Unit 4 - Learning

Question 1

Learning

Answer 1

Any relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience.

Question 2

Associative Learning/Association

Answer 2

Learn that certain events occur together; variations of this are classical conditioning and operant conditioning.

Question 3

Behaviorism/Behavioral Psychology

Answer 3

View that psychology should be an objective science, study only observable behaviors, and avoid references to mental processes; John Watson is the father of behaviorism.

Question 4

Neutral Stimulus

Answer 4

One that evokes no special response.

Question 5

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

Answer 5

Stimulus that naturally and automatically elicits the reflexive unconditional response.

Question 6

Unconditioned response (UCR)

Answer 6

Unlearned, involuntary response to the unconditioned stimulus

Question 7

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Answer 7

Originally neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a CR after association with an unconditioned stimulus.

Question 8

Conditioned response (CR)

Answer 8

Learned response to previously neutral conditioned Stimulus, which results from acquired association between the Cs and UCS.

Question 9

Acquisition

Answer 9

Refers to the initial stage of conditioning in which the new response is established and gradually strengthened-closeness in time between the CS and UCS; shorter the time, the quicker/stronger the learned association.

Question 10

Higher order conditioning

Answer 10

Classical conditioning with an extra conditioned stimulus; in Pavlov’s example a light is turned on before the bell (CS) so after pairings the light turned on will lead to salivation (CR).

Question 11

Extinction

Answer 11

The weakening of the CR when the CS is no longer followed by the UCS; in operant conditioning extinction occurs when a response is no longer reinforced.

Question 12

Spontaneous recovery

Answer 12

The reappearance of an extinguished CR after a rest period.

Question 13

Stimulus Generalization

Answer 13

Tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli like the original CS to evoke a CR.

Question 14

Stimulus discrimination

Answer 14

In classical conditioning, the ability to distinguish the CS from similar stimuli that do not signal a UCS; in operant conditioning, it refers to responding differently to stimuli that signal a behavior will be reinforced or will not be reinforced.

Question 15

Taste aversion

Answer 15

Unique conditioned aversion that is accompanied rapidly by a single pairing of an illness or symptoms such as nausea with eating a specific food, even though the specific food is not the actual cause; sometimes called the Garcia effect after research by John Garcia.

Question 16

Counterconditioning

Answer 16

Behavioral technique that changes a negative reaction to a stimulus into a positive one to create a new association; example: a dog that is afraid of cars receives a treat every time a car passes. The goal is to change how the dog feels/reacts when it sees a car.

Question 17

One-trial conditioning

Answer 17

Learning occurs after a single exposure to a stimulus (can occur in classical and operant conditioning).

Question 18

Biological preparedness

Answer 18

Explains why some associations are learned more easily than others; people are more predisposed to fear things (heights or snakes) that have historically presented a mortal threat to people.

Question 19

Habituation

Answer 19

Learning that occurs when a person’s response to a stimulus decreases with repeated exposure.

Question 20

Operant conditioning or discrimination

Answer 20

Type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment.

Question 21

Respondent behavior

Answer 21

Occurs when an automatic response to some stimulus.

Question 22

Operant behavior

Answer 22

Behavior that an organism emits that operates on the environment to produce reinforcing or punishing stimuli.

Question 23

Law of effect

Answer 23

Any behavior followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated; proposed by E.L. Thorndike.

Question 24

Superstitious behaviors

Answer 24

Actions that are only incidentally tied to good results; for example, if you use a certain pen on a test and get a good grade, you will start using that pen for every test, even though it was your studying that earned you the good grade.

Question 25

Operant chamber

Answer 25

(Aka Skinner box) Experimental chamber for the operant conditioning of an animal by controlling the environment enables the investigator to present visual or auditory stimuli, deliver reinforcement, or punishment, and precisely measure simple responses such as bar pressing or key pecking.

Question 26

Shaping

Answer 26

Operant conditioning procedure for establishing a new response by reinforcing successive approximations of the desired behavior; for example, you reward your dog after he jumps over the bar of the obstacle course.

Question 27

Discriminative stimulus

Answer 27

In operant conditioning, as stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contacts to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement).

Question 28

Reinforcement

Answer 28

An event that strengthens the behavior it follows, payment, "great job", dessert.

Question 29

Primary reinforcer

Answer 29

Inborn and does not depend on learning/innately satisfying; a hug, food.

Question 30

Secondary reinforcer

Answer 30

Stimuli that acquire their reinforcing power through association with primary reinforcers; money or good grades.

Question 31

Punishment

Answer 31

Presentation of an aversive stimulus which decreases the behavior it follows; traffic ticket or phone taken away.

Question 32

Positive reinforcement

Answer 32

Adding a pleasant stimulus/consequence to increase behavior. (Receiving $10 for every A on your report card).

Question 33

Negative reinforcement

Answer 33

Remove aversive stimulus to increase behavior. (Turn on air conditioning to stop sweating).

Question 34

Positive punishment

Answer 34

Adding an aversive stimulus/consequence to reduce behavior (Receiving ISR for skipping class).

Question 35

Negative Punishment

Answer 35

Remove pleasant stimulus to decrease behavior (Giving up your phone for a month because you stayed out past curfew).

Question 36

Instinctive drift

Answer 36

Tendency for an animal to revert to automatic, unconscious behaviors that interfere with learned behavior.

Question 37

Continuous reinforcement

Answer 37

Operant procedure for reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs.

Question 38

Partial reinforcement

Answer 38

Operant procedure of reinforcing a response intermittently or response that has been partially reinforced is much more resistant to extinction than one that has been continuously reinforced.

Question 39

Fixed-ratio schedule

Answer 39

Reinforcement is presented after a set number of responses/behaviors (get a prize for reading 10 books).

Question 40

Variable ratio schedule

Answer 40

One in which reinforcement is presented after a varying number of responses/behaviors (salesmen keep calling customers until someone buys their product).

Question 41

Fixed-interval schedule

Answer 41

One in which a response is reinforced after a specified time has elapsed (get your allowance every friday).

Question 42

Variable-interval schedule

Answer 42

One in which responses are reinforced after varying intervals of time (stay on hold to talk to your doctor on the phone).

Question 43

Scalloped graph

Answer 43

Rate of responses gradually increases as the time for reinforcement approaches, leading to a steep increase in responses just before the reinforcement in available; fixed interval schedule.

Question 44

Cognitive map

Answer 44

Mental picture of one's environment

Question 45

Latent learning

Answer 45

Learning that occurs in the absence of reinforcement but only becomes apparent when there is an incentive to demonstrate it.

Question 46

Overjustification effect

Answer 46

Undermining effect of being rewarded for something enjoyable.

Question 47

Intrinsic motivation

Answer 47

Desire to perform a behavior for its own sake, rather than for some external reason, and to be effective.

Question 48

Extrinsic motivation

Answer 48

Desire to perform a behavior to obtain a reward or avoid punishment.

Question 49

Social learning theory

Answer 49

Theory postulates that people learn behaviors through observation; learning by watching or imitating the behaviors of others.

Question 50

Modeling

Answer 50

Process of watching a specific behavior and is thus an important meant through which observational learning occurs; showing how something is done.

Question 51

Vicarious conditioning

Answer 51

Learning something by watching someone model a behavior; the viewer can see the consequence of the behavior; a toddler sees her mother praise her older sibling so she then mimics that behavior to earn praise.

Question 52

Reciprocal determinism

Answer 52

The environment influences the organism and its cognition which in turn influences the environment.

Question 53

Mirror neurons

Answer 53

Located in the frontal lobes and may be the neural basis for observational learning by generating impulses when certain actions are performed or when another individual performs those actions is observed.

Question 54

Prosocial behavior

Answer 54

Positive, helpful, and constructive and is subject to the same principles of observational learning as is undesirable behavior, such as aggression.

Question 55

Learned helplessness

Answer 55

A mental state in which an organism continues to experience a painful, unpleasant or aversive stimulus because they have learned that, regardless of their actions, they have no ability to change the outcome.

Question 56

Self-efficacy

Answer 56

Degree to which a person believes in his/her own ability to complete tasks, reach goals or influence situations.