Ap Psychology Barron's Chapter 6: Learning Flashcards ionicons-v5-c

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