Learning chatgpt Flashcards
(60 cards)
What distinguishes instrumental conditioning from classical conditioning?
In instrumental conditioning, the organism’s behavior causes the presence or absence of a stimulus, whereas in classical conditioning, stimuli are presented independently of the organism’s behavior.
What was the Law of Effect proposed by Thorndike?
Responses followed by satisfying outcomes are strengthened, while those followed by discomfort are weakened.
What is a discrete-trial procedure in instrumental conditioning?
A trial-based method where each response opportunity is separated by the experimenter, often measured by latency or running speed.
What defines free-operant procedures?
The subject can respond at any time, allowing for continuous and natural behavior measurement.
What is shaping in operant conditioning?
Gradually reinforcing successive approximations of a target behavior until the desired behavior is achieved.
What are the four basic instrumental conditioning procedures?
Positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, negative punishment.
How does the temporal relation affect learning in instrumental conditioning?
Immediate reinforcement strengthens learning more than delayed reinforcement due to better credit assignment.
What is the superstition experiment by Skinner?
Pigeons developed random behaviors they thought were producing reinforcement, showing the effect of temporal contiguity over contingency.
What is learned helplessness?
When an organism learns that it cannot control negative outcomes, leading to reduced motivation to change its behavior.
What does response-reinforcer contingency refer to?
The extent to which a response is necessary to produce a reinforcer.
What determines the success of positive reinforcement?
The quality, quantity, and timing of the reinforcer, as well as the response-reinforcer contingency.
What are behavioral contrast effects?
The value of a reinforcer is influenced by past reinforcement history—large rewards seem better after small ones and vice versa.
Why is shaping important in learning new behavior?
It builds complex behaviors from simpler ones by reinforcing closer approximations to the desired behavior.
What is the role of contingency in instrumental learning?
High contingency strengthens the belief that the behavior causes the outcome.
What was the result of Thorndike’s puzzle box studies?
Cats gradually learned effective escape behaviors through trial and error, not insight.
Why can reinforcement be ineffective?
If the reinforcer is not naturally linked to the behavior or is delivered too late, learning may not occur.
What is a Skinner box?
An apparatus used to study operant conditioning where animals can perform specific behaviors to receive reinforcement.
What does the credit assignment problem refer to?
When multiple behaviors occur, delayed reinforcement makes it unclear which behavior caused the outcome.
What are operants in free-operant procedures?
Responses that operate on the environment to produce consequences, measured by rate.
How can we teach instrumental responses using shaping?
By reinforcing behaviors that are progressively closer to the target response and withholding reinforcement for earlier steps.
What is differential responding?
When an organism responds differently to two or more stimuli, showing that it can discriminate between them.
What is stimulus generalization?
The tendency to respond similarly to stimuli that resemble the original conditioned stimulus.
What is a generalization gradient?
A graphical representation showing how response strength varies with similarity to the original stimulus.
What is overshadowing?
When one stimulus in a compound is more salient and interferes with learning about the other.
