Ap Psychology Barron's Chapter 6: Learning Flashcards
learning
the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors
acquisition
-classical conditioning: links a neutral stimulus (bell) and an unconditioned stimulus (food) -operant conditioning: the strengthening of a reinforced response
extinction
the process of unlearning a behavior
spontaneous recovery
the tendency of a learned behavior to recover from extinction after a rest period
generalization
the tendency to respond to similar CSs; e.g. the dogs may salivate to a number of bells, not just the one with which they were trained
discrimination
to tell the difference between various stimuli; e.g. if a dog salivates to a certain bell but not to other bells
classical conditioning
learning process when two stimuli are repeatedly paired; a response elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone
unconditioned stimulus
A stimulus that evokes an unconditioned response without previous conditioning
unconditioned response
In classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivation when food is in the mouth.
conditioned response
in classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)
conditioned stimulus
after repeated pairings with an unconditioned stimulus, this will also start to have an affect (the bell once it's ring makes the dog salivate)
aversive conditioning
a type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state (e.g. bad taste) with an unwanted behavior (e.g. biting nails)
Second-order (higher-order) conditioning
the conditioned stimulus (bell) is paired with another neutral stimulus (green light) until it too becomes a conditioned stimulus
learned taste aversion
negative reaction to a particular taste that has been associated with nausea or other illness
operant conditioning
a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher
law of effect
Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and vice versa
instrumental learning
important associative learning in which a behavior becomes more or less probable depending on its consequences
Skinner box
small enclosure where an animal can make a specific response that is systematically recorded with controlled consequences
Reinforcer (reinforcement)
something that increases the likelihood that a specific behavior or response will occur
positive reinforcement
adds something pleasant: parent gives child present as reward for cleaning room
negative reinforcement
removes something unpleasant; e.g. parent stops yelling when child goes to clean room; e.g. a loud noise stops when you press a lever
punishment
a consequence that decreases the likelihood that a behavior will occur
positive punishment
adds something negative: parent yells when child comes home after curfew
Omission training (negative punishment)
removes something pleasant: parent takes away cell phone when child comes home after curfew)
shaping
an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior
chaining
using operant conditioning to teach a complex response by linking together less complex skills
primary reinforcers
stimuli, such as food or warmth, that have reinforcement value without learning
secondary reinforcer
stimulus such as money that becomes reinforcing through its link with a primary reinforcer
generalized reinforcer
a type of secondary reinforcer that has been associated with several other reinforcers
token economy
type of behavior modification in which desired behavior is rewarded with tokens
reinforcement schedule
frequency and regularity with which rewards are offered; they can be based on a number of target behaviors (ratio) or on a time interval (interval)
fixed-interval reinforcement schedule (FI)
reinforcement is delivered after a behavior is performed following the passage of a fixed amount of time
fixed-ratio reinforcement schedule (FR)
reinforcement is delivered after a set number of responses
variable-interval reinforcement schedule (VI)
reinforcement is delivered after a behavior is performed following the passage of a variable amount of time
variable-ratio reinforcement schedule (VR)
reinforcement is delivered after a variable number of responses
continuous reinforcement
reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs
partial-reinforcement effect
the tendency for a response that is reinforced after some, but not all, correct responses to be very resistant to extinction
instinctive drift
tendency for animals to return to innate behaviors following repeated reinforcement
observational learning (modeling)
learning that results from seeing a model reinforced or punished for a behavior
latent learning
learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it
insight learning
The process of learning how to solve a problem or do something new by applying what is already known
Ivan Pavlov
(1849-1936) Russian physiologist who observed conditioned salivary responses in dogs; deduced the basic principles of classical conditioning
John Watson
(1878-1958) used classical conditioning to cause Albert to fear a white rat
Rosalie Rayner
(1898-1935) research assistant (and later wife) of Watson and co-researcher for the famous Little Albert demonstration of classically conditioned emotion
John Garcia
(1917-2012) illustrated how rats more readily made certain associations (e.g. taste aversion) than others by associating noise with shock and flavored water with nausea
Robert Koelling
Ran experiments with John Garcia on Taste Aversion in species using rats, loud sounds, and bad tasting water
Edward Thorndike
(1874-1949) pioneered operant conditioning: learning based on association of consequences with behavior; law of effect; cats in puzzle boxes
B.F. Skinner
coined the term operant conditioning; invented a special contraption to use in his research of animal learning
Robert Rescorla
(1940-Present) classical conditioning; found subjects learn the predictability of an event through trials adding a cognitive element (ring the bell sometimes vs. every time)
Albert Bandura
(1925-Present) researcher famous for work in observational or social learning including the famous Bobo doll experiment
Edward Tolman
(1886-1959) extensively studied latent learning; researched rats' use of "cognitive maps" to solve mazes
Wolfgang Kohler
(1887-1967) Gestalt psychologist that first demonstrated insight learning through his chimpanzee experiments; they suddenly realized how to solve the problem