Chapter 6 - Learning

Question 1

learning

Answer 1

a relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge that results from experience

Question 2

reflexes

Answer 2

motor/neural reactions to a specific stimulus

Question 3

instincts

Answer 3

behaviors triggered by a broader range of events (aging, change of seasons)

Question 4

associative learning

Answer 4

when an organism makes connections between stimuli or events that occur together in the environment

Question 5

classical conditioning

Answer 5

learning occurs through association, neutral stimulus becomes conditioned response, anticipating events, Ivan Pavlov

Question 6

unconditioned stimulus

Answer 6

stimulus that elicits a reflexive response

Question 7

unconditioned response

Answer 7

a natural unlearned reaction to a stimulus

Question 8

neutral stimulus

Answer 8

stimulus that does not naturally elicit a response

Question 9

conditioned stimulus

Answer 9

the behavior caused by the conditioned stimulus

Question 10

operant conditioning

Answer 10

learning occurs through reinforcement and punishment, weak or rare responses become strong and frequent, B.F. Skinner (Skinner box, shaping), learning to associate a behavior and its consequences (reinforcement or punishment), pleasant consequence -> behavior occurs again, unpleasant consequence -> behavior is most likely to occur again, Thorndike

Question 11

observational conditioning

Answer 11

modeling, observed behaviors become copied

Question 12

higher-order conditioning

Answer 12

an established conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus, so eventually the new stimulus also elicits the conditioned response, without the initial conditioned stimulus being presented

Question 13

acquisition

Answer 13

the initial period of learning when an organism learns to connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus

Question 14

extinction

Answer 14

decrease in the conditioned response when the UCS is no longer presented with the CS

Question 15

spontaneous recovery

Answer 15

the return of a previously extinguished conditioned response following a rest period

Question 16

stimulus discrimination

Answer 16

when an organism learns to respond differently to various stimuli that are similar

Question 17

stimulus generalization

Answer 17

when an organism demonstrates the conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus

Question 18

habituation

Answer 18

learning not to respond to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly without change

Question 19

behaviorism

Answer 19

John B. Watson, classical conditioning in the study of human emotion, “Little Albert” experiment, conditioned phobias

Question 20

positive reinforcement

Answer 20

something is added to increase behavior

Question 21

negative reinforcement

Answer 21

something is removed to increase behavior

Question 22

positive punishment

Answer 22

something is added to decrease behavior

Question 23

negative punishment

Answer 23

something is removed to decrease behavior

Question 24

primary reinforcers

Answer 24

innate reinforcing qualities (food, water, sleep, sex, pleasure), not learned

Question 25

secondary reinforcers

Answer 25

no inherent value, learned experiences (praise, money, exchanging goods for other things)

Question 26

fixed interval

Answer 26

rewards given after a fixed period of time

Question 27

variable interval

Answer 27

rewards given after varying periods of time (radio station will offer free tickets at some point during the hour)

Question 28

variable ratio

Answer 28

rewards given after varying number of responses (gambling)

Question 29

fixed ratio

Answer 29

rewards given after fixed number of responses (free cup of coffee after 10 cups you buy)

Question 30

interval

Answer 30

the schedule is based on the time between reinforcements ratio - the schedule is based on the number of responses between reinforcements

Question 31

fixed

Answer 31

the number of responses between reinforcements or the amount of time between reinforcements is set and unchanging (consistent)

Question 32

variable

Answer 32

the number of responses between reinforcements or the amount of time between reinforcements varies or changes

Question 33

schedules

Answer 33

variable ratio schedule - unpredictable and yields high and steady response rates fixed ratio schedule - predictable and produces a high response rate with a short pause after reinforcement variable interval schedule - unpredictable and produces a moderate response rate fixed interval schedule - yields a scallop-shaped response pattern, reflecting a significant pause after reinforcement

Question 34

vicarious reinforcement/punishment

Answer 34

process where the observer sees the model rewarded/punished, making the observer more/less likely to imitate the model's behavior

Question 34

how we learn

Answer 34

attention - focus of the behavior retention - remember what you observed reproduction - be able to perform the behavior motivation - must want to copy the behavior