mod 4

• Learning


  The process that allows us to adapt to the changing conditions of the world around us
• Learning


  Any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or practice
• Classical conditioning


  Learning to make a reflex response to a stimulus other than the original, natural stimulus that normally produces the reflex
• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)


  A naturally occurring stimulus that leads to an involuntary response
• Unconditioned response (UCR)


  An involuntary response to a naturally occurring or unconditioned stimulus
• Conditioned stimulus (CS)


  Stimulus that becomes able to produce a learned reflex response by being paired with the original unconditioned stimulus

  
• Conditioned response (CR)


  Learned reflex response to a conditioned stimulus
• Acquisition


  Repeated pairing of the NS and the UCS; the organism is in the process of acquiring learning
• Principles of classical conditioning


  • CS must come before UCS
  • CS and UCS must come very close together in time—ideally, only several seconds apart
  • Neutral stimulus must be paired with the UCS several times, often many times, before conditioning can take place
• Stimulus generalization


  Tendency to respond to a stimulus that is only similar to the original conditioned stimulus with the conditioned response
• Stimulus discrimination


  Tendency to stop making a generalized response to a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus because the similar stimulus is never paired with the unconditioned stimulus
• Extinction


  Disappearance or weakening of a learned response following the removal or absence of the unconditioned stimulus (in classical conditioning) or the removal of a reinforcer (in operant conditioning)
• Conditioned emotional response (CER)


  Emotional response that has become classically conditioned to occur to learned stimuli
• CER examples


  • Fear of dogs
  • Emotional reaction when seeing an attractive person
• Vicarious conditioning


  Classical conditioning of a reflex response or emotion by watching the reaction of another person

  
• Conditioned taste aversion


  Development of a nausea or aversive response to a particular taste because that taste was followed by a nausea reaction
• Stimulus substitution


  Original theory in which Pavlov stated that classical conditioning occurred because the conditioned stimulus became a substitute for the unconditioned stimulus by being paired closely together

  
• Operant conditioning


  The learning of voluntary behavior through the effects of pleasant and unpleasant consequences to responses
• Thorndike's law of effect


  If a response is followed by a pleasurable consequence, it will tend to be repeated. If a response is followed by an unpleasant consequence, it will tend not to be repeated.
• Skinner's contribution


  • Wanted to study only observable, measurable behavior
  • Gave "operant conditioning" its name
  • Learning depends on what happens after the response: the consequence

  
• Reinforcement


  Any event or stimulus, that when following a response, increases the probability that the response will occur again
• Primary reinforcer


  Any reinforcer that is naturally reinforcing by meeting a basic biological need, such as hunger, thirst, or touch
• Secondary reinforcer


  Any reinforcer that becomes reinforcing after being paired with a primary reinforcer, such as praise, tokens, or gold stars
• Positive reinforcement


  The reinforcement of a response by the addition or experience of a pleasurable stimulus
• Negative reinforcement


  The reinforcement of a response by the removal, escape from, or avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus
• Negative reinforcement example


  • Taking aspirin for a headache is negatively reinforced: removal of headache
• Partial reinforcement effect


  A response that is reinforced after some—but not all—correct responses tends to be very resistant to extinction
• Continuous reinforcement


  Reinforcement of each and every correct response
• Fixed interval schedule of reinforcement


  Interval of time that must pass before reinforcement becomes possible is always the same
• Variable interval schedule of reinforcement


  The interval of time that must pass before reinforcement becomes possible is different for each trial or event
• Fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement


  Number of responses required for reinforcement is always the same
• Variable ratio schedule of reinforcement


  Schedule of reinforcement in which the number of responses required for reinforcement is different for each trial or event
• Punishment


  Any event or object that, when following a response, makes that response less likely to happen again
• Punishment by application


  The punishment of a response by the addition or experiencing of an unpleasant stimulus
• Punishment by removal


  The punishment of a response by the removal of a pleasurable stimulus
• Negative reinforcement


  Occurs when a response is followed by the removal of an unpleasant stimulus
• Positive reinforcement


  Reinforcement of a response by the addition or experience of a pleasurable consequence
• Problems with punishment


  • May cause avoidance of the punisher instead of the behavior being punished
  • May encourage lying to avoid punishment
  • Creates fear and anxiety
• How to make punishment more effective


  • Punishment should immediately follow the behavior it is meant to punish
  • Punishment should be consistent
  • Punishment of the wrong behavior should be paired, whenever possible, with reinforcement of the right behavior
• Discriminative stimulus


  Any stimulus, such as a stop sign or a doorknob, that provides the organism with a cue for making a certain response in order to obtain reinforcement