Learning

Question 1

What does learning refer to?

Answer 1

Any enduring change in the way an organism responds based on its experience

Question 2

What is habituation?

Answer 2

The decreasing strength of a reflex response after repeated presentations of the stimulus

Question 3

What is classical conditioning also known as?

Answer 3

Pavlovian conditioning

Question 4

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 4

A stimulus acquires a capacity to produce a response that was previously produced by a different stimulus

Question 5

In classical conditioning, what is an unconditioned stimulus?

Answer 5

A stimulus that naturally elicits a response

Question 6

In classical conditioning, what is an conditioned stimulus?

Answer 6

A stimulus that, through learning, comes to elicit a response

Question 7

In classical conditioning, what is a conditioned response?

Answer 7

A response that has been learned

Question 8

In the dog salivation example of classical conditioning, what is

a) the neutral stimulus
b) the unconditioned stimulus
c) the unconditioned response
d) the conditioned stimulus
e) the conditioned response?

Answer 8

a) bell ringing
b) meat
c) salivation
d) bell ringing
e) salivation

Question 9

What is the inter-stimulus interval?

Answer 9

The time between the presentation of the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus and the order of presentation

Question 10

What are the four types of classical conditioning?

Answer 10

• Simultaneous conditioning (CS and UCS begin and end together)
• Short-delayed conditioning (CS begins just before UCS, end together)
• Trace (forward) conditioning (CS begins and ends before UCS is presented)
• Backward conditioning (UCS begins and ends before CS is presented)

Question 11

When does stimulus generalisation occur?

Answer 11

When an organism learns to respond to stimuli that resemble the CS with a similar response

Question 12

When does stimulus discrimination occur?

Answer 12

When an organism learns to respond to a restricted range of stimuli (e.g. Pavlov’s dogs could discriminate between bell sounds)

Question 13

In classical conditioning, when does extinction occur?

Answer 13

When a CR is weakened by presentation of the CS without the UCS; a learned inhibition of responding

Question 14

What is spontaneous recovery?

Answer 14

The short-lived re-emergence of a previously extinguished CR

Question 15

What does extinction have important implications for?

Answer 15

Treatment of phobias

Question 16

What are four areas of everyday life in which conditioning is evident?

Answer 16

Fears, emotional responses, physiological responses and drug effects

Question 17

What is higher-order conditioning?

Answer 17

When a new CS is developed from an existing CS/CR (e.g. red light + bell ringing = salivation)

Question 18

How does individual learning history affect conditioning?

Answer 18

• Prior history with stimuli
• Biological preparedness
• Blocking & latent inhibition

Question 19

What is blocking?

Answer 19

The failure of a stimulus to elicit a CR when it is combined with another stimulus that already elicits the response

Question 20

What is latent inhibition?

Answer 20

The initial exposure to a neutral stimulus without a UCS slows the process of later learning the CS-UCS association and developing a CR (e.g. bell repeatedly ringing without presentation of meat)

Question 21

What is prepared learning?

Answer 21

The evolved tendency of some associations to be learned more readily than others

Question 22

What are operant behaviours?

Answer 22

Behaviours that are influenced by their consequences

Question 23

What does the law of effect state?

Answer 23

Behaviour is controlled by its consequences

Question 24

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 24

Learning to operate on the environment to produce a consequence

Question 25

What are the two types of environmental consequences that produce operant conditioning?

Answer 25

Reinforcement and punishment

Question 26

What is a reinforcer?

Answer 26

An environmental consequence that occurs after a response has been produced and makes the response more likely to recur

Question 27

What is positive reinforcement?

Answer 27

When a behaviour is strengthened because it is followed by a rewarding stimulus

Question 28

What are reinforcement contingencies?

Answer 28

The circumstances that determine whether the response leads to a reinforcer

Question 29

What are primary reinforcers?

Answer 29

Unlearned reinforcers that satisfy a biological need (e.g. food)

Question 30

What are secondary reinforcers?

Answer 30

Conditioned reinforcers that are learnt after being associated with primary reinforcers (e.g. money)

Question 31

What is the operant conditioning process?

Answer 31

1) Discriminative stimulus that occurs before the behaviour and signals that a consequence is now available 2) Response that produces a consequence 3) Consequence that serves to increase/decrease probability of the preceding behaviour

Question 32

What is acquisition?

Answer 32

The initial stage of learning the associated between a behaviour and a reinforcer (gradual process)

Question 33

What is shaping?

Answer 33

The reinforcement of closer and closer approximations of the desired behaviour

Question 34

What is extinction (in operant conditioning)?

Answer 34

The gradual weakening and elimination of the response tendency achieved through halting the reinforcement

Question 35

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 35

When a behaviour is strengthened because it is followed by the removal of an unpleasant stimulus

Question 36

What is escape learning?

Answer 36

Learning of a response that allows a subject to escape an unpleasant stimulus (e.g. applying after sun cream to sunburn)

Question 37

What is avoidance learning?

Answer 37

Learning of a response that allows a subject to avoid an unpleasant stimulus (e.g. putting on sunscreen to avoid sunburn)

Question 38

What is punishment?

Answer 38

Weakening a tendency to make a response

Question 39

What is positive punishment?

Answer 39

Giving a punisher to reduce a behaviour

Question 40

What is negative punishment?

Answer 40

Removing a pleasant stimuli to reduce a behaviour

Question 41

What is a continuous reinforcement schedule?

Answer 41

Consequence is the same every time a behaviour is performed

Question 42

What is a intermittent (partial) reinforcement schedule?

Answer 42

An action sometimes leads to a reinforcement but other times does not

Question 43

What are the two types of intermittent reinforcement schedules?

Answer 43

Ratio (fixed/variable) and interval (fixed/variable) schedules

Question 44

What are ratio schedules?

Answer 44

Pay-offs are tied to the number of responses emitted, i.e. only a fraction of correct behaviours receive reinforcement

Question 45

What are interval schedules?

Answer 45

Pay-offs are tied to an interval of time

Question 46

What is a fixed ratio schedule?

Answer 46

Reinforcer is given after a fixed number of responses (e.g. working on an assembly line, paid for the number of toys assembled)

Question 47

What is a variable ratio schedule?

Answer 47

Reinforcer is given after a random number of responses (e.g. pokies)

Question 48

What is a fixed interval schedule?

Answer 48

Reinforcer is given for the first response after a fixed interval of time (e.g. being paid for a job at the end of the week)

Question 49

What is a variable interval schedule?

Answer 49

Reinforcer is given for the first response after a variable interval of time (e.g. waiting for a bus)

Question 50

What does the cognitive-social theory of learning state?

Answer 50

Expectations are formed about the consequences of behaviours

Question 51

What is the locus of control?

Answer 51

The expectation of whether or not fate determines outcome in life

Question 52

What is an internal locus?

Answer 52

Belief that actions determine fate

Question 53

What is an external locus?

Answer 53

Belief that life is governed by greater forces

Question 54

What are cognitive maps?

Answer 54

Mental representations or images

Question 55

What is latent learning?

Answer 55

Learning that has occurred but is not currently obvious in behaviour

Question 56

What is insight?

Answer 56

The sudden understanding of the relation between a problem and a solution

Question 57

What is explanatory style?

Answer 57

The way people make sense of bad events

Question 58

What does social learning refer to?

Answer 58

Learning that occurs through social interactions

Question 59

What is a major form of social learning?

Answer 59

Observational learning

Question 60

What are four key processes of observational learning?

Answer 60

Attention, retention, reproduction and motivation

Question 61

What is modelling?

Answer 61

Learning to reproduce behaviour exhibited by a model

Question 62

What is vicarious conditioning?

Answer 62

Learning by observing the consequences of a behaviour for someone else

Question 63

What is tutelage?

Answer 63

When people learn through direct instruction