unit 4 - active learning

Question 1

what is learning?

Answer 1

it is a change in behavior resulting from experience that is relatively permanent

Question 2

what did albert bandora contribute to psychology?

Answer 2

observational learning: he asserted that learning occurs by observing and imitating a model

Question 3

what did ivan pavlov contribute to psychology?

Answer 3

classical conditioning: with dinner bells and dogs, he laid the foundation of associative learning

Question 4

what did robert rescorla contribute to psychology?

Answer 4

stimulus salience: adding onto ivan, he asserted that somethings are more readily associated with a stimulus than others.

Question 5

what did edward tolman contribute to psychology?

Answer 5

latent learning: learned things can be displayed much later

Question 6

what did john watson contribute to psychology?

Answer 6

behaviorism: he argued that true psychology can only rely on what is externally observed, dismissing introspection

Question 7

what did john garcia contribute to psychology?

Answer 7

taste aversion: there are biological connections and predispositions to repulsion

Question 8

what did b.f. skinner and edward throndike contribute to psychology?

Answer 8

operant conditioning: combining reinforcement and associative learning

Question 9

can we learn without any real trial and error?

Answer 9

yes, we can learn via insight learning

Question 10

what are superstitions?

Answer 10

an example of learning whereby we associate punishments/rewards with occurring coincidentally after an independent action

Question 11

what is learned helplessness?

Answer 11

perceived futility in actions based on past experiences even if it is possible to overcome an obstacle

Question 12

what is classical conditioning? what are the steps?

Answer 12

I. an unconditioned stimulus elicits an unconditioned response
i.e. a runner and horse, one excites, another is neutral stimulus
II. a conditioned stimulus is associated with an unconditioned stimulus
i.e. a runner wears a shirt with a horse
III. a conditioned response is elicited by the conditioned stimulus after pairing
i.e. excitement from seeing a horse, due to connection to runners.

Question 13

when a neutral stimulus is paired with an excitatory one, resulting in a conditioned response, what is that called?

Answer 13

in classical conditioning, this is called acquisition, but when these associations unpair, it is called extinguishment. usually a result of simply not being around the stimulus, when it is reintroduced, spontaneous recovery occurs when the extinguished response returns

Question 14

when does stimulus discrimination occur?

Answer 14

stimulus discrimination is the ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus v.s. a separate stimulus for a conditioned response.
i.e. a dog salivates to a certain pitch, but not another

Question 15

when does higher order learning or conditioning occur?

Answer 15

when a neutral stimulus is combined with the conditioned response of a previously conditioned stimuli

Question 16

how does classical conditioning differ from other forms of learning?

Answer 16

classical conditioning occurs BEFORE a behavior; operant conditioning occurs AFTER a behavior. classical conditioning is associative learning, observational learning is imitative

Question 17

how do consequences influence and change behavior?

Answer 17

edward thorndike first investigated operant conditioning with cats and a puzzle box. methods:
I. when cats are put in a box with an exit lever, the prominent behaviors were: meowing, pushing, scratching, etc
II. by accident, when the lever is pressed, then this became a learned association
III. the reward of food for escaping also increased motivation (law of effect).
IV. now, instead of repeating early (I) prominent behaviors, the cats go straight to the lever

Question 18

how did skinner expand on thorndike’s investigation of operant conditioning? what was his matrix?

Answer 18

skinner wondered how different schedules of reinforcement would change behavior, his matrix was
I. positive reinforcement: + stim, + behavior
II. negative reinforcement: - stim, + behavior
III. positive punishment: + stim, - behavior
IV. negative punishment: - stim, -behavior

examples
I. praising good work positively reinforces behavior
II. a baby touching a hot pan will get a burn, decreasing behavior. added stimulus is heat.
III. a seatbelt off and its associated alarm will result in increased seatbelt wearing as the stimulus is removed
IV. a misbehaving child in time out; removing them from their stimulus will decrease their behavior

Question 19

how do motivations affect operant conditioning?

Answer 19

intrinsic motivation –> a desire to perform a task for its own sake, because it is intrinsically rewarding
extrinsic motivation –> a desire to perform a behavior for a reward or to avoid a punishment

Question 20

what happens when extrinsic motivation replaces intrinsic motivation?

Answer 20

overjustification occurs

Question 21

what is the scheduling matrix of reinforcement?

Answer 21

I. fixed interval: both attempts AND same spacing
II. variable interval: attempts BUT varied spacing
III. fixed ratio: both attempts AND same spacing
IV. variable ratio: attempts BUT varied spacing

examples
I. camera scanning ever 2 minutes
II. pop quizzes
III. payment after a certain amount of work
IV. fishing

Question 22

what are stressors?

Answer 22

stressors are things in the environment that trigger a biophysical response.

Question 23

how do we emotionally cope with stressors?

Answer 23

maladaptively = we watch movies instead of school projects
adaptively = we seek social support from friends

Question 24

why is problem focused coping better than emotion focused coping?

Answer 24

efc relies on avoiding the stressor without resolving an issue, pfc relies on setting out to solve the issue, which results in greater stress reduction and feelings of control

Question 25

what is self control?

Answer 25

the ability to delay gratification and control impulses, but this ability depletes over time

Question 26

what is the difference between an external and internal locus of control?

Answer 26

an eloc is leaving control or assigning blame to outside factors, an iloc is a self-deterministic idea of oneself