Chapter 7 Flashcards
(84 cards)
1
Q
What is learning?
A
Process by which experience produces a relatively enduring change in behaviour or capabilities (knowing how)
2
Q
Distinguish between ‘Knowing how’ or learning and ‘doing’ or performance
A
for example: , experience may provide us with immediate knowledge (ex. you may receive instructions on how to preform a skill) but in science we must measure learning by actual changes in performance
3
Q
Behaviorism
A
- Treated organism as tabula rasa ( blank slate, everybody is equal at birth… we are all the same we are different because we get different lessons, how we behave is quantitative not qualitative.. children were just little adults that havnt has as many experiances )
- John Watson and Little Albert ( john and his assistant conditioned a fear of white bunnies in little albert, core problem all the things you do to avoid something)
- Explained learning solely in terms of directly observable events (things you can count)
- Learning: largely dominated by behaviorism–> lab science very controlled, all organisms learn in the same way
behavourlists focus on how organisms learn, examine the process by which experiance influence behaviour, suggest that there are laws to learning that apply for all organisms
4
Q
Ethology
A
Focused on animal behaviour in natural environments
Focused on functions of behaviour
study of learning in natural environments, rather then laws of learning… what function did the learning serve, what reproductive advantage? (Darwin lens)
5
Q
Importance of adaptive significance of behaviour
A
How behaviour influences chances of survival, reproduction
6
Q
Cognitive & Biological factors are important
Environmental Shaping of Behaviour
A
culture has an impact on what we learn— social customs, beliefs, and most basic perceptions of the world
7
Q
Personal Adaptation
A
Involves learning
Interactions with immediate & past environments
(on date your bf smiles, you respond to that)
** not all learning behavior is adaptive (gambling)
8
Q
Species Adaptation
A
Involves natural selection
Adaptations passed on through genes
Become part of species ‘nature’
9
Q
Habituation
A
Decrease in response strength to a repeated stimulus
Habituation: simple form of learning, in the CNS not wihtin the sensory neurons, sensory info is still there if you need to reference it
Not same as sensory habituation….
Sensory adaption = Decrease in response strength to a repeated stimulus
(dont have to constantly respond to pressure of clothing)
10
Q
influences of culture
A
- skils
- patterns of social behaviour
- beleifs and preferences
- sense of identity
- how brain organizes perceptions
11
Q
Sensitization
A
Increase in the strength of a response to a repeated stimulus
allergies—> get worse with time
repeated electrical shock .. each shock elicits a stronger response
12
Q
Classical Conditioning
A
Also known as PAVLOV
Associating one stimulus with another
Basic form of learning
We all do this
Have a lucky ‘thing’ you bring to an exam
Special ‘thing’ you do before an athletic event
Anyone with a pet has seen this form of learning!
value: allows you to see future, one stimulus tells you whats coming.. anticipate (early bird gets the worm)
when you hear cat hissing you associate with pain
13
Q
Pavlov
A
Studied salivary responses in dogs
Is a natural response - no learning involved
Noted dogs salivated at sounds (e.g., footsteps; tone)
How did the ‘association’ with the tone come about?
(worked on digestion,
14
Q
Principles of Classical Conditioning
A
Learn to associate two stimuli
One stimulus elicits a response that was originally elicited only by the other stimulus
universal: locomotion–> forward if reward.
15
Q
Acquisition
A
Period during which association is being learned
Have stimulus & a response to it - which requires no learning
Pair this response with another stimulus
(foot steps with saliva)
16
Q
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
A
Elicits a reflexive or innate, unconditoned response (UCR) without prior learning
(meat powder)
17
Q
Unconditioned response (UCR)
A
Response elicited by UCS without prior learning
salivation
18
Q
Conditioned stimulus (CS) (neutral stimulus)
A
Through association with UCS, comes to elicit a conditioned response similar to the original UCR
(foot steps)
19
Q
Conditioned response (CR)
A
Response elicited by a conditioned stimulus
salivation
20
Q
UCR & CR - same thing - What elicits them is different!
A
meat powder and tone
21
Q
So How Does It Work?
A
Food produces salivation = UCS - UCR Pair food (UCS) & tone = (acquisition) learning trial Tone begins to elicit salivation (UCR) Tone is now conditioned stimulus (CS) Now have: tone (CS) - salivation (CR) Note: UCR & CR are same
22
Q
Types of CS-UCS pairings
A
1) Forward short-delay
CS (tone) still present when UCS (food) presented
Optimal learning
(tone starts and before it disappears meat powder appears)
2) Forward trace CS appears & then goes off Best if delay is no more than 2-3 seconds 3) Simultaneous Presented at same time Learning is slower 4) Backward Presented afterward Little learning (looking backwards into goal net)
23
Q
Factors that Enhance Acquisition
A
1) Multiple CS-UCS pairings
2) Intense, aversive UCS can produce one-trial learning (usually how phobias start)
3) Forward (short-delay) pairing
4) Time interval between onset of CS & onset of UCS is short
24
Q
Extinction
A
- Process in which CS is presented in absence of UCS
- Causes CR to weaken and eventually disappear
25
Spontaneous Recovery
After a rest period-without any new learning trials - reappearance of previously extinguished CR
Usually weaker than initial CR, extinguishes more rapidly
(response will recover.. just in case mechanism)
26
Generalization
Stimuli similar to initial CS elicit a CR
Aids in survival
(close will do!)
not all rustles of predators in the bush sound the same
27
Discrimination
--CR occurs to one stimulus but not to another
--Weaker responses as stimuli become less similar
(how close does it have to be! opposite of generalization?)
keeps your response to what is likely! so you dont respond to everything!
if an animal responds to everything it would be exhausted
28
Higher Order Conditioning
--Chain of events which has 2 CS stimuli
--Expands influence of classical conditioning on behaviour
(how this process predict UCS, chain of events walk to kitchen open the cupboard and grab tuna the cat recognizes this chain of events)
29
Classical Conditioning: Therapies (decondition.. help little albert)
1) Exposure Therapy
Extinction of CR through exposure to CS without presence of UCS
2) Systematic desensitization
Muscular relaxation paired with gradual exposure to fear-inducing stimulus (being really relaxed and anxious don't go together)
3) Flooding
Exposure to fearful stimulus (fear of public washrooms)
4) VR Exposure therapy
Effective for phobias
30
Influences of Classical Conditioning
1) Attraction to other people (partners shampoo with feeling good)
2) Positive, negative attitudes
Both of above used in advertising (most successful advertising is associated with coca cola sells cultural icons.. we associate with coke with better things, coke looks a lot more like sexual?)
3) Conditioned aversions
Dislike a certain food/ drink because you became sick? (one trial learning--> food poisoning, eat it once you never want it) (alcohol doesn't work, its possible to drink till deathly ill but u will drink again, why don't we learn is here..? time between ingesting and sickness is too long)
4) Anticipatory nausea and vomiting (ANV)
Common among cancer patients--> anything you ate before procedure usually dont want to eat again. (start to gag when smell it)
31
Thorndike’s Law of Effect
Response followed by a “satisfying” consequence more likely to occur
Response followed by “unsatisfying” consequence less likely to occur
how behavior was selected based on outcome
(hungry cats in puzzle box, how did the cats behavior change over trials? behavoirs that got it out became more frequent then behaviours that didnt stopped)
wasnt the best because it was hard to measure "satisfying"
32
Instrumental Learning
Behavior is instrumental in bringing about certain outcomes (behaviour that has purpose)
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Operant Conditioning
-- Is a type of learning in which behaviour is influenced by consequences
natural selection at level of behavoir, behavoirs are choosen by the consequences they produce
34
Skinner
Harvard Phsychologist and was Americas leading prponen of behaviourism , termed and coined the term operant behaviour
Operant conditioning facilitates personal adaptation
(skinner box, to study operant behaviour, put a mouse in with a lever for a cup full of food)
35
Reinforcement
response strengthened by outcome that follows
the outcome (a stimulus or event) that increases the frequency of a response is called the reinforcer
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Punishment
Response weakened by outcome that follows
(any condition that makes behavior less likely)
punisher: a consequence that weakens the behaviour
37
Skinner’s Analysis of Operant Behaviour
| ??
A: antecedents of behavior (stimuli that are present before a behavior occurs)
B: behaviors (that the organism emits)
C: consequences that follow behaviour
```
IF A is present
AND B is emitted
THEN C will occur
Relations between A & B = contingencies
and B & C= contingencies
```
If I say "sit"
(A) are present
AND my dog jessie sits
(B) is emited
THEN she gets a treat
(C) will occur
38
Operant vs classical conditioning
1) Classical conditioning, organisms associates two stimuli before the behaviour
2) Operant conditioning, organism associates Behaviour with consequences, behaviour changes because of the event that happens after it
1) Classical
Behaviour changes due to association of two stimuli (CS-UCS) presented prior to the response (CR)
Focuses on elicited behavior: the conditioned response is trigger involuntarily, almost like a reflex to the stimulus that perceds it
2) Operant
Behaviour changes as a result of consequences that follow it
Focuses on emitted behaviors: in a given stituation the organims generates responses that are under its physical control
39
Positive Reinforcement
Response is strengthened by presentation of a stimulus (the positive reinforcer) that follows it. (add something) -------divided into primary and secondary reinforcers
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Primary reinforcers (positive)
stimuli that are reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs (e.g. food, drink)
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Secondary reinforcers (positive)
Acquire reinforcing properties through association with primary reinforcers (e.g. money, praise)
(some value to some people and nothing for others-- country music)
42
Negative Reinforcement
Response strengthened by removal (or avoidance) of an aversive stimulus (negative reinforcer) (something is taken away)
Confusing?
Reinforcers ‘strengthen’ behaviour
Negative reinforcers avoid or remove something unpleasant
Use sunscreen to ‘avoid’ sunburn, therefore increase behaviour of using sunscreen
Difference between sugar and neutrasweet.. buy coca cola both positive and negative, positive coca cola to stimulate tasting good, as you absorb blood sugar briefly don't feel hungry takes away negative feeling of hunger. neutrasweet, still positive but no negative still feel hungry because no sugar
dont confuse with punishment.. punishment weakens a response regative reinforcement increases a response (using an umbrella)
43
Operant Extinction
Weakening and eventual disappearance of an operant response
Why?
Response is no longer reinforced
Resistance to extinction influenced by pattern of reinforcement that has maintained behaviour
Good alternative to punishment
(barbies when you are little, barbies no longer reinforce)
how quikly take away..? has to do with pattern that maintains it
**How to change behavior reinforce what you want and ignore everything else **
if pressing a lever eventually does not result in food, the rat will stop pushing it
44
Positive punishment (least effective)
Aversive punishment
| spanking
( just learn how to be a better theif , only works if its right away )
45
Response weakened by subsequent stimulus presentation
ex. spanking or scolding
46
Negative Punishment
Response cost, a response is weekend by the subsequent removal of a stimulus
47
Response weakened by removal of stimulus
examples: loss of privileges or money
misbehaving child gets “time out” that removes opportunity to watch TV or play
negative punishment similar to operant extinction, however instead of taking away specific consequence (attention) neg punishment takes away other stimuli that he desired (perhaps tv) but which not cause him to act out in the first place
good example: being grounded
48
Advantages over positive punishment
Less likely to create strong fear
| Does not model aggression
49
Primary reinforcers
Satisfy biological needs
| sex and high value food sources
50
Secondary / conditioned reinforcers
Become reinforcers through association with primary reinforcers (money)
51
Immediate versus delayed consequences
Immediate
Stronger effect on behaviour
Delay of gratification
Involves ability to forego immediate reward for more satisfying outcome later
Individual variability
Role in drinking, smoking, criminal behaviour etc.
(We could be a barista but instead we are in university, delaying gratification) (kid waiting for marshmellows)
52
Secondary / conditioned reinforcers
Become reinforcers through association with primary reinforcers
53
Chaining
--Reinforce each response with opportunity to perform the next response
--Develops a sequence of behaviors
(learn complex behaviors learn one then learn the next, this is how you teach animals to do very tricky things)
connecting steps together
54
shaping
Reinforce successive approximations toward a final response
( want a rat to switch a level, first time they turn they get a free hit and move forward, get to wall with lever on it and turn towards lever give them another hit, on lever get hit) once they learn it they will press lever 100x
- the actual steps in the task are taught through shaping
55
Operant Generalization
Operant response occurs to a new antecedent stimulus or situation similar to the original one
( a dog learns to sit for his owner then when other people tell it to sit it still sits or when a kid touches a burner it wont touch it again as well as it wont touch any of the other burns on the stove)
56
Operant Discrimination
Operant response occurs to one antecedent stimulus but not another
(learn to board busses and trains marked with specific signs and avoid idtentical busses with different signs)
57
Stimulus control
Discriminative stimulus influences behaviour
(beeping microwave, go check to see if burnt)
(when driving your behaviour is under stimulus control red light stimulate certain behavoir, yeild signs ect)
58
Continuous Reinforcement
Every response of a particular type is reinforced
| every push of the lever results in food pellets
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partial reinforcement
(also called intermittent reinforcement)
Only some responses are reinforced
can be ratio schedules: after every 50 pushes
interval schedules :every minute based on time
60
continuous-partial reinforcement differences
```
Continuous reinforcement
More rapid learning
Consequences easier to perceive
Extinction more rapid
Partial reinforcement
Slower learning
More resistant to extinction - especially on VR (variable ratio) schedule
```
61
Gambling
- -Gambling is reinforced on a VR schedule
- -Do not know which response will be reinforced! Could always be the next one!
- -Difficult to extinguish
62
Escape conditioning
Learn responses to terminate aversive stimuli
( if you are cold you put on a sweater to escape the aversive stimuli of being cold) putting on a sweater is negatively reinforced by the desired consequence that you no longer are shivering
63
avoidance conditioning
```
Learn responses to avoid aversive stimuli, everytime you avoid you are making the phobia worse, avoiding classes because they have class presentation, best thing to deal with these things is face them!
(putting on a sweater before going outside)
```
64
Two-factor theory of avoidance
Both classical conditioning and operant conditioning
65
Association between 2 stimuli develops
Classical conditioning
66
Negative reinforcement maintains avoidance response
Operant conditioning (getting shocked)
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Neuroscience of Fear Conditioning: amygdala
visual presnetation of fearful event increased activity in right amygdala , also have lower frontal cortex activity
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Neuroscience of Fear Conditioning: PTSD
increased activity in right amygdala with decreased frontal cortex activity
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Applications of reinforcement
- specialized Animal Training, animals assist: people who have disabilities, police, military
- Entertainment industry
70
Applications Education and Workplace - education and workplace
Teaching machines (Skinner) and computer-assisted instruction
Immediate feedback
Self-paced learning
(students who didnt learn the material the first time could repeat the steps and the ones that did could move on)
a key behaviourist assumption is that poor preformance shouldnt be attributed to laziness and bad attitude instead it should be attributed to environment not providing the proper consequences to reinforce the desired behaviour
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Applications: token economies
Desired behaviour reinforced with tokens, exchangeable for rewards (points gold stars etc)
(only last 4-6 weeks)
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other applications
--Modifying problem behaviour
--Applied Behaviour Analysis / Behaviour Modification Programs usually based on POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT is designed to change behaviour and its effectiveness is objectively measured by gathering data before and after the program
--Growing Field of Psychology
73
Biological Preparedness
--Biologically prewired to learn behaviours related to survival
--Behaviours contrary to natural tendencies slowly learned if at all!
( getting mouse to push a lever isnt an natural behavior) trying to teach something completely contrary to animals tendancies is almost impossible
74
Constraints
harding to get responses from sound and lights but easiest to get response by taste (it evolved that way)
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Are we biologically prepared to fear certain things?
--Most phobias develop for things that have evolutionary significance
Snakes, spiders, dangerous places, fear of heights, claustrophobic (those that were more scared of these things were more likely to survive and reproduce)
--Few phobias for harmful elements
Guns, knives etc, cars
76
Instinction drift
Conditioned response ‘drifts back’ toward instinctive behaviour
( can teach animals new behaviour when they are stress or excited they will drift back to natural behaviour)
** caution for those who adopt wild animals**
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Learning and the brain
- -Nucleus acumbens & dopamine involved in ability to experience reward
- -Enriched environments produce more dendrites & synapses
(more you learn the more able you are to learn)
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S-O-R (Cognitive) Model of Learning
--O = organism’s cognitive representation of world
--Expanded on limited view of S (stimulus) and R (response) model
(put rats in a maze and just let them wonder, no reinforcement are they learning the maze? no cant be! Tolman showed if u put same rat in maze and add cheese they would find it faster then other rat.. proven they had learned the maze without actually being reinforced for leaning it )--> laten learning
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Insight (Kohler, 1625)
The "Eureka Moment"
Sudden perception of useful relationship
(monkey and the hanging banannas, jumping until tired and then "aha" i need to stack the boxes to get to the banana)
80
Tolmans cognitive map
Mental representations of spatial layouts
Suggests that learning provides knowledge and expectation of “what leads to what”
After learning simple maze
Many rats chose 4th path
Tolman proposed had developed cognitive map
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Differences between classical conditioning and operant conditioning
1) Classical conditioning
Expectancy Model (Rescorla & Wagner, 1972)
CS produces expectancy that UCS will follow
2) Operant conditioning
Develop awareness of response-consequence contingencies (time spent studying: grade performance)
Latent Learning (learn the layout, learn but there is no objective way of seeing if something is learning rats in maze that know where to go the second time they are placed in maze with cheese)
Occurs at Time A; not demonstrated until Time B
Self-evaluations
Can serve as reinforcers and punishers
82
When others pave the way!
1) Observational learning
Learning that occurs by observing the behaviour of a model
```
2) Highly adaptive
If learning were trial & error on our own we would learn very slowly
Learn important events
When things are about to occur
How to respond
```
83
The Modelling Process
The Modelling Process (Bandura, 1977)
Revolutionized study of child psychology
Bandura ‘Bobo Doll” experiment
(observational learning things we do or do not learn from observing in media)
84
Four basic steps to be able to follow a model (ex. guitar teacher)
Four Basic Steps
1) Attention
2) Retention
3) Reproduction (seen many talented bball players but cant reproduce that)
4) Motivation
