Psychology 6.1 What Is Learning?
learning
___ like reflexes and instincts, allows an organism to adapt to its environment
reflexes
a motor or neural reaction to a specific stimulus in the environment
learning
a relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge that result from experience
behaviorism
all the approaches covered in this chapter are part of a particular tradition in psychology called what?
reflexes and instincts
both __ and __ help an organism adapt to its environment and do not have to be learned
pavlovian
classical conditioning is also known as what?
unconscious
classical conditioning tends to involve __ processes
unlearned behaviors
dogs shake water off wet fur; salmon swim upstream to spawn; spiders spin intricate webs
knee jerk flex and the contraction of the pupil in bright light
give an example of a reflex
sexual activity and migration
give an example of an instinct
when you see a flash of lighting in the sky during storm and then hear a loud boom of thunder; the sound of the thunder naturally makes you jump; because lightning reliably predicts the impending boom of thunder; you may associate the two and jump when you see lightning
give an example of classical conditioning
observation of a dad surfing helping a son surf
give an example of observational conditioning
you teaching your dog to sit; you tell him to sit and give him a treat when he does; after repeated experiences, the dog begins to associate the act of sitting with receiving a treat; he learns that the consequence of sitting is that he gets a soggy biscuit; conversely if the dog is punished when exhibiting a behavior, it becomes conditioned to avoid that behavior like receiving a small shock when crossing the boundary of an invisible fence
give an example of operant conditioning
watching others and then imitating what they do
in contrast to classical and operant conditioning, in which learning occurs only through direct experience, observational learning is the process of what?
instincts
innate behaviors that are triggered by a reader range of events such as aging and the change of seasons
simplest components;
learning has traditionally been studied in terms of its ___ ; the associations our minds automatically make between events
experience
learning involves acquiring knowledge and skills though ___
social and cognitive
observational learning adds __- and __ layers to all the basic associative processes, both conscious and unconscious
associative learning
occurs when an organism makes connections between stimuli or events that occur together in the environment
conscious
operant conditioning tends to involve ___ processes
operant conditioning
organisms learn again to associate events- a behavior and its consequence (reinforcement or punishment)
classical conditioning
organisms learn to associate events- or stimuli that repeatedly happen together
behaviors
psychologists who study classical conditioning, they study what?
change and experience
unlike instincts and reflexes, learned behaviors involve ___ and __
classical conditioning
we experience this process throughout our daily lives