Chapter 7: Learning from Experience

Question 1

Define learning.

Answer 1

a change in behavior as the result of experience

Question 2

What must be true of a behavior change for it to be considered learning?

Answer 2

It must be the result of gained experience.

Question 3

Learning what certain events signal or mean is an example of _________ ________.

Answer 3

classical conditioning

Question 4

Learning the consequences of our behavior is called _______ ________.

Answer 4

operant conditioning

Question 5

Learning based on the actions of others is called ______ ________.

Answer 5

observant learning

Question 6

What is an orienting response? Give an example of one.

Answer 6

an inborn tendency to notice and respond to surprising events, such as our reaction to a branch falling

Question 7

After an orienting response, with repeated exposure to an event, what is likely to occur?

Answer 7

habituation: a decline in tendency to response to an event that has become familiar through repeated experience

Question 8

Describe sensitization.

Answer 8

Sensitization, unlike, habituation, is an increase in responsiveness to a stimuli with repeated exposure

Question 9

What are the four key elements to identify with classical conditioning?

Answer 9

unconditioned response, unconditioned stimulus, conditioned response, conditioned stimulus

Question 10

What is an unconditioned stimulus?

Answer 10

stimulus that leads to a certain response without any prior training or conditioning (ex: food, which causes drooling)

Question 11

What is a conditioned stimulus?

Answer 11

a neutral (doesn’t cause response) stimulus that, with conditioning, eventually causes a response (ex: bell causing dogs to drool)

pairs with unconditioned stimulus during conditioning

Question 12

What is an unconditioned response?

Answer 12

an observable response that is produced automatically with no prior training (ex: drooling in presence of food)

Question 13

What is a conditioned response?

Answer 13

an acquired response produced by the conditioned stimulus (ex: drooling to bell)

Question 14

In order to be effective, what must be true of the conditioned stimulus compared to an unconditioned stimulus?

Answer 14

(1) conditioned must come before unconditioned

(2) US follows CS closely in time

Question 15

The process by which an established CS is used to condition a second neutral stimulus is called ________?

Answer 15

second order conditioning

Question 16

Describe stimulus discrimination in the context of drug tolerance.

Answer 16

Repeated drug users may develop tolerance if they use the drug in the same place every time, but moving to another physical location can actually diminish their tolerance and they may overdose.

Question 17

What is stimulus generalization?

Answer 17

Responding to a new stimulus in a similar way to a previously established CS.

an example is “Little Albert” being conditioned to fear white rabbits, but ended up fearing santa claus

Question 18

A dog has been trained to salivate at the sound of a bell with food. If a bell is rung several times, but no food is presented, the dog stops salivating at the sound of a bell. This process is know as ___________.

Answer 18

extinction

Question 19

Describe spontaneous recovery.

Answer 19

Spontaneous recovery occurs when an extinguished controlled response reappears after a period of non exposure to the controlled stimulus.

ex: a dog begins salivating to the sound of a bell again after not hearing the bell for an extended period of time

Question 20

Now, a dog that has been trained to salivate at the sound of a bell is presented with a ringing bell and a light. When the light is presented with the bell, no food is given. Thus, the dog does not salivate at the bell when a light is also presented. This is known as ____________.

Answer 20

conditioned inhibition

Question 21

What is taste aversion?

Answer 21

a learned negative association with a food, typically occurs when you get sick after eating a food

Question 22

What does Thorndike’s law of effect state?

Answer 22

if a response is followed by a satisfying consequence, it is strengthened. The opposite is true as well (unsatisfying consequence will diminish behavior). This is the basis of operant conditioning.

Question 23

What is the difference between reinforcement and punishment?

Answer 23

Reinforcement always causes an increase in a behavior. Punishment decreases the likelihood of a behavior.

Question 24

When distinguishing different types of punishments and reinforcements, what is the difference between positive and negative?

Answer 24

Positive involves a stimulus, negative does not. Positive/negative has nothing to do with moral or emotional value of a reinforcement or punishment.

Question 25

What is the difference between escape conditioning and avoidance conditioning?

Answer 25

escape conditioning ends the stimulus, avoidance conditioning prevents the stimulus from happening

Question 26

While punishment can be effective in reducing a bad behavior, what is its biggest limitation?

Answer 26

It does not promote better behavior. It is best to combine with reinforcement of a better behavior.

Question 27

Name and describe the two schedules of reinforcement.

Answer 27

continuous: every response followed rapidly by reinforcement
partial: reinforcement delivered only some of the time

Question 28

If a behavior is increased by partial reinforcement, how can it further be classified?

Answer 28

interval v. ratio: whether the behavior is reinforced based on amount of time passing or by amount of behavior performed

fixed v. variable: whether the amount of time or behavior is constant, or varies around an average

Question 29

Give an example of a fixed-ratio schedule of reinforcement.

Answer 29

getting paid for every 10 sales of something

Question 30

Give an example of a variable-ratio schedule of reinforcement.

Answer 30

“1 in 12 wins”

there are a certain number of winners (ratio), but not everyone will win in exactly 12 purchases (variable)

Question 31

Give an example of a fixed-interval schedule

Answer 31

regular paychecks (biweekly, monthly, etc.)

Question 32

Give an example of a variable interval schedule

Answer 32

weekly pop quizzes

don’t know what day of the week (variable) but know that it will happen once a week (interval)