Classical and Observational Learning

• Learning: The process of acquiring knowledge or skills through experience, study, or teaching. It enables adaptation and response to changes for creating effective lives, avoiding dangers, and improving efficiency.
• Stimuli: Something that exists in the surroundings or that is presented, triggering a response.
• Response: How an organism responds to a stimulus.
• Classical Conditioning: A method of learning where a stimulus that triggers a biological response is paired with a new stimulus, ultimately resulting in the same reaction. By Ivan Pavlov
• Unconditioned-Stimulus(US): Something, like food, that triggers a naturally occurring response. It's inherent in the environment and doesn't rely on prior learning or condition.
• Unconditioned-Response (UR): A naturally occurring response that follows the unconditioned stimulus.
• Conditioned-Response (CR): The acquired response to the formerly neutral stimulus.
• Conditioned-Stimulus (CS): A neutral stimulus that, after being repeatedly presented prior to the unconditioned stimulus, evokes a similar response as the unconditioned stimulus
• Neutral Stimulus (NS): A stimulus that initially elicits no response.
• Acquisition is the process of learning where the unconditioned stimulus and conditioned stimulus are paired, leading to an increased conditioned response.
• Extinction is the process where repeated presentation of the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus leads to the diminishing of the association between the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus.
• Spontaneous Recovery: The reappearance of a response (a Conditioned Response) that had been extinguished.
• Generalization: Occurs when an organism responds similarly to stimuli that resemble the original conditioned stimulus.
• Discrimination: Involves responding differently to stimuli that are similar but not identical.
• Second-order conditioning: A form of learning where a conditioned stimulus is paired with a stimulus that became associated with the unconditioned stimulus in an earlier procedure.
• Operant Learning/Conditioning: A type of learning where behavior is controlled by consequences. By B.F. Skinner
• Positive Reinforcement is a method of strengthening behavior by presenting a desirable stimulus after the behavior.
• Positive Punishment is a method of decreasing behavior by presenting an undesirable stimulus after the behavior.
• Negative Reinforcement is a method of strengthening behavior by removing an undesirable stimulus after the behavior.
• Negative Punishment is a method of decreasing behavior by removing a desirable stimulus after the behavior.
• 4 Quadrants of Operant Conditioning

  1. Positive Reinforcement
  2. Positive Punishment
  3. Negative Reinforcement
  4. Negative Punishment
• Law of Effect: A principle developed by Edward Thorndike that behaviors resulting in pleasant outcomes are likely to be repeated, while behaviors resulting in unpleasant outcomes are less likely to be repeated.
• Punisher is any event that weakens or decreases the likelihood of a behavior.
• Reinforcer is any event that strengthens or increases the likelihood of a behavior.
• Reinforcement Schedules is the ways in which we define the time gap or the ratio of response between desired action and related rewards.
• Continuous Reinforcement Schedule: A schedule in which every occurrence of the desired behavior is reinforced.
• Partial Reinforcement Schedule: A schedule in which the responses are sometimes reinforced and sometimes not.
• Fixed Interval Schedule: A schedule in which reinforcement is delivered at fixed intervals of time, provided that the correct response is made.
• Variable Interval Schedule: A schedule in which reinforcement is provided after an unpredictable amount of time has passed.
• Fixed Ratio Schedule: A schedule in which reinforcement is delivered after a specific number of responses have been made.
• Variable Ratio Schedule: A schedule in which reinforcement is provided after an unpredictable number of responses.
• Learning by insight - is a process that occurs through a sudden realization and understanding of how a situation works, or how a problem is solved and handled
• Learning by observation - can be manifested even at early ages, children were able to learn new behaviors just by looking at others
• Second-order conditioning - an existing conditioned stimulus can serve as an unconditioned stimulus for a pairing with a new conditioned stimulus