unit 4 Flashcards
what is learning and what are some basic forms of learning?
learning is the process if acquiring new and relatively enduring info 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. in operant conditioning, we learn to associate a response and its consequences. through cognitive learning, we acquire mental info that guides our behavior. for example, in observational learning, we learn new behaviors by observing events and watching others.
what are the basic components of classical conditioning and what was behaviorism’s view 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 in response to some stimulus. a US is something that naturally and automatically (without learning) triggers the unlearned response. a CS is a previously neutral stimulus that, after association with a US, comes to trigger a CR. a CR is the learned response to the originally neutral (now conditioned) stimulus. 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.
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 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. extiniction 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.
what is operant conditioning and how is operant behavior shaped and reinforced?
in operant conditioning, behaviors followed by reinforcers increase; those followed by punishers often decrease. expanding on thorndike’s law of effect, BF Skinner ande others found that the behavior of rats or pigeons placed in SKinners operant chamber can be shaped using reinforcers to guide closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.
how do positive and negative reinforcement differ and what are the basic types of reinforcer?
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 are innately satisfying and require no learning. conditioned reingforcers are satisfying because we have learned to associate them with more basic rewards. immediate offer immediate payback, delayed reinforcers require the ability to delay gratification.
how do reinforcement schedules affect behavior?
a reinforcement schedule defines how often a response will be reinforced. in continuous reinforcement, learning is rapid but so is extinction. in partial (intermittent) reinforcement, initial leanring is wloer but the behavior is much more resistant to extinction. fixed ration schedules reinforce behaviors after a set number of responses; variable ratio schedules, after an unpredictable number of reposnses. fixed interval schedules reinforce behaviors after a set time period; variable interval schedules, after unpredictable time periods.
how does punishment differ from reinforcement and how does punishment affect behavior?
punishment administers an undesirable consequence or withdraws something desirable in an attempt to decrease the frequency of a behavior. negative reinforcement removes an aversive stimulus. this desired consequence increases the liklihood that the behavior will be repeated. punishment can have undesirable side effects, such as supressing 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 low self esteem.
how do biological constraints affect classical and operant conditioning?
classical conditioning principles 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 contstraints will probably not endure because animals will revert to predisposed patterns.
what is observational learning and how do some scientists believe it is 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 reinforcements/punishments. our brain’s frontal lobes have a demonstrated ability to mirror the activity of another’s brain. the same areas fire when we perform certain actions (such as responding to pain or moving our mouths to form words), as when we observe someone else performing those actions.
what is the impact of prosocial modeling and antisocial modeling?
children tend to imitate what a model says and does, whether the behavior modeled is prosocial or antisocial. if the model’s actions and words are inconsistent, children may imitate the hypocrisy the observe.
