Unit 3: Learning Concepts (3.7a-3.9) Flashcards
(62 cards)
learning
the process of aquiring through experience, new and relatively enduring information, or behaviors.
habituation CC
decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation
associative learning
learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (CC) or a response and its consequence (OC)
stimulus
any event or situation that evokes a response
respondent behavior
behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus
operant behavior
behavior that operates on the environment, producing a consequence
cognitive learning
the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, watching others, or through language
classical conditioning
a type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli; as a result, to illustrate with Pavlov’s classic experiment, the first stimulus (a tone) comes to elicit behavior (drooling) in anticipation for the second stimulus (food).
behaviorism
the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes.
Pavlov’s experiments
the first stimulus (a tone) comes to elicit behavior (drooling) in anticipation for the second stimulus (food); where the CR is the drooling, and the CS is the tone.
conditioned response (CR)
a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)
conditioned stimulus (CS)
causes the CR, was previously neutral
unconditioned response (UCR)
natural response to a unconditioned stimulus- changes into the CR after being conditioned to a previously neutral stimulus
unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
stimulus that causes a natural response before conditioning
NS
neutral stimuli- changes into a conditioned stimuli after classical conditioning
higher-order/second-order conditioning
a procedure in which the CS in one conditioning experience is paired with a new NS, creating a second (often weaker) CS.
3 examples of how Pavlov’s principles influences human health and well-being (not necessarily all in good ways):
1) drug cravings: classical conditioning may inform treatments for substance use disorder
2) food cravings: classical conditioning makes avoiding sweets difficult
3) immune responses: classical conditioning even works on the body’s disease-fighting immune system
Watson
Little Albert experiment: the child learned (was conditoned) to fear a white rat after a loud noise was experienced as the rat or other fluffy animals were presented.
UCS: loud noise, UCR: fear response
NS: rat before conditioning
CS: rat, CR: fear
biological preparedness:
a biological predisposition to learn associations, such as between taste and nausea, that have survival value. Ex) a monkey easily being conditioned to fear a rope rather than a flower because the rope resembles a snake, which they have a biological predisposition to be afraid of.
Garcia
Taste aversion experiment: plastic water: CS and sickness (UCR) triggered by radiation (UCS) caused rats to associate the taste with the sickness
Operant conditioning:
a type of learning in which a behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcement or less likely if followed by a punishment
Thorndike
Law of effect: principle that behaviors followed by reinforcing consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by punishing consequences become less likely
Skinner box/operant chamber
a chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached deices record the animal’s rate of bar pressing/key pecking
reinforcement
any event that strengthens the behavior it follows