Learning
A word of praise is to a delicious meal as _____ is to _____.
a conditioned reinforcer; a primary reinforcer
Reinforcement schedule
a pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced. (p. 293)
In the United States and Canada, ____________ rates doubled between 1957 and 1974, coinciding with the introduction and spread of television.
homocide
How do different reinforcement schedules affect behavior?
A reinforcement schedule defines how often a response will be reinforced. In continuous reinforcement (reinforcing desired responses every time they occur), learning is rapid, but so is extinction if rewards cease. In partial (intermittent) reinforcement (reinforcing responses only sometimes), initial learning is slower, but the behavior is much more resistant to extinction. Fixed-ratio schedules reinforce behaviors after a set number of responses; variable-ratio schedules, after an unpredictable number. Fixed-interval schedules reinforce behaviors after set time periods; variable-interval schedules, after unpredictable time periods.
"Sex sells!" is a common saying in advertising. Using classical conditioning terms, explain how sexual images in advertisements can condition your response to a product.
A sexual image is a US that triggers a UR of interest or arousal. Before the advertisement pairs a product with a sexual image, the product is an NS. Over time the product can become a CS that triggers the CR of interest or arousal.
Thorndike's law of effect was the basis for _______ work on operant conditioning and behavior control.
A sexual image is a US that triggers a UR of interest or arousal. Before the advertisement pairs a product with a sexual image, the product is an NS. Over time the product can become a CS that triggers the CR of interest or arousal.
Cognitive map
a mental representation of the layout of one's environment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it. (p. 305)
Higher-order conditioning
a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. For example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone. (Also called second-order conditioning.) (p. 285)
In Pavlov's experiments, the tone started as a neutral stimulus, and then became a(n) ________________ stimulus.
Conditioned
Ty's mother is frustrated that he will not spend the time on his school work that he does practicing and playing baseball. Ty will spend hours practicing in the hot sun every summer day without a coach telling him to do so. Ty's dedication to baseball can be explained by:
extrinsic motivation.
An experimenter visits a preschool with a big box of magic markers and paper. The children are told that they can draw as many pictures as they want. The children enjoyed the task very much. On another visit the children are told that for every picture they draw they would earn a prize. Two weeks later when the experimenter returned he offered up the markers and papers for play but no prizes would be given. The children played very little with the markers because:
extrinsic rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation.
After Watson and Rayner classically conditioned Little Albert to fear a white rat, the child later showed fear in response to a rabbit, a dog, and a sealskin coat. This illustrates
generalization.
In Laurie's psychology laboratory she and her lab partner conditioned a rat to press a lever for food when a red light was on, but discovered that the rat would also press the lever when a white light was on. Laurie and her partner reported that the rat had exhibited _____ through _____ conditioning.
generalization; operant
Shaping is a method used by Skinner to:
guide an organism to exhibit a complex behavior using successive approximations.
Critics of B. F. Skinner were concerned that:
he dehumanized people because he ignored the existence of personal freedom and dignity.
If a child is watching a favorite sibling getting scolded for misbehavior, which type of neuron is likely to be activated in an empathic response to this observation?
mirror neuron
Johnny is hammering a nail with his toy hammer as his father is hammering the deck boards. His behavior is a clear example of:
modeling.
Children who have fathers who are incarcerated for committing violent crimes are at high risk for following the same path in life, unless the child is adopted near the time of his birth. Then, he is no more at risk for violence than the average child. This difference in outcome can be attributed to _____.
observational learning
In cultures around the world, toddlers learn to toilet train fastest when they are able to view others toileting. This follows the principles of _____.
observational learning
One chimp watches a second chimp solve a puzzle for a food reward. The first chimp then imitates how the second chimp solved the puzzle. This best illustrates:
observational learning.
instinctive drift
occurred as the animals reverted to their biologically predisposed patterns.
Generalization
the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses. (p. 286)
B.F. Skinner believed that external influences NOT _____, shape animal and human behavior.
thoughts and feelings
Two forms of associative learning are classical conditioning, in which the organism associates ________, and operant conditioning, in which the organism associates ________.
two or more stimuli; a response and consequence
In observational learning, the most effective models are those who:
use consistent actions and words.
Discrimination
(1) in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus. (2) in social psychology, unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members. (pp. 267, 538)
It is not unreasonable to predict that when today's U.S. teenagers are in their mid-70s, they will have watched TV for the equivalent of about _____ years.
9
Which of the following is an example of a biological constraint on conditioning?
An animal's unique characteristics and natural behavior patterns can influence what it is capable of learning.
Who was skinner, and how is operant behavior reinforced and shaped?
B. F. Skinner was a college English major and aspiring writer who later entered psychology graduate school. He became modern behaviorism's most influential and controversial figure. Operant behavior operates on the environment, producing consequences. Expanding on Edward Thorndike's law of effect, Skinner and others found that the behavior of rats or pigeons placed in an operant chamber (Skinner box) can be shaped by using reinforcers to guide closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.
Which pioneering learning researcher highlighted the antisocial effects of aggressive models on children's behavior?
Bandura (bobo doll experiment)
Biopsychosocial influences on learning Our learning results not only from environmental experiences, but also from cognitive and biological influences.
Biological Influences
vicarious reinforcement or vicarious punishment
By watching a model, we experience vicarious reinforcement or vicarious punishment, and we learn to anticipate a behavior's consequences in situations like those we are observing.
What is the impact of prosocial modeling and of antisocial modeling?
Children tend to imitate what a model does and says, whether the behavior being modeled is prosocial (positive, constructive, and helpful) or antisocial. If a model's actions and words are inconsistent, children may imitate the hypocrisy they observe.
How do biological constraints affect classical and operant conditioning?
Classical conditioning principles, we now know, are constrained by biological predispositions, so that learning some associations is easier than learning others. Learning is adaptive: Each species learns behaviors that aid its survival. Biological constraints also place limits on operant conditioning. Training that attempts to override biological constraints will probably not endure because animals will revert to predisposed patterns.
What have been some applications of pavlov's work to human health and well-being? How did Watson apply these principles to learned fears?
Classical conditioning techniques are used to improve human health and well-being in many areas, including behavioral therapy for some types of psychological disorders. The body's immune system may also respond to classical conditioning. Pavlov's work also provided a basis for Watson's idea that human emotions and behaviors, though biologically influenced, are mainly a bundle of conditioned responses. Watson applied classical conditioning principles in his studies of "Little Albert" to demonstrate how specific fears might be conditioned.
Why did skinner's ideas provoke controversy, and how might his operant conditioning principles be applied at school, in sports, at work, and at home?
Critics of Skinner's principles believed the approach dehumanized people by neglecting their personal freedom and seeking to control their actions. Skinner replied that people's actions are already controlled by external consequences, and that reinforcement is more humane than punishment as a means for controlling behavior. At school, teachers can use shaping techniques to guide students' behaviors, and they can use interactive software and websites to provide immediate feedback. In sports, coaches can build players' skills and self-confidence by rewarding small improvements. At work, managers can boost productivity and morale by rewarding well-defined and achievable behaviors. At home, parents can reward desired behaviors but not undesirable ones. We can shape our own behaviors by stating our goals, monitoring the frequency of desired behaviors, reinforcing desired behaviors, and gradually reducing rewards as behaviors become habitual.
Taste-aversion research has shown that some animals develop aversions to certain tastes but not to sights or sounds. This finding supports
Darwin's natural selection
successive approximations
First, you would watch how the animal naturally behaves, so that you could build on its existing behaviors. You might give the rat a bit of food each time it approaches the bar. Once the rat is approaching regularly, you would give the food only when it moves close to the bar, then closer still. Finally, you would require it to touch the bar to get food. With this method of successive approximations, you reward responses that are ever closer to the final desired behavior, and you ignore all other responses.
Why are habits, such as having something sweet with that cup of coffee, so hard to break?
Habits form when we repeat behaviors in a given context and, as a result, learn associations—often without our awareness. For example, we may have eaten a sweet pastry with a cup of coffee often enough to associate the flavor of the coffee with the treat, so that the cup of coffee alone just doesn't seem right anymore!
Henry, a heavy smoker, is interested in quitting. Given what is known about the cognitive processes involved in classical conditioning, what is the MOST likely reason he still has trouble quitting after he is treated with a drug that induces nausea when he smokes a cigarette?
He realizes his nausea is due to the drug, not simply the cigarette.
Ray drank too much tequila last night. He spent much of this morning vomiting and nauseated. According to the principles of classical conditioning, how will Ray likely react today when he tastes or smells the tequila bottle that he drank out of last night?
He will find the scent and taste of tequila aversive.
In slasher movies, sexually arousing images of women are sometimes paired with violence against women. Based on classical conditioning principles, what might be an effect of this pairing?
If viewing an attractive nude or seminude woman (a US) elicits sexual arousal (a UR), then pairing the US with a new stimulus (violence) could turn the violence into a conditioned stimulus (CS) that also becomes sexually arousing, a conditioned response (CR).
In classical conditioning, what are the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination?
In classical conditioning, acquisition is associating an NS with the US so that the NS begins triggering the CR. Acquisition occurs most readily when the NS is presented just before (ideally, about a half-second before) a US, preparing the organism for the upcoming event. This finding supports the view that classical conditioning is biologically adaptive. Through higher-order conditioning, a new NS can become a new CS. Extinction is diminished responding when the CS no longer signals an impending US. Spontaneous recovery is the appearance of a formerly extinguished response, following a rest period. Generalization is the tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to a CS. Discrimination is the learned ability to distinguish between a CS and other irrelevant stimuli.
How do cognitive processes affect classical and operant conditioning?
In classical conditioning, animals may learn when to expect a US and may be aware of the link between stimuli and responses. In operant conditioning, cognitive mapping and latent learning research demonstrate the importance of cognitive processes in learning. Other research shows that excessive rewards (driving extrinsic motivation) can undermine intrinsic motivation.
How does observational learning differ from associative learning? How may observational learning be enabled by mirror neurons?
In observational learning, as we observe and imitate others we learn to anticipate a behavior's consequences because we experience vicarious reinforcement or vicarious punishment. In associative learning, we merely learn associations between different events. Our brain's frontal lobes have a demonstrated ability to mirror the activity of another's brain. Some psychologists believe mirror neurons enable this process. The same areas fire when we perform certain actions (such as responding to pain or moving our mouth to form words) as when we observe someone else performing those actions.
How does operant conditioning differ from classical conditioning?
In operant conditioning, an organism learns associations between its own behavior and resulting events; this form of conditioning involves operant behavior (behavior that operates on the environment, producing rewarding or punishing consequences). In classical conditioning, the organism forms associations between stimuli—events it does not control; this form of conditioning involves respondent behavior (automatic responses to some stimulus).
What is operant conditioning?
In operant conditioning, behaviors followed by reinforcers increase; those followed by punishers often decrease.
Punishment teaches discrimination among situations.
In operant conditioning, discrimination occurs when an organism learns that certain responses, but not others, will be reinforced. Did the punishment effectively end the child's swearing? Or did the child simply learn that while it's not okay to swear around the house, it's okay to swear elsewhere?
Punishment can teach fear.
In operant conditioning, generalization occurs when an organism's response to similar stimuli is also reinforced. A punished child may associate fear not only with the undesirable behavior but also with the person who delivered the punishment or where it occurred. Thus, children may learn to fear a punishing teacher and try to avoid school, or may become more anxious (Gershoff et al., 2010). For such reasons, most European countries and most U.S. states now ban hitting children in schools and child-care institutions (stophitting.com). Thirty-three countries, including those in Scandinavia, further outlaw hitting by parents, providing children the same legal protection given to spouses.
What was behaviorism's view of learning?
Ivan Pavlov's work on classical conditioning laid the foundation for behaviorism, the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes. The behaviorists believed that the basic laws of learning are the same for all species, including humans.
Who was Pavlov, and what are the basic components of classical conditioning?
Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, created novel experiments on learning. His early twentieth-century research over the last three decades of his life demonstrated that classical conditioning is a basic form of learning. Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli. In classical conditioning, an NS is a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning. A UR is an event that occurs naturally (such as salivation), in response to some stimulus. A US is something that naturally and automatically (without learning) triggers the unlearned response (as food in the mouth triggers salivation). A CS is a previously neutral stimulus (such as a tone) that, after association with a US (such as food) comes to trigger a CR. A CR is the learned response (salivating) to the originally neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus.
Jason's parents and older friends all smoke, but they advise him not to. Juan's parents and friends don't smoke, but they say nothing to deter him from doing so. Will Jason or Juan be more likely to start smoking?
Jason may be more likely to smoke, because observational learning studies suggest that children tend to do as others do and say what they say.
The idea that an animal's natural behavior patterns did not matter and had little or no effect on the effectiveness of operant conditioning principles was challenged by research conducted by _____.
Keller and Marian Breland
What is learning, and what are some basic forms of learning?
Learning is the process of acquiring through experience new information or behaviors. In associative learning, we learn that certain events occur together. In classical conditioning, we learn to associate two or more stimuli (a stimulus is any event or situation that evokes a response). We associate stimuli that we do not control, and we respond automatically. This is called respondent behavior. In operant conditioning, we learn to associate a response and its consequences. These associations produce operant behaviors. Through cognitive learning, we acquire mental information that guides our behavior. For example, in observational learning, we learn new behaviors by observing events and watching others.
According to B. F. Skinner, which of the following alternatives to punishment represents the BEST method for reducing an undesirable behavior?
Mark is reinforced for working quietly in class instead of being punished for disrupting class.
Some scientists believe that the brain has __________ neurons that enable empathy and imitation.
Mirror
Which of the following neurons fire both when action is performed and when action is simply observed?
Mirror Neurons
An experimenter sounds a tone just before delivering an air puff to your blinking eye. After several repetitions, you blink to the tone alone. What is the NS? The US? The UR? The CS? The CR?
NS = tone before conditioning; US = air puff; UR = blink to air puff; CS = tone after conditioning; CR = blink to tone.
According to operant conditioning principles, which of the following would NOT be recommended when dealing with a young girl who is resistant to going to school every morning?
Parents should express their anger by yelling at the girl.
Why does pavlov's work remain so important?
Pavlov taught us that significant psychological phenomena can be studied objectively, and that classical conditioning is a basic form of learning that applies to all species.
Biopsychosocial influences on learning
Psychological Influences
How does punishment differ from negative reinforcement, and how does punishment affect behavior?
Punishment administers an undesirable consequence (such as spanking) or withdraws something desirable (such as taking away a favorite toy) in an attempt to decrease the frequency of a behavior (a child's disobedience). Negative reinforcement (taking an aspirin) removes an aversive stimulus (a headache). This desired consequence (freedom from pain) increases the likelihood that the behavior (taking aspirin to end pain) will be repeated. Punishment can have undesirable side effects, such as suppressing rather than changing unwanted behaviors; teaching aggression; creating fear; encouraging discrimination (so that the undesirable behavior appears when the punisher is not present); and fostering depression and feelings of helplessness.
How do positive and negative reinforcement differ, and what are the basic types of reinforcers?
Reinforcement is any consequence that strengthens behavior. Positive reinforcement adds a desirable stimulus to increase the frequency of a behavior. Negative reinforcement removes an aversive stimulus to increase the frequency of a behavior. Primary reinforcers (such as receiving food when hungry or having nausea end during an illness) are innately satisfying—no learning is required. Conditioned (or secondary) reinforcers (such as cash) are satisfying because we have learned to associate them with more basic rewards (such as the food or medicine we buy with them). Immediate reinforcers (such as a purchased treat) offer immediate payback; delayed reinforcers (such as a weekly paycheck) require the ability to delay gratification.
Ricky has had his driver's license for less than a year. Ricky absolutely loves driving any car. His love of driving gave him the idea of getting a job delivering pizza 25 hours a week. After having the job for 6 months one can predict that:
Ricky's love of driving would decrease.
The law of effect most clearly influenced:
Skinner's experiments on reinforcement.
Biopsychosocial influences on learning
Social Cultural Influences
Physical punishment may increase aggression by modeling aggression as a way to cope with problems.
Studies find that spanked children are at increased risk for aggression (MacKenzie et al., 2013). We know, for example, that many aggressive delinquents and abusive parents come from abusive families (Straus & Gelles, 1980; Straus et al., 1997).
Telemarketers are reinforced by which schedule? People checking the oven to see if the cookies are done are on which schedule? Airline frequent-flyer programs that offer a free flight after every 25,000 miles of travel are using which reinforcement schedule?
Telemarketers are reinforced on a variable-ratio schedule (after a varying number of calls). Cookie checkers are reinforced on a fixed-interval schedule. Frequent-flyer programs use a fixed-ratio schedule.
In Watson and Rayner's experiments, "Little Albert" learned to fear a white rat after repeatedly experiencing a loud noise as the rat was presented. In this experiment, what was the US? The UR? The NS? The CS? The CR?
The US was the loud noise; the UR was the fear response to the noise; the NS was the rat before it was paired with the noise; the CS was the rat after pairing; the CR was fear of the rat.
If the aroma of a baking cake sets your mouth to watering, what is the US? The CS? The CR?
The cake (and its taste) are the US. The associated aroma is the CS. Salivation to the aroma is the CR.
How does the cognitive view of classical conditioning differ from the traditional behaviorist perspective?
The cognitive view maintains that mental processes as well as external events are important components in the learning process.
Leonard is a heroin addict. He is very careful about overdosing. He typically shoots up in his basement apartment, but is now at a friend's house and needs a fix really badly. He's never done drugs at his friend's house before, but he's desperate. He injects his normal safe dosage of heroin but almost dies of an overdose. According to the principles of classical conditioning, what happened?
The effect of the heroin was increased because Leonard injected it in a strange environment and his body could not use the stimuli in his basement to prepare for it.
In the classical conditioning experiment by Robert Rescorla that involved two groups of rats, one group of rats heard a tone just before each of 20 shocks. The second group of rats experienced the same 20 tone-shock pairings but also experienced an additional 20 shocks that were not paired with a tone. How did the two groups differ?
The rats in the first group displayed a much stronger conditioned fear response to the tone than did the rats in the second group.
Punished behavior is suppressed, not forgotten.
This temporary state may (negatively) reinforce parents' punishing behavior. The child swears, the parent swats, the parent hears no more swearing and feels the punishment successfully stopped the behavior. No wonder spanking is a hit with so many U.S. parents of 3- and 4-year-olds—more than 9 in 10 of whom acknowledged spanking their children (Kazdin & Benjet, 2003).
The law of effect states that rewarded behavior is likely to recur; it is this psychologist's principle.
Thorndike
Law of effect
Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely. (p. 290)
According to Bandura's theory of observational learning, which of the following characteristics make portrayals of violence on television more likely to be imitated?
Violent behavior is performed by the hero or another attractive, high-status individual.
Stimulus
any event or situation that evokes a response. (p. 281)
How could your psychology instructor use negative reinforcement to encourage your attentive behavior during class?
Your instructor could reinforce your attentive behavior by taking away something you dislike. For example, your instructor could offer to shorten the length of an assigned paper or replace lecture time with an in-class activity. In both cases, the instructor would remove something aversive in order to negatively reinforce your focused attention.
Intrinsic motivation
a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake. (p. 305)
Extrinsic motivation
a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment. (p. 305)
Conditioned reinforcer (secondary reinforcer)
a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer. (p. 292)
Operant conditioning
a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher. (p. 290)
classical conditioning
a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events. (p. 282) We learn to expect and prepare for significant events such as food or pain. We learn to associate two stimuli and thus to anticipate events. one way that virtually all organisms learn to adapt to their environment.
In classical conditioning _____ is associating events where the CS announces the US, while in operant conditioning it is associating a response with a consequence (reinforcer or punisher).
acquisition
The first step of classical conditioning, when an NS becomes a CS, is called ______________. When a US no longer follows the CS, and the CR becomes weakened, this is called ______________.
acquisition, extinction
In using operant conditioning principles to train animals to perform tricks, Keller and Marian Breland found that:
an animal's inborn or instinctive behavior patterns could interfere with the operant conditioning of new behaviors.
Punishment
an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows. (p. 295)
Primary reinforcer
an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need. (p. 292)
Shaping
an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior. (p. 291)
Stimulus
any event or situation that evokes a response - We learn that a flash of lightning signals an impending crack of thunder; when lightning flashes nearby, we start to brace ourselves (FIGURE 21.1).
Respondent behavior
behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus. (p. 281)
Respondent behavior
behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus. (p. 281) We typically learn to repeat acts that bring rewards and avoid acts that bring unwanted results We associate stimuli that we do not control, and we respond automatically
Operant behavior
behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences. (p. 281)
Psychologist John Garcia found that rats did not learn to associate a taste with flashing lights and noise. However, rats do learn to associate a taste with getting ill. Which of the following concepts best accounts for this observation?
biological preparedness
Three-year-old Kirsten was playing with a balloon she was given by her father. While playing with the balloon it popped in her face, which frightened her and caused her to cry loudly. That weekend she was attending a birthday party, saw some balloons, began to cry, and ran out of the room. This is an example of:
classical conditioning
With __________ conditioning, we learn associations between events we do not control. With __________ conditioning, we learn associations between our behavior and resulting events.
classical; operant
Road construction prevents Binit from getting to campus using the route that he always travels. He thinks about the situation for a moment and then comes up with a different route to take. To figure out this alternative route, Binit is using his _____ of the area to devise a different route.
cognitive map
After repeatedly drinking alcohol spiked with a nauseating drug, people with alcohol use disorder may fail to develop an aversion to alcohol because they blame their nausea on the drug. This illustrates the importance of ________ in classical conditioning.
cognitive processes
Evidence that cognitive processes play an important role in learning comes in part from studies in which rats
develop cognitive maps
Dogs have been taught to salivate to a circle but not to a square. This process is an example of .
discrimination
Most experts agree that repeated viewing of media violence
dulls viewers' sensitivity to violence
A restaurant is running a special deal. After you buy four meals at full price, your fifth meal will be free. This is an example of a ________ schedule of reinforcement.
fixed-ratio
Scott received a great money-saving credit card offer in the mail complete with a frequent-flyer reward program. He reads on further to find that the one mile for every dollar spent may not be such a great offer after all because he gets a $500 airline ticket only after he acquires 25,000 miles or spend $25,000. This is a _____ schedule.
fixed-ratio
Mirror neurons
frontal lobe neurons that some scientists believe fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation and empathy. (p. 307) Cognitive imitation Monkey A (left) watched Monkey B touch four pictures on a display screen in a certain order to gain a banana. Monkey A learned to imitate that order, even when shown the same pictures in a different configuration (Subiaul et al., 2004). human predisposition to learn from watching adults that 2-to 5-year-old children overimitate
Darwin's principles of evolution suggest that it would be easiest to classically condition an association that _____.
improves odds of survival
Conditioned response (CR):
in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS). (p. 284)
Neutral stimulus (NS)
in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning. (p. 283)
Unconditioned stimulus (US):
in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers an unconditioned response (UR). (p. 283) in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (US) (such as food in the mouth). (p. 283)
Conditioned stimulus (CS):
in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR). (p. 284)
Unconditioned response (UR)
in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (US) (such as food in the mouth). (p. 283)
Acquisition
in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response. (p. 284)
Operant chamber
in operant conditioning research, a chamber (also known as a Skinner box) containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal's rate of bar pressing or key pecking. (p. 290)
Variable-ratio schedule
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses. (p. 294)
Variable-interval schedule
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals. (p. 294)
Fixed-ratio schedule
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses. (p. 294)
Fixed-interval schedule
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed. (p. 294)
Reinforcement
in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows. (p. 291)
Positive reinforcement
increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response. (p. 292)
Negative reinforcement
increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Note: Negative reinforcement is not punishment.) (p. 292)
Learning is defined as "the process of acquiring through experience new and relatively enduring ________________ or ________________.
information ; behaviors
Juan easily taught his cat to jump through a hoop for the reward of food, but could not get his cat to fetch a ball and return the ball to him. The cat would chase the ball but use his paws to roll the ball so he could chase the ball again. The reason the cat had difficulties with fetching the ball was because of:
instinctive drift.
If a parent wants to increase the amount of time a child spends reading as opposed to playing video games, the parent will need to increase the _____ of reading.
intrinsic motivation
Marcus is taking advanced placement chemistry in high school because he loves science and is fascinated by chemistry experimentation. Wade is taking advanced placement chemistry because his guidance counselor told him he had to if he intended to apply to a pre-med program at a competitive university. Marcus is motivated by _____, while Wade is motivated by _____.
intrinsic motivation; extrinsic motivation
Rats that explored a maze without any reward were later able to run the maze as well as other rats that had received food rewards for running the maze. The rats that had learned without reinforcement demonstrated ________ ________.
latent learning
Conditioning is the process of:
learning associations.
Observational learning
learning by observing others. (p. 306)
Associative learning
learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning). (p. 281)
Latent learning
learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it. (p. 305)
Researchers often find it more challenging to train dolphins rather than dogs, even though dolphins are smarter. One of the reasons for this difficulty is that dolphins have _____ shared evolutionary heritage with humans than dogs, so they condition to stimuli that is different than what will affect dogs and humans.
less
Teaching a dog to touch a target with its nose is fairly easy, because it works with the dog's _____.
natural instinct
Nanette's daughter refused to brush her teeth and threw her toys across the room. Nanette gave her daughter a 20-minute time-out. This is an example of a(n):
negative punishment
Michael is busy with the work project that he brought home. His son wants him to put a movie in the DVD player. Michael tells him to wait 10 minutes; however, his son whines and complains so much that Michael decides to put the movie in right now. This best illustrates the value of:
negative reinforcement.
Your dog is barking so loudly that it's making your ears ring. You clap your hands, the dog stops barking, your ears stop ringing, and you think to yourself, "I'll have to do that when he barks again." The end of the barking was for you a
negative reinforcer
Observational learning
one form of cognitive learning, lets us learn from others' experiences. Chimpanzees, for example, sometimes learn behaviors merely by watching others perform them. If one animal sees another solve a puzzle and gain a food reward, the observer may perform the trick more quickly. So, too, in humans: We look and we learn.
At work, there is a vending machine that gives extra candy bars when either the "a" or "b" choice is selected. Employees continue to frequent this machine regularly. This best illustrates:
operant conditioning.
If children get attention for doing cartwheels, they will repeat the trick if they find this attention to be enjoyable. This best illustrates:
operant conditioning.
Reinforcing a desired response only some of the times it occurs is called reinforcement.
partial
Anne has been working nights and weekends to get a project completed at work. She is successful, and a couple of weeks later she comes into work and her boss presents her with a bonus check. This best illustrates the value of:
positive reinforcement.
Prosocial behavior
positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior. (p. 310)
Research on the role of cognitive processes in learning indicates that the strength of a conditioned response (CR) depends primarily on the ________ of the CS-US association.
predictability
A medieval proverb notes that "a burnt child dreads the fire." In operant conditioning, the burning would be an example of a
punisher
Findings from Garcia's research on taste aversion in rats indicate that:
rats are more likely to develop aversions to taste than they are to sights or sounds.
Partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule
reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement. (p. 293)
Continuous reinforcement schedule
reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs. (p. 293)
Salivating in response to a tone paired with food is a(n) __________ behavior; pressing a bar to obtain food is a(n) __________ behavior.
respondent; operant
One way to change behavior is to reward natural behaviors in small steps, as they get closer and closer to the desired behavior. This process is called:
shaping
In teaching her son to play basketball, Mrs. Richards initially reinforces him with praise for simply dribbling while standing still, then only for walking while dribbling, and finally only for running while dribbling. She is using a procedure known as:
shaping.
A guest will be spending time in a classroom. To make sure the students imitate this person's prosocial behaviors, the teacher should pick a guest who the children think is:
similar to them.
Thorndike's law of effect was the basis for _______ work on operant conditioning and behavior control.
skinner's
ecologically relevant
something similar to stimuli associated with sexual activity in the natural environment, such as the stuffed head of a female quail.
Garcia and Koelling's _____________ ______________ studies showed that conditioning can occur even when the unconditioned stimulus (US) does not immediately follow the neutral stimulus (NS).
taste - aversion
Coyotes who have been fed sheep carcasses that have been laced with a nausea-inducing poison are less likely to prey on sheep in the wild. This phenomenon is best explained by which classical conditioning phenomenon?
taste aversion learning
Cognitive learning
the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language. (p. 282)
Cognitive learning
the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language. (p. 282) We learn new behaviors by observing events and watching others, and through language, we learn things we have neither experienced nor observed
Extinction
the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced. (p. 285)
Learning
the process of acquiring through experience new information or behaviors. (p. 280)
Modeling
the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior. (p. 306)
Spontaneous recovery
the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response. (p. 285)
Ever since she foolishly drank too much tequila at a rock concert and vomited all over her best friend, Erin becomes nauseous at the smell or taste of tequila. In this example, the conditioned stimulus is _____ and the conditioned response is _____.
the smell or taste of tequila; nausea
Behaviorism
the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2). (pp. 4, 282)
Desensitization and imitation are two factors that contribute to:
the violence-viewing effect.
Parents are most effective in getting their children to imitate them if
their words and actions are consistent.
Four-year-old Katie observed Maggie, two years younger, begin to cry when she fell down. Katie immediately ran over to Maggie and patted her on the back and told her everything would be alright. She even began to cry herself. Katie's ability to infer Maggie's mental and emotional state is an example of:
theory of mind.
Because she is responsible for overseeing the servicing and repair of her company's fleet of cars, Rhonda frequently calls the garage mechanic to inquire whether service on various cars has been completed. Because service completion times are unpredictable, she is likely to be reinforced with positive responses to her inquiries on a _____ schedule.
variable-interval
The partial reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after unpredictable time periods is a ________ schedule.
variable-interval
According to Bandura, we learn by watching models because we experience ________ reinforcement or ________ punishment.
vicarious - vicarious
Seven-year-old Mark likes to watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles every day after school. When the program is finished, he meets his friends in his back yard and they playfully drop kick each other over and over. This eventually leads to real fighting between the children. This is an example of the:
violence-viewing effect
operant conditioning
we learn to associate a response (our behavior) and its consequence. Thus we (and other animals) learn to repeat acts followed by good results and avoid acts followed by bad results
