Conditioning and Learning Flashcards

Question

Blocking

Answer 1

In classical conditioning, the finding that no conditioning occurs to a stimulus if it is combined with a previously conditioned stimulus during conditioning trials. Suggests that information, surprise value, or prediction error is important in conditioning.

Answer 2

Operant conditioning is the result of voluntary actions: classical conditioning, on the other hand, depends on "involuntary" behaviour (i.e. drooling is involuntary, while lever pressing involves a decision to do so)

Answer 3

Applied expectance value theory to the workplace - found that individuals lowest on the totem pole do not expect to receive company incentives, so are not very motivated to perform

Answer 4

Experimenter rewards rats in Skinner Box with food for being near the lever (to encourage lever-pressing behaviour) AKA "Differential reinforcement of successive approximations"

Answer 5

A rat in a laboratory learns to press a lever to get food -- since the rat has no "natural" association between pressing a lever and getting food, the rat must learn this behaviour. Lever-pressing is the "operant behaviour" and food pellets serve as "reinforcers"

Answer 6

Neil Miller - the state one feels when a certain goal has both pros and cons - the further from the goal, the more one focuses on the pros (and vice versa for cons)

Answer 7

Suggested the law of effect - organisms do what rewards them and stop doing what doesn't bring rewards - precursor of operant conditioning - wrote the FIRST educational psychology textbook in 1903

Answer 8

A type of classical or Pavlovian conditioning in which the conditioned stimulus (CS) is associated with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US), such as a foot shock. As a consequence of learning, the CS comes to evoke fear. The phenomenon is thought to be involved in the development of anxiety disorders in humans. The CS triggers an emotion (fear) rather than a behaviour (i.e. drooling)

Answer 9

Takes place without reinfocement E.g. watching someone play chess many times -- you might not know that you are learning, but realize you have learned some tricks later on when you decide to play

Answer 10

A behaviour that involves an organism "operating" on its environment -- a rat will explore its cage and, at first, accidentally press a lever -- later on it will realize that each time this behaviour is performed, he is rewarded with food. Finding a "shortcut" in MarioCart that reduces your overall time is another operant behaviour -- receiving a shorter track completion time is your "reinforcer"

Answer 11

NOT punishment Reinforcement through the removal of a negative event E.g. if a monkey were subjected to a blaring noise all the time except when it rode a tricycle, it would learn that riding the tricycle removes something negative (the noise)

Answer 12

A behavior genetic research method that involves comparison of adopted children to their adoptive and biological parents.

Answer 13

Clark Hull - deviations from homeostasis create physiological needs. These needs result in psychological drive states that direct behavior to meet the need and, ultimately, bring the system back to homeostasis. When a physiological need is not satisfied, a negative state of tension is created; when the need is satisfied, the drive to satisfy that need is reduced and the organism returns to homeostasis. In this way, a drive can be thought of as an instinctual need that has the power to motivate behavior.

Answer 14

An instinctual or natural response to a stimulus (does not require any training or teaching). Examples include jumping upon hearing a loud noise, salivating in response to the smell/sight of food, feeling grumpy when under-slept.

Answer 15

The finding that an animal will stop performing an instrumental response that once led to a reinforcer if the reinforcer is separately made aversive or undesirable.

Answer 16

Not all correct responses are rewarded - Requires longer learning time, but is less prone to extinction than continuous reinforcement schedule

Answer 17

When an operant behavior is controlled by a stimulus that precedes it Example: we turn left in response to a green ARROW, not just the green light alone; "go" is controlled by the arrow above the colour green itself. The "controller" stimulus is called the discriminative stimulus

Answer 18

Edward Thorndike & B.F. Skinner

Answer 19

Scientific and mathematical methods for inferring genetic and environmental processes based on the degree of genetic and environmental similarity among organisms

Answer 20

An effect that strengthens an organism's desire to execute a specific behaviour -- in the Skinner Box experiment, food pellets reinforce lever-pressing

Answer 21

US and CS are presented at the same time

Answer 22

Continuous (e.g. riding a bike) are easier to learn than discrete motor tasks -Discrete tasks involve individual parts that do not facilitate recall of the others (e.g., setting up a chess board)

Answer 23

Presence of two (compound) stimuli -- animal learns an association via the more salient stimulus

Answer 24

Every correct response is met with some form of reinforcement - facilitates the quickest learning, but is the most fragile learning --\> as soon as the reward stops coming, the organism stops performing

Answer 25

An easily misinterpreted statistical construct that purports to measure the role of genetics in the explanation of differences among individuals.

Answer 26

Developed theory of association: precursor of operant conditioning - organisms associate certain behaviours with certain rewards and certain cues with certain situations

Answer 27

Conditioned compensatory response (CCR) As a result, ODs often happen not due to an increase in dosage, but due to taking the drug in a new place/environment without the familiar cues that cause CCR

Answer 28

Make the same response to a group of similar stimuli - Not all fire alarms sound alike but we know how to react to them

Answer 29

The pairing of a neutral stimulus with a psychologically relevant event (i.e., a bell and food, fish and food poisoning)

Answer 30

Operant conditioning: a behaviour is associated with a significant event Classical conditioning: a STIMULUS is associated with a significant event

Answer 31

When the outcome of a conditioning trial is different from that which is predicted by the conditioned stimuli that are present on the trial (i.e., when the US is surprising). Prediction error is necessary to create Pavlovian conditioning (and associative learning generally). As learning occurs over repeated conditioning trials, the conditioned stimulus increasingly predicts the unconditioned stimulus, and prediction error declines. Conditioning works to correct or reduce prediction error.

Answer 32

Proved experimentally that animals are influenced by reinforcement (skinner box) - Wrote "Walden Two" and "Beyond Freedom and Dignity" which discussed control of HUMAN behaviour

Answer 33

Instrumental behavior that occurs automatically in the presence of a stimulus and is no longer influenced by the animal’s knowledge of the value of the reinforcer. Insensitive to the reinforcer devaluation effect. Example: if a rat spends many months performing the lever-pressing behavior (turning such behavior into a habit), even when sucrose is again paired with illness, the rat will continue to press that lever. After all the practice, the instrumental response (pressing the lever) is no longer sensitive to reinforcer devaluation. The rat continues to respond automatically, regardless of the fact that the sucrose from this lever makes it sick.

Answer 34

1. Fixed ratio 2. Variable ratio 3. Fixed interval 4. Variable interval

Answer 35

A conditioning technique in which a previous CS now acts as a US EX. with pavlov's dogs, bell could be used as a US after it reliably predicted food; bell could be paired with light until the light became the CS

Answer 36

an artificial mini economy usually found in prisons, rehab centers, or mental hospitals; Individuals motivated by tokens aka \*secondary reinforcers\* (things with learned value) - desirable behaviours are reinforced with tokens, which can be cashed in for primary reinforcers like candy, books, cigarettes, privileges

Answer 37

In operant conditioning, a stimulus that signals whether the response will be reinforced. It is said to “set the occasion” for the operant response.

Answer 38

People are motivated to do what they DON'T want to do by rewarding themselves afterward with something the like i.e. giving a young child dessert after he eats his vegetables

Answer 39

Decrease in the strength of a learned behavior that occurs when the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus (in classical conditioning) or when the behavior is no longer reinforced (in instrumental conditioning). The term describes both the procedure (the US or reinforcer is no longer presented) as well as the result of the procedure (the learned response declines). Behaviors that have been reduced in strength through extinction are said to be “extinguished.” NB extinction doesn't "eliminate" a CR, it merely represses it

Answer 40

Drive reduction theory - Performance = Drive x Habit - Individuals are first motivated by drive, then act according to past successful habits

Answer 41

Expectancy value theory - Performance = Expectation x Value - People are motivated by goals that they actually think they can achieve

Answer 42

Founded school of behaviourism Believed everything could be explained by stimulus-response chains and that conditioning was the key factor in developing these chains

Answer 43

Authorities that are the targets for observation and who model behaviours

Answer 44

A stimulus that produces a natural or instinctual reaction (i.e. food makes us salivate, loud noises startle us, hot showers produce pleasure)

Answer 45

In classical conditioning, a conditioned response that opposes, rather than is the same as, the unconditioned response. It functions to reduce the strength of the unconditioned response. Often seen in conditioning when drugs are used as unconditioned stimuli. Ex. for one who regular takes opioids, drug paraphernalia (CS) can signal an increased sensitivity to pain, because the body anticipates that "the drug will take care of it" -- conditioned compensatory response decreases the effect of the drug on the body

Answer 46

Learning that occurs by observing the reinforcement or punishment of another person. Children who witnessed an aggressive adult get punished after interacting with Bobo were less likely to be aggressive with Bobo themselves

Answer 47

Albert Bandura The theory that people can learn new responses and behaviors by observing the behavior of others.

Answer 48

The empirical science of how genes and environments combine to generate behavior.

Answer 49

A signal that has no importance to the organism until it is paired with something that DOES have importance (e.g., a bell is the CS in Pavlov's experiment, and alarm clock tone becomes a CS that makes us grumpy upon hearing it)

Answer 50

Learning by observing the behaviour of others

Answer 51

Effects that decrease behaviours

Answer 52

Rewards delivered after differing time periods - second most effective after variable ratio schedule