Chapter 6 Flashcards
(28 cards)
Learning
Any durable changes in behaviour or knowledge that is due to experience
Habituation
Process of responding less strongly over time to repeated stimuli (getting used to something)
Sensitization
Responding more strongly over time to repeated over time (something getting more annoying)
Classical conditioning
Discovered by Ivan Pavlov
A form of learning in which animals come to a previously neutral stimulus that had been paired with another stimulus that elicits an automatic response
In advertising a lot
Passive learning
Unconditioned stimulus
A stimulus that on its own elicits a response
Unconditioned response
A physical response elicited by an unconditioned stimulus; it doesn’t need to be learn
Conditioned stimulus
A neutral stimulus that eventually elicits the same response as an unconditioned stimulus with which it has been paired with
Conditioned response
A physical response elicited by a conditioned stimulus; it is usually the same as the unconditioned response
Acquisition
The phase during which a CR is established
Extinction
The reduction and elimination of the CR after the CS is presented repeatedly without the US
Spontaneous recovery
Re-emergence of a conditioned response some time after extinction has occurred
Stimulus generalization
Whereby a conditioned stimuli similar to the original conditioned stimulus elicits a conditioned response
Stimulus discrimination
When a conditioned stimuli similar to the original does not elicit a conditioned response (eg. cat reacting to a treat bag being shook and not other bags)
“Little Albert” Experiment
Emphasized nurture; devised experiment to show fear is learned
Had the unexpected result of making Albert scared of other white fuzzy things, not just the rat - he generalized his fear
Higher-order conditioning
Developing a conditioned response to a conditioned stimulus by virtue of its association with another conditioned stimulus
CS can become the US, make a CS #2
Phobia
Persistent, irrational or obsessive fear of a specific object or situation that may arise as a result of fear conditioning
Conditioned taste aversions
A previously neutral stimulus elicits an averse reaction after it is paired with illness (nausea)
Breaks the rules of acquisition because it occurs after only one pairing
Biological preparedness
Evolutionary predisposition to learn some pairings of feared stimuli over others owing to their survival value
Operant conditioning
Learning controlled by the consequences of the organism’s behaviour
Active learning
The Law of Effect
States that if we’re rewarded for a response to a stimulus, we’re more like to repeat that response to the stimulus in the future
We learning from the consequences of our behaviour
Reinforcement
Any consequences of a behaviour that strengthens the probability of that behaviour
Punishment
Any consequences of a behaviour that weakens the probability of the behaviour
Positive reinforcement
Presentation of a pleasant consequence following a behaviour
ADDS something pleasant to increase the likelihood of behaviour
(Desired behaviour + pleasant stimulus = increase in behaviour)
Negative reinforcement
The removal of an unpleasant stimulus after a behaviour
Taking away something to increase the likelihood of the behaviour
(Desired behaviour - unpleasant stimulus = increase in behaviour)