutral stimulus.

conditioned stimulus

a stimulus that evokes a response because it has been repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus. ex) the conditioned stimulus was the ringing of the bell, and the conditioned response was salivation.

secondary reinforcer

learned reinforcer. often one that gains reinforcing properties by association with a primary reinforcer. ex) money, grades, approval

conditioned emotional response

learned emotional reaction to a previous neutral stimulus. amygdala becomes more active; produces feelings of fear.

conditioned emotional responses

learned fears; phobia. intense, unrealistic, irrational fear of a specific situation or object.

partial reinforcement effect

responses acquired by partial reinforcement are very resistant to extinction ex) Think of trying to teach your dog to sit. Will he learn to sit faster if you reward the dog every single time he sits when you tell him to or if you reward him only sometimes?

stimulus generalization

the tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar, but not identical, to a conditioned stimulus.

media violence does not "cause" aggression, but makes it more likely, especially in children to:

-believe aggression is acceptable problem solving. -TV violence is realistic. -identity with TV characters. -don't realize that TV stories and characters are fantasies.

steps to successful modeling:

-pay attention to model. -remember what was done. -be able to reproduce modeling behavior. -if a model is successful or his/her behavior is rewarded, behavior more likely to be imitated.

drawbacks of punishment

It's painful & unpleasant, anything associated w punishment tend to be feared, encourages escape/ avoidance learning, increases aggression, doesn't teach right behavior

higher-order conditioning

a conditioned stimulus is used to reinforce further learning. ex) after pairing a tone with food, and establishing the tone as a conditioned stimulus that elicits salivation, a light could be paired with the tone. If the light alone comes to elicit salivation, then higher order conditioning has occurred.

conditioned response

a learned response elicit by a conditioned stimulus. ex) dogs salivating to the bell.

response chain

a linked series of relatively simple actions that leads to reinforcement. ex) dog agility training. the dog learns each part of the course separately, then learns to connect them. he is running the entire course for reinforcement.

variable ratio schedule (VR)

a varied average number of correct responses must be made to get a reinforcer. produce high response rates. produces greater resistance to to extinction than fixed ratio schedule. ex) Gambling and lottery games are good examples of a reward based on a variable ratio schedule.

unconditioned response

an innate reflex response elicited by an unconditioned stimulus.

punisher

any consequence that reduces the frequency of a target behavior

operant reinforcer

any event that follows a response and increases its likelihood of it recurring. ex) types of reinforcement might include praise, getting out of unwanted work, token rewards, candy, extra playtime, and fun activities.

reinforcement

any event that increases the probability that a particular response will occur.

response

any identifiable behavior.

reflex

automatic, non-learned innate response to a stimulus. ex) an eye blink

superstitious behavior

behavior that is repeated because it appeared to produce reinforcement. however, it is unnecessary. ex) wearing the same shirt when your team won a game and wearing the same shirt the next time they play.

consequences

effects that follow a response.

antecedents

events that precede a response.

observable behavior

ex) eating, scratching

internal response

ex) faster heartbeat

expectancies

expectations about how events are interconnected. the brain learns to expect that the unconditioned stimulus will follow the conditioned stimulus. brain prepared the body to respond.

classical conditioning

focuses on the antecedent. ex) Ivan Pavlov's experiment with dogs. Saw dogs salivate BEFORE food was placed in their mouth. Also saw dogs salivate when he entered the room.

operant conditioning

focuses on the consequence of response. ex) a child may be told they will lose recess privileges if they talk out of turn in class. this will decrease bad behavior.

cognitive learning

higher-level learning involving thinking, knowing, understanding, and anticipation

Bo-Bo Doll Experiment message

kids will do as you DO and not do as you SAY.

social reinforcer

learned desires for attention and approval. ex) A child hesitantly raises his hand in class to answer a question. The teacher's praise for his efforts or a peers wink from across the room are forms of social reinforcement.

vicarious classical conditioning

learning to respond emotionally to a stimulus by observing another's emotional reactions. explains how we develop attitudes to foods, politics, ethnic groups, etc.

token reinforcer / token economies

manage and alter behavior through reinforcement of selected responses. has tangible value. ex) a teacher says if a "compliment jar" is filled up with marbles, the class will have a pizza party. the marble is the token reinforcer.

shaping (operant conditioning)

molding a single response gradually into the behavior that is sought after. rewarding ever-closer successive approximations. ex) putting a rat in a skinner box and wanting him to push the bar and giving him a treat every time he does something right.

intracranial self-stimulation

natural primary reinforcer. involves direct electrical activation of brain's "pleasure centers."

primary reinforcer

nonlearned and natural. satifies biological needs. ex) food, water, sex

model/ observational learning

occurs by watching and intimidating actions of another person and by noting consequences of a person's actions. Allows skipping of trial-and-error learning.

associative learning

occurs when a person or animal form a simple association between stimuli and response. ex) If someone eats a particular food, then develops a headache soon afterwards, they may learn to associate that food with headaches and not want to eat it again.

operant stimulus discrimination

occurs when one learns to differentiate between the antecedent stimuli that signal either an upcoming reward or a nonreward condition. ex) after appropriate training, your dog will lift his paw to the verbal command "shake."

latent learning

occurs without obvious reinforcement, not demonstrated until reinforcement is provided, related to higher abilities such as anticipation ex) A dog in a new house takes time to explore every room and can later easily find its water dish in the kitchen.

schedule of reinforcement

plans for determining which responses will be reinforced ex) delivering a food pellet to a ​rat after the first bar press following a one-minute interval; a second pellet for the first response following a five-minute interval; and a third pellet for the first response following a three-minute interval

feedback and knowledge of results (type of operant reinforcer)

provide info about the effect of a response. important for human learning. most effective when its frequent, immediate, and detailed. ex) don't kick the ball THAT way, kick it THIS way.

spontaneous recovery

reappearance of a learned response following apparent extinction

response-contingent reinforcement

reinforcement given only when a particular response occurs. we learn to expect that a certain response will have a certain effect at certain times.

variable interval schedule (VI)

reinforcement is given for the first correct response made after a varied average amount of time. slow, steady response rates. extremely resistant to extinction. ex) Your Employer Checking Your Work. Don't know when it might happen.

learning

relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience. Excludes temporary changes. Excludes more permanent changes due to disease, injury, maturation, injury, or drugs.

skinner box

small chamber that is used to conduct operant conditioning research with animals. Within the chamber, there is usually a lever (for rats) or a key (for pigeons) that an individual animal can operate to obtain a food or water within the chamber as a reinforcer.

model

someone who serves as an example in observational learning.

fixed interval schedule (FI)

the first correct response made after a certain amount of time has elapsed is reinforced. produces moderate response rates. ex)A weekly paycheck is a good example of a fixed-interval schedule. The employee receives reinforcement every seven days, which may result in a higher response rate as payday approaches.

stimulus discrimination

the learned ability to respond differently to similar stimuli.

Law of Effect (Thordike)

the probability of a response is altered by the effect it has. responses that lead to desired effects are repeated. those that lead to undesired effects are not. ex) being praised by a supervisor for showing up early for work made it more likely that the behavior would be repeated.

Desentization

therapy for conditioned emotional responses. exposes phobic people gradually to feared stimuli while they stay calm and relaxed. pairing phobia with something pleasant.

variables affecting punishment

timing, consistency, and intensity

acquisition

training period in conditioning when a response is reinforced. ex) trying to train a rat to press a lever in response to you ringing a bell. trying to condition the rat to press the lever when you ring the bell, then once the rat presses the lever in only response to the bell, you can say the response is "acquired".

extinction

weakening of a conditioned response through removal of reinforcement. may take several extinction sessions to reverse conditioning.

positive reinforcement

when a response is followed by a reward or other positive event. increases the likelihood a response will reoccur.

punishment

when a response is followed by an aversive stimulus. decreases the likelihood of it recurring. can also take the form of a response cost. removal of a reinforcer of a positive state. ex) time out.

negative reinforcement

when a response is followed by the removal of an unpleasant event or by an end to discomfort. increases the likelihood a response will reoccur. pain stops. NOT A PUNISHMENT. ex) Imagine you drive through rush hour traffic to get to work. Your commute is very stressful and takes you two hours every morning. You get frustrated and try a different route to get there.