Chapter 6 psychology

• Reflex


  A motor or neural reaction to a specific stimulus in the environment
• Instinct


  Innate behaviors that are triggered by a broader range of events, such as maturation and the change of seasons
• Learning


  A relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge that results from experience
• Associative learning


  Occurs when an organism makes connections between stimuli or events that occur together in the environment
• Classical conditioning


  Organisms learn to associate events—or stimuli—that repeatedly happen together
• Operant conditioning


  Organisms learn to associate a behavior and its consequence (reinforcement or punishment)
• Observational learning


  The process of watching others and then imitating what they do
• Classical conditioning


  A process by which we learn to associate stimuli and, consequently, to anticipate events
• Ivan Pavlov


  • Russian scientist
  • Performed extensive research on dogs
  • Discovered the learning process of classical conditioning
• Classical conditioning


  1. Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

  2. Unconditioned response (UCR)

  3. Neutral stimulus (NS)

  4. Conditioned stimulus (CS)

  5. Conditioned response (CR)
• Neutral stimulus (NS) + Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)


  Salivation (UCR)
• Neutral stimulus (NS) becomes Conditioned stimulus (CS)


  Salivation (CR)
• Higher-order (second-order) conditioning


  When the conditioned stimulus (the doctor's office) serves to condition another stimulus (the syringe)
• It is hard to achieve anything above second-order conditioning
• Classical conditioning


  A type of learning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, resulting in a learned response
• Classical conditioning example


  • Cat named Tiger hears the sound of an electric can opener ("zzhzhz") and then gets fed
  • Stingrays at Stingray City in the Cayman Islands learn to associate the sound of a boat engine with getting fed by tourists
• UCS (Unconditioned Stimulus)


  A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response
• UCR (Unconditioned Response)


  The natural, unlearned response to the UCS
• CS (Conditioned Stimulus)


  A previously neutral stimulus that, through association with the UCS, comes to trigger the same response
• CR (Conditioned Response)


  The learned response to the CS
• Higher-order conditioning


  Pairing a new neutral stimulus with the conditioned stimulus to create a new conditioned response
• Acquisition


  The initial period of learning where an organism learns to connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus
• Extinction


  The decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer presented with the conditioned stimulus
• Spontaneous recovery


  The return of a previously extinguished conditioned response following a rest period
• Timing is important for conditioning to occur, with a brief interval between the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus
• Taste aversion


  A type of conditioning where an interval of several hours may pass between the conditioned stimulus (something ingested) and the unconditioned stimulus (nausea or illness)
• Taste aversion may be an evolutionary adaptation to help organisms quickly learn to avoid harmful foods
• Rescorla-Wagner model


  A mathematical formula that can be used to calculate the probability that an association will be learned given the ability of a conditioned stimulus to predict the occurrence of an unconditioned stimulus and other factors
• Classical conditioning also applies to humans, even babies
• Acquisition


  1. Neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are paired

  2. Conditioned response gets stronger through repeated pairings
• Conditioned stimulus is presented without unconditioned stimulus

  Conditioned response weakens (extinction)
• After a break from conditioning

  Conditioned response reappears (spontaneous recovery)
• Stimulus discrimination


  Organism learns to respond differently to various similar stimuli
• Stimulus generalization


  Organism demonstrates conditioned response to stimuli similar to conditioned stimulus
• Behaviorism is a school of thought that arose during the first part of the 20th century, which incorporates elements of Pavlov's classical conditioning
• Behaviorism


  • Considers all behavior as a simple stimulus-response reaction, without regard for internal processes
  • Asserts that psychology must focus on outward observable behavior that can be measured
• Watson's ideas were influenced by Pavlov's work
• Watson believed human behavior, just like animal behavior, is primarily the result of conditioned responses
• Watson and Rayner's experiment with Little Albert

  1. Presented neutral stimuli to Little Albert

  2. Conditioned Little Albert to associate neutral stimuli with fear by pairing with loud sound

  3. Little Albert demonstrated stimulus generalization and became afraid of other furry things
• Watson's research provided new insight into conditioning, but would be considered unethical by today's standards