PSY Chapter 8
Professor McMann loves to give pop quizzes in his psychology class. Students are always studying for this class because they never know when Professor McMann will give the next quiz. Sometimes he gives a pop quiz every other class session. Sometimes he gives a pop quiz every third session, and sometimes he even gives a pop quiz every class session. Professor McMann is using which schedule of reinforcement to keep his students studying?
Variable interval
The reinforcement schedule that typically yields the highest response rate is the _________ schedule of reinforcement.
Variable ratio
What is behavior modification?
a formalized technique based on operant conditioning that has been used to help people stop smoking and stick to a diet
Fixed-Ration (FR) Schedule
a pattern of intermittent reinforcement in which reinforcement follows a set number of responses EX: a worker being paid by the number of unites he or she produces, whether the units are pajama sets or pizza delivered. a worker whose wages or tips depend on the number he or she produces will work faster, possibly risking injury, to make more money.
Fixed-Interval (FI) Schedule
a pattern of intermittent reinforcement in which responses are always reinforced after a set period of time has passed; response rate accelerates as the time of reinforcement approaches EX: one's studying behavior before and after a test. if tests are given every 4 weeks, students learn that immediately after the test their performance will not be evaluated, so we would expect to see a drop in rate of studying at that time. the same is true of class attendance before and after exams.
Variable-Interval (VI) Schedule
a pattern of intermittent reinforcement in which responses are reinforced after time periods of different duration have passed; produce a steady, moderate rate of response EX: suppose you are trying to reach a good friend on the phone but every time you call you get her voicemail. you can tell she is on the line already, so you keep calling back every few minutes to see if she is off. her conversation can only last so long. eventually, she will pick up the phone (your reward), but the wait time is unpredictable. reinforcement follows this type of schedule.
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)
developed by Ivar Lovaas at UCLA, uses reinforcement to increase the frequency of adaptive behaviors in autistic children and, in some cases, punishment to decrease the likelihood of maladaptive behaviors
The ability to differentiate between two similar stimuli, one of which is associated with__________.
discrimination
What did Bandura call learning by doing?
enactive learning
Learning
enduring changes in behavior that occur with experience
Stimulus Generalization
extension of the association between UCS and CS to include a broad array of similar stimuli EX: for several years, S
Between introverts and extraverts, who is more likely to smoke?
extraverts
In the classic "Little Albert" study, the baby was conditioned to
fear white rats and other white fluffy objects
Behaviorism aims to study behavior in what ways?
measurable
Without the connections between learning and _________, we could not process, retain or make use of new information.
memory
Unlike operant conditioning, classical conditioning typically involves:
involuntary behavior
Classical conditioning modifies __________ behavior while operant conditioning modifies _________ behavior.
involuntary;voluntary
________ neurons are at least partially responsible for the modeling behavior exhibited in observational learning.
mirror
What is the process of observing and imitating behaviors performed by others?
modeling
When a child tells a doll not to eat too much candy after having been told so by its mother, this is an example of ________.
modeling
What are two examples of secondary reinforcers?
money & praise
Positive reinforcement occurs when something that an individual wants ___________ in an effort to increase a behavior:
is presented to that individual
Learning that occurs without any reinforcement and isn't apparent until the reinforcement is given is known as
latent learning
With what kind of learning can a new behavior be learned but won't be exhibited until an incentive is provided?
latent learning
Instinctive Drift
learned behavior that shifts toward instinctive, unlearned behavior tendencies
What is an instinctive drift?
learned behavior that shifts toward instinctive, unlearned behavior tendencies
Kenneth is three years old. He doesn't want to go to the doctor's office because, "Doctors give you shots." This is an example of
learning
The essence of _________ involves acquiring new knowledge, skills, values, or behaviors.
learning
Enactive Learning
learning by doing
What is enactive learning?
learning by doing
Observational Learning
learning by watching the behavior of others
As learning occurs over time, researchers can plot a _________ to illustrate the change.
learning curve
Latent Learning
learning that occurs in the absence of reinforcement and is not demonstrated until later, when reinforcement occurs
Learning by others takes
less time than learning by trial and error and is more efficient
Having your car keys confiscated because you came home late is an example of _______ because it will decrease your behavior of staying out late.
negative punishment
Laura watched a public service announcement to curb smoking in which a young boy describes how his mother died from lung cancer after smoking for twenty years. In this example the unconditioned response would be
sadness regarding the mother's death
On a variable _________, individuals cannot predict when reinforcement will occur.
schedule of reinforcement
__________ reinforcers are learned by classical conditioning.
secondary
Rewards that appear to come with smoking, such as peer acceptance and looking like an adult, are examples of
secondary reinforcers
Jake is trying to teach his dog Peach how to roll over. He first gives Peach a treat whenever Peach sits. Next, he no longer rewards Peach for sitting but rather gives Peach a treat when the dog actually lies down. Finally, Jake rewards Peach only when the dog rolls over. Jake is using ________ to train peach to roll over.
shaping
What is a type of conditioning that involves gradually reinforcing behaviors that come closer and closer to the desired target behavior describes the process of?
shaping
The acquisition of smoking behavior is perhaps best explained by
social learning theory
Forward Conditioning
the neutral stimulus being presented just before the UCS
The automatic shift of attention toward a new stimulus is known as
the orienting response
Which theorist proposed social learning theory and suggested that observation and modeling were major components of learning?
Albert Bandura
Who developed social learning theory?
Albert Bandura
A child sees her lunch box and then feels hunger pangs. In this example, the hunger pangs are a(n)
CR
Edwin Employer pays his workers at 5:00pm every Friday. Edwin is using which schedule of reinforcement to reward his employees?
Fixed interval
The _________ schedule of reinforcement reinforces behavior only after a specific number of responses are made.
Fixed ratio
Cara and Mike want to learn how to rebuild car engines. Mike watches his father rebuild an engine on an old car. His dad explains the process to Mike and shows him the tools that are necessary for the procedure. Cara gets a book from the library and goes home to try to rebuild an engine that she picked up from the junkyard. She follows the steps in the book. Which of the following correctly describes the types of learning taking place here?
Cara is using enactive learning, and Mike is using observational learning
Behavior that is rewarded some but not all of the time is a ________ schedule or reinforcement.
Intermittent
Conditioned Response (CR)
a behavior that an organism learns to perform when presented with the CS
What is a Skinner box?
a chamber with a food dispenser and a response lever used for operant conditioning
Social Learning Theory
a description of the kind of learning that occurs when we model the behavior of others
What is conditioning?
a form of associative learning in which a behavior becomes more likely because the organism associates that behavior with certain events in its environment
Classical Conditioning
a form of associative learning in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus to which one has an automatic, inborn response
Conditioning
a form of associative learning in which behaviors are triggered by association with events in the envrionment
Variable-Ratio (VR) Schedule
a pattern of intermittent reinforcement in which the number of responses needed for reinforcement changes EX: a slot machine is an example of a device that delivers reinforcement on this schedule. the player cannot know how many pulls of the slow machine arm it will take to win. one one occasion it might take just one pull to win a small jackpot. other times dozens of quarters might be spent before winning.
Association
a process by which two pieces of information from the environment are repeatedly linked, so that we begin to connect them in our minds
Skinner Box
a simple chamber in which a small animal can move around, with a food dispenser and a response lever to trigger food delivery a small region of the floor can be set up to deliver a shock as a punisher. the rats learn through punishment to avoid that region of the floor.
Punishment
a stimulus that decreases the frequency of that behavior punishers decrease the frequency of a behavior, while negative reinforcers increase desired behaviors, so they cannot be punishers
What is a neutral stimulus?
a stimulus that doesn't cause a response unless it is associated with a UCS
Biological Constraint Model
a view on learning which proposes that some behaviors are inherently more likely to be learned than others
Positive punishment is the:
addition of a stimulus to decrease a behavior
Which statement most clearly explains the meaning of 'unconditioned'?
an 'unlearned' response that is reflexive in nature
Reinforcer
an internal or external event that increases the frequency of a behavior
What is learning?
any permanent change in behavior brought on by experience
What is the central assumption to Thorndike's "law of effect?"
any response that leads to a satisfying experience is more likely to be repeated
Through experience, we learn to
associate one experience with another
Dr. Barrett runs a smoking cessation clinic. At his clinic, he uses a technique where he provides operant conditioning to change the smoking behavior. He also offers patients nicotine gum to chew between sessions. What type of technique is Dr. Barrett applying?
behavior modification
Which view of learning says that some behaviors are inherently more likely to be learned than others?
biological constraint model
What is the best way to think about positive and negative reinforcement?
both strengthen behavior but positive reinforcement means something is added and negative reinforcement means something is removed
How does food in the mouth cause a dog to salivate?
by stimulating a reflexive response
Which of the following is an example of a primary reinforcer?
catching a fish and eating it
What is the form of associative learning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus to which the subject has an automatic inborn response?
classical conditioning
While he was studying digestion in dogs, Pavlov discovered ___________ by accident.
classical conditioning
Which two learning theories have primarily been used to help make smoking seem less rewarding?
classical conditioning & operant conditioning
A ___________ stimulus is previous neutral stimulus that one learns to associate with the UCS.
conditioned
A neutral stimulus initially produces no response, yet a _________ stimulus produces a learned response.
conditioned
After "Little Albert" was _________ to fear white rats, he also feared similar objects such as white rabbits.
conditioned
What are key concepts in classical conditioning?
conditioned stimuli & conditioned response
Every morning when Laurie clicks her alarm to the off position, her dogs know that it is time to go outside. This is an example of learned...
conditioning
Bob Boss rewards his telemarketers with &5 every time they make a phone call. What type of reinforcement is Bob using?
continuous reinforcement
Jillian, a stat-at-home mother, watches a lot of daytime television. During the day, Charmin toilet paper runs lots of television ads. Jillian always smiles when she sees these ads because they have so many cute babies on them. When Jillian is shopping at her local market, she finds herself smiling when she is in the toilet paper section, especially when she is near the Charmin toilet paper. In this example, the unconditioned stimulus(I) is(are) the
cute babies
________ ratio reinforcement follows a set number of responses.
fixed ratio
Reflexes
fixed stimulus-response pattern
When trying to pair conditioned stimuli to unconditioned stimuli, the unconditioned stimulus:
follows the conditioned stimulus
What are some examples of operant conditioning?
getting an allowance after completing chores, getting spanked for running in the street, & getting relief from pain after taking an aspirin
Which of the following is an example of positive punishment?
getting spanked for running in the street
What does conditioned taste aversion explain?
if we eat a particular food and it makes us extremely ill, we will be less likely to eat it in the future
Which of the following statements about imprinting is false?
imprinting occurs in all species, including humans
Positive reinforcement _________ increases the likelihood that a behavior will occur again.
increases
Identify the key conclusion drawn from Bandura's Bobo Doll experiments.
initial studies demonstrated the power of modeling in the learning of aggression
Primary Reinforcers
innate, unlearned reinforcers that are learned by association, usually via classical conditioning EX: food, water, or sex
To increase productivity, the clown factory decides to have a contest. The person who completes the most clowns on Monday does not have to come to work on Tuesday. The factory is using ________ as a motivator.
negative reinforcement
When removal of a stimulus in response to a behavior increases the frequency of that behavior, ____________ is said to have occurred.
negative reinforcement
In classical conditioning, a stimulus that does not bring about a response of interest is a _________ stimulus.
neutral
Skinner and Watson ignored the role of cognitive and brain processes in learning because these could not be
observd
Edward Thorndike's study, which involved placing food deprived cats in a puzzle box and then recording the time it took for the cat to escape, was used to support which view of learning?
operant conditioning
What kind of conditioning has occurred when the consequences of an action influence the likelihood that the behavior will be displayed again?
operant conditioning
Which of the following types of learning helps maintain smoking behavior?
operant conditioning
Which of the following is not an example of learning because it disappears immediately with a slight change in the stimulus?
orienting response
When comparing observational learning in humans and nonhuman primates it appears that...
other primates are more likely than humans to mimic the specific details of an observed behavior
Schedules of Reinforcement
pattern of intermittent reinforcement distinguished by whether reinforcement occurs after a set number of responses or after a certain amount of time has passed since the last reinforcement
What behavior do rats engage in while in a "Skinner box?"
perform a behavior
How is the neutral stimulus related to the CS?
the neutral stimulus becomes the CS once conditioning has occurred
The clown factory's bosses also do not like mistakes. If a worker forgets to put a nose on a clown, the bosses publicly scold the worker. This behavioral tactic is an example of _________.
positive punishment
Julie works at a factory that produces toy clowns. As the toy clowns come down the assembly line it is Julie's job to add a red nose to each clown as the last step in completing each toy. For every 100 clowns Julie completes, she receives $10.00, which is a(n)
positive reinforcement
Which of the following are processes in operant conditioning that increase the probability that a behavior will be repeated?
positive reinforcement & negative reinforcement
Water, food, and sex are all considered _________ reinforcers.
primary
_________ reinforcers are innate, whereas _________ reinforcers are learned.
primary;secondary
Any stimulus that decreases the frequency of a behavior is a(n)
punishment
Punishment will tend to:
reduce the frequency of a behavior
If Coach Winner wants to use shaping successfully to teach Betsy Beginner how to serve a tennis ball, he should
reinforce Betsy for correctly tossing the ball, then for correctly swinging her racket, then for correctly hitting the ball, and finally for aiming the ball into the correct box
Both positive and negative __________ increases the likelihood that a behavior will occur again.
reinforcement
Continuous Reinforcement
reinforcement of a behavior every time it occurs
Intermittent Reinforcement
reinforcement of a behavior--but not after every response
Secondary (Conditioned) Reinforcers
reinforcers that are learned by association, usually via classical conditioning EX: money, grades, & peer approval
Which of the following is an example of a negative reinforcer that helps maintain smoking behaviors in an individual?
removal of social isolation for some smokers
John Watson and B.F. Skinner took the position that all learning was a function of either ________ or ________, both of which come from the outside environment.
stimuli; consequences
________ occurs when a conditioned response (CR) occurs only after the exact conditioned stimulus (CS) to which it was conditioned.
stimulus discrimination
The association between a UCS and CS can be extended to include more stimuli (more stimuli related to the CS can elicit the CR). What is this phenomenon called?
stimulus generalization
When two similar, but different, stimuli elicit the same conditioned response, __________ _____________ has occurred.
stimulus generalization
Positive reinforcement _________ and negative reinforcement _________.
strengthens behavior by adding a stimulus; strengthens behavior by removing a stimulus
Learning, in a biological sense, is the growth and strengthening of new
synapses
In operant conditioning, what does it mean to say a response has been strengthened or weakened?
that responses are more or less likely to occur predictably
Positive Punishment
the addition of a stimulus that decreases behavior
In Garcia's experiment on conditioned taste aversion with rats, what was the dependent variable?
the amount of saccharin water the rats consumed
Law of Effect
the consequences of a behavior increase (or decrease) the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated
Unconditioned Response (UCR)
the environmental input that always produces the same unlearned response the meat powder that always produced the salivation
Modeling
the imitation of behaviors performed by others
What is the idea that consequences of a behavior can increase or decrease the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated?
the law of effect
Conditioned Taste Aversion
the learned avoidance of a particular taste or food
What is a fixed ratio schedule?
the pattern of intermittent reinforcement in which reinforcement follows a set number of responses
What is a variable interval schedule?
the pattern of intermittent reinforcement in which responses are reinforced after time periods of different duration have passed
What is a variable ratio schedule?
the pattern of intermittent reinforcement in which the number of responses needed for reinforcement changes
Positive Reinforcement
the presentation or addition of a stimulus after a behavior occurs that increases how often that behavior will occur
Operant Conditioning
the process of changing behavior by manipulating the consequences of that behavior
Imprinting
the rapid and innate learning of the characteristics of a caregiver within a very short period of time after birth
What is a learning curve?
the rate at which learning occurs over time
Shaping
the reinforcement of successive approximations of a desired behavior
Negative Reinforcement
the removal of a stimulus after a behavior to increase the frequency of that behavior
Negative punishment is
the removal of a stimulus to decrease a behavior
Negative Punishment
the removal of a stimulus to decrease behavior
Stimulus Discrimination
the restriction of a CR (such a salivation) to only the exact CS to which it was conditioned
Ethology
the scientific study of animal behavior
What is ethology?
the study of animal behavior
Albert Bandura created
the study on aggression with the Bobo-Doll
What part of the brain controls or modulates learning?
the subcortical structures
What is spontaneous recovery?
the sudden reappearance of an extinguished response
Spontaneous Recovery
the sudden reappearance of extinguished response
Extinction
the weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response in the absence of reinforcement; occurs when the UCS is no longer paired with the CS
_________ is the conditioned stimulus and ________ is the conditioned response in the above example
toilet paper; smiling
What are all of the components that are considered applications of operant conditioning?
treatment of self-harming behaviors, treatment for suicidal teens, modifying behaviors, & treatment of autism
What kind of stimulus always produces the same unlearned response?
unconditioned
Jillian's smiling at the cute babies is a(n)
unconditioned response
When a dog salivates upon tasting food, the salivation is called the:
unconditioned response
You see a purple light and immediately receive a mild electric shock. This happens several times. You eventually cringe at the site of the purple light. When you cringe as the electric shock hits you, yo are displaying a(n)
unconditioned response
When a dog salivates after having food placed in its mouth, the food is called the __________ stimulus.
unconditioned stimulus
An example of __________ ratio is when someone plays the slot machines waiting for the jackpot.
variable ratio
An example of ___________ ratio is when someone plays the slot machines waiting for the jackpot.
variable ratio
What is extinction?
when a previously conditioned response decreases and eventually disappears
What is a fixed interval schedule?
when a reinforcement follows the first response after a set amount of time
Backward Conditioning
when the neutral stimulus follows the UCS; this conditioning is less successful
