Vocabulary-
Learning: a relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience
Habituation: an organism’s decreasing response to a stimulus with repeated exposure
Associative Learning: learning that certain events occur together
Classical Conditioning: one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events
Behaviorism: view that psychology should (1) be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes
Unconditioned Response: (UR) the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the US
Unconditioned Stimulus: (US)
a stimulus that unconditionally-naturally and automatically-triggers a response
Conditioned Response: (CR) learned response to a previously neutral stimulus
Conditioned Stimulus: (CS) an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with a US, comes to trigger a conditioned response
Acquisition: the initial stage, when one links a
neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response
Higher-Order Conditioning: a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second conditioned stimulus
Extinction: the diminishing of a conditioned response
Spontaneous Recovery: the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished CR
Generalization: the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses
Discrimination: the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an US
Learned Helplessness: the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events
Operant Conditioning: behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher
Respondent Behavior: occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus
Operant Behavior:
behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences
Law of Effect: Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and vice versa
Operant Chamber: a chamber (Skinner box) containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer
Shaping:
reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior
Discriminative Stimulus: a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement
Reinforcer: any event that strengthens the behavior that follows
Positive Reinforcement: increasing behavior by presenting positive
stimuli
Negative Reinforcement: increasing behavior by stopping or reducing negative stimuli
Primary Reinforcer: an innately reinforcing stimulus
Conditioned Reinforcer: a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer
Continuous Reinforcement:
reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs
Partial (Intermittent): reinforcing a response only part of the time
Mirror Neurons: frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing others doing so
Prosocial Behavior: positive, constructive, helpful behavior
Fixed Ratio Schedule: a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specific number of responses
Variable Ratio Schedule: reinforces a response after an unpredicted number of responses
Fixed Interval Schedule: reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed
Variable Interval Schedule: reinforces
a response at unpredictable time intervals
Punishment: an event that decreases the behavior that it follows
Cognitive Map: a mental representation of the layout of one’s environment
Latent Learning: learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it
Overjustification Effect: occurs when the introduction of some extrinsic reward leads to a reduction in a person's intrinsic motivation
Intrinsic Motivation: a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake
Extrinsic Motivation: a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment
Observational Learning: learning by observing others; social learning
Modeling: the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior
Insight: a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem
Instinctive Drift: the tendency of an animal to revert to instinctive behaviors that interfere with a conditioned
response
Questions-
1. Describe the nature of classical conditioning and show how it demonstrates associative learning.
- Associative learning is another name for complex learning, which is making a new association between events in the environment, or making a connection between stimuli and responses. Classical conditioning, the
simple version of this, is a type of learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli. It demonstrates associative learning because it focuses on unconditioned response, unconditioned stimuli, conditioned response, and conditioned stimuli, which all enables the learning that certain events occur together.
2. Explain the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination. Give an example of
each.
Acquisition is the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. This can occur anywhere, such as the snapping of a twig in the forest signaling to a deer of a predators approach, or the ringing of a bell to mean food is ready.
Extinction is the diminishing of a conditioned response. If the owner stops giving the animal food after
ringing the bell, the animal will gradually stop running to them because they learn that the bell no longer means food.
Spontaneous Recovery is the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished CR. If the owner waited a few days before ringing the bell again, the dog would come running again as it did before because enough time would have passed.
Generalization is the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned
stimulus to elicit similar responses. If a toddler is taught to fear moving cars, they could also come to fear moving trucks and motorcycles because they are similar.
Discrimination is the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an US. Discrimination is evident when distinguishing between a guard dog, which would elicit fear, and a guide dog, which elicits safety.
3. Show – using diagrams like
those used in class – how Garcia’s taste aversion studies show classical conditioning.
- Psychologists John Garcia and Robert Koelling studied taste aversion in 1966 while researching the effects of radiation on laboratory rats. Garcia and Koelling noticed the laboratory rats started to avoid drinking the water from plastic bottles in the radiation chambers. Realizing the rats might be associating the plastic-tasting water with the sickness experienced from
radiation, the researchers designed an experiment to test their hypothesis. Taste aversion is a learned response to eating spoiled or toxic food. When taste aversion takes place, you avoid eating the foods that made you ill. Taste aversion can be so powerful that sometimes you also avoid the foods that you associate with an illness, even if the food did not cause the illness.
4. Discuss the important of Pavlov’s work in classical conditioning and explain how
Pavlov paved the way for the behaviorist position.
- Pavlov’s work on classical conditioning laid the foundation for behaviorism, the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Pavlov discovered that (1) many other responses to many other stimuli can be classically conditioned in many other organisms, and (2) showed us how a process such as learning can be studied objectively. By studying
salivary responses, there was no subjective judgments or guesses about what went on within a dogs mind. It is a measurable behavior and an adaption to the environment.
5. Briefly describe the process of operant conditioning, including the procedure of shaping. Then, explain in steps how a psychologist might train a rat to play basketball (put a ball in a cup).
-Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which behavior is
strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished by a punisher. Shaping is a procedure used in this conditioning method in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior. If a psychologist were to train a rat to play basketball, or put a ball in a cup, they would have to follow the shaping techniques. At the beginning, the researcher would need to give the rat a reward every time they got close to the ball. After a couple times, the
researcher would need to wait until the rat got even closer to the ball before giving the reward, and then again until the rat touched the ball. Once this is accomplished, the same procedure needs to take place again, except the rat needs to move the ball closer and closer to the cup before receiving a reward.
6. Identify the different types of reinforcers and describe the four major schedules of partial reinforcement. Give at least one example for each
schedule.
a. Primary reinforcers are an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need.
b. Conditioned reinforcers are stimuli that gain their reinforcing power through their association with a primary reinforce. If a rat in a Skinner box learns that a light reliably signals that food is coming, the rat will work to turn on the light.
c. Immediate and delayed reinforcers are what their names suggest; they either give the reward
immediately after the action, or after a certain amount of time has elapsed after the action occurred. If food is presented to the rat immediately after they presses a bar (Skinner box), they will be more likely to repeat the rewarded behavior. If you are distracted and don’t notice the rat touch the bar and delay giving it the food, the rat will not learn to press the bar; this delay encourages other behaviors that occurred after the rat pressed the bar as
well.
7. Explain how punishment can have at least four types of unintended side effects.
a) Punished behavior is suppressed, not forgotten. Child may suppress the behavior around parents for fear of punishment, but still act in that manner in other contexts.
b) Punishment teaches discrimination. Children could learn that the behavior is not allowed at home but still perform the actions in other settings.
c) Punishment can teach fear.
The child could associate fear not only with the undesirable behavior, but also with the person who delivered the punishment or the place it occurred.
d) Physical punishment may increase aggressiveness by modeling aggression as a way to cope with problems. This can result in a very abusive and aggressive delinquent.
8. Explain how reinforcement can affect intrinsic motivation. Give an example in your answer.
-Intrinsic motivation is a
desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake. By reinforcing an intrinsic behavior, it teaches the child that the action might not be one that is actually fun, because it has to be rewarded and reinforced. Excessive rewards can undermine this behavior and turns it into an extrinsic behavior. If a child was learning psychology of their own accord, just because they thought it was interesting, it would be considered an intrinsic motivation. As soon as you add grades or rewards for the
learned knowledge, the motivation becomes extrinsic because there are ulterior motives for learning the material.
9. Explain how biological predispositions would affect an animal trainer.
-Biological predispositions include all of an animal’s natural predispositions, such as how they eat, hunt, mate, bathe, etc. When a trainer is working with an animal, they often try to connect two predispositions that would not normally go
together. Pigeons could be taught easily to flap their wings to avoid being shocked, and to peck to obtain food because these are natural instincts. However, if you were to switch it and want them to flap their wings to get food and to peck to avoid shock, the would have a hard time going against their instincts and adjusting.
10. Describe the process of observational learning. Include an explanation of prosocial vs. antisocial behavior modeling.
-Observational learning, also called social learning, is learned through observing and imitating others. People go through modeling, a process of observing and imitating a specific behavior. Prosocial models can have a prosocial effect. If you were to encourage a child to read, you need to read to them and surround them with books and people who also read to enforce the behavior and show the child that it is good. Models are most effective when their actions
and words are consistent. But sometimes models say one thing and do another, and the child tends to imitate the hypocrisy. Antisocial behavior is when a child observes inappropriate actions such as aggression or violence. Children can observe these behaviors anywhere-school, the TV, and from their parents.