Chapter 5

Question 1

Learning

Answer 1

a relatively permanent change in the capacity for behavior as a result of experience

Question 2

Learning in behavior

Answer 2

the mechanisms that underlie behavior. Learning can’t be observed directly; it has to be inferred from behavior.

Question 3

Learning in performance

Answer 3

turning capacity/ability into action/behavior

Question 4

What doesn’t count as learning?

Answer 4

reflexes and basic growth development

Question 5

Why study learning?

Answer 5

Learning is ubiquitous—everywhere, it’s important—adaptive, and application of learning principles is valuable

Question 6

Single event learning

Answer 6

learning about one thing

Question 7

Non associative learning

Answer 7

does not involve associating one event with another

Question 8

Habituation

Answer 8

decrease in the response to a stimulus with repeated experiences with it, also called desensitization

Question 9

Sensitization

Answer 9

increase in the response to a stimulus with repeated experiences with it

Question 10

2 event associative learning

Answer 10

learning to associate one event with another

Question 11

Pavlov and classical conditioning

Answer 11

a form of learning in which a response elicited by one stimulus becomes elicited by a previously neutral stimulus

Question 12

Pavlov’s dog experiment

Answer 12

unconditioned stimulus (food) causes unconditioned response (salivation). Neutral stimulus (tuning fork/bell) causes no conditioned response (no salivation). You pair neutral stimulus (tuning fork/bell) with unconditioned stimulus (food), it will cause unconditioned response (salivation). Eventually, the neutral stimulus (tuning fork/bell) will cause a conditioned response (salivations) after a while

Question 13

Classical conditioning vs. operant conditioning

Answer 13

classical conditioning doesn’t require behavior to obtain a significant event, while operant conditioning requires behavior to obtain a significant event. Pavlov’s dog gets food without having to do anything to get it, while the rat has to learn to pull the lever in order to get the food

Question 14

Extinction (study of learning)

Answer 14

extinction is a conditioning procedure for weakening and eliminating learned behaviors

Question 15

Extinction (classical conditioning)

Answer 15

when the CS is presented without the US, and the CS no longer produces to CR, the CR is extinguished

Question 16

Stimulus generalization

Answer 16

tendency to respond to new stimuli similar to stimuli that have been conditioned

Question 17

Stimulus discrimination

Answer 17

tendency not to respond to stimuli that are different form the stimuli that have been conditioned

Question 18

Spontaneous recovery

Answer 18

after extinction, present the CS itself after a rest period (US and CS isn’t present) and the CR, which had disappeared, reappears

Question 19

Fear conditioning

Answer 19

conditioned emotional response (CER) laboratory procedure for studying fear conditioning. John B. Watson’s Little Albert experiment with the white rat

Question 20

Conditioned taste aversion

Answer 20

learn to associate the smell and taste of harmful food with the illness it produces and thus learn to dislike and avoid the food in the future

Question 21

CTA…

Answer 21

Certain conditioned response are learned very easily, like we are prepared to learn them, other responses are learned with great difficulty
A biological predisposition (nature) to learn (nurture) certain behaviors
Conditioned taste aversions are easily formed when we eat food and get sick. We avoid eating that food again even if it wasn’t the food that caused the sickness

Question 22

Conditioning of the immune system

Answer 22

accidentally discovered and an example of serendipity

Question 23

Classical conditioning (drug addiction)

Answer 23

cravings, relapse, and overdose. Stimuli associated with drugs can produce strong conditioned cravings for the drug, which can lead to relapse following successful treatment. Also, drug overdose can result if these conditioned cues, which can prepare the body for the arrival and effects of the drug in the body, are not present when take the drugs

Question 24

Classical conditioning (Mind-Body)

Answer 24

infant sucking behavior, milk-letdown response, control of pain sensitivity, allergic reactions

Question 25

Applications of classical conditioning

Answer 25

aversion therapy, conversion therapy, advertising

Question 26

Aversion therapy

Answer 26

treatment of alcoholism - not used as much today because of the drawbacks of using aversive and making people ill as a part of therapy

Question 27

Conversion therapy

Answer 27

“treating” nonheterosexual behavior - not approved within psychology and psychiatry today. Same sex behavior—and being part of the LGBTQ+ community, by itself, is not a mental illness or disorder warranting therapy that needs to be changed. Conversion therapy is abuse no matter how you word it.

Question 28

Advertising

Answer 28

transfer advertising, example: pair products and services with positive images so that positive emotions elicited by the images will transfer to what is being sold

Question 29

Operant conditioning

Answer 29

the second type of learning in which behaviors are emitted (in the presence of specific stimuli) to earn reinforcers (rewards) or avoid punishers, learning to make of withhold a certain response because of its consequences

Question 30

Positive reinforcement

Answer 30

behavior -> reinforcer (“good”) added -> behavior increases (is strengthened)

Question 31

Negative reinforcement

Answer 31

behavior -> aversive (“bad”) stimulus taken away -> behavior increases

Question 32

Positive punishment

Answer 32

behavior -> aversive (“bad”) stimulus added -> behavior decreases

Question 33

Negative punishment

Answer 33

behavior -> reinforcer (“good”) taken away -> behavior decreases

Question 34

Escape conditioning

Answer 34

behavior stops something unpleasant after it is experienced

Question 35

Avoidance conditioning

Answer 35

behavior prevents something unpleasant from being experienced at all

Question 36

Escape and avoidance conditioning

Answer 36

behavior is strengthened (reinforced) by subtracting/taking away something bad or aversive following behavior

Question 37

Drawbacks of positive punishment

Answer 37

it can teach/model aggression, it can lead to negative emotions, focuses on what one should not do, but doesn’t teach what behavior should be performed, and it can go beyond discipline and crossover to abuse. We can't hit adults in our relationships, so why should we hit children

Question 38

Diversity-Universally issue with reinforcement and punishment

Answer 38

although people everywhere tend to respond to the influence of reinforcement and punishment (Universally), there are differences in what can serve as effective reinforcement and punishment for different people (Diversity)

Question 39

Learning by observing

Answer 39

we can observe a model—someone else’s behavior, which is called modeling

Question 40

Modeled behavior

Answer 40

If the observed behavior is rewarded, than the behavior is more likely to be modeled, the same thing goes for the opposite

Question 41

US

Answer 41

Unconditioned stimulus. Something that triggers a naturally occurring response. Ex: food

Question 42

CS

Answer 42

Conditioned stimulus. Naturally occurring response that follows the unconditioned stimulus. Ex: salivation

Question 43

CS

Answer 43

Conditioned stimulus. A neutral stimulus that, after being repeatedly presented prior to the unconditioned stimulus, evokes a similar response as the unconditioned stimulus. Ex: the whistle after being paired with food makes dogs salivate.

Question 44

CR

Answer 44

Conditioned response. The acquired response to the formerly neutral stimulus. Ex: dogs salivating to the sound of a tuning fork.