8 – learning review – Flashcards
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
A relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience is called LEARNING.
answer
...
question
More than 200 years ago, philosophers such as John Locke and David Hume argued that an important factor in learning is our tendency to CONNECT events that occur in sequence. Even simple animals, such as the sea snail Aplysia can learn simple ASSOCIATIONS between stimuli. This type of learning is called ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING.
answer
...
question
The type of learning in which the organism learns to associate two stimuli is CLASSICAL conditioning.
answer
...
question
The tendency of organisms to associate a response and its consequence forms the basis of OPERANT conditioning.
answer
...
question
Complex animals often learn behaviors merely by OBSERVING others perform them.
answer
...
question
Classical conditioning was first explored by the Russian psychologist PAVLOV. Early in the 20th century, John Watson urged psychologists to discard references to mental concepts in favor of studying observable behavior. This view, called BEHAVIORISM, influenced American psychology during the first half of the century.
answer
...
question
In Pavlov's classic experiment, a tone, or NS is sounded just before the food is placed in the animal's mouth.
answer
...
question
An animal will salivate when food is placed in its mouth. This salivation is called the UCR.
answer
...
question
Eventually, the dogs in Pavlov's experiment would salivate on hearing the tone. This salivation is called the CR.
answer
...
question
the 5 major conditioning processes are- ACQUISITION - EXTINCTIONS - SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY - GENERALIZATION - DISCRIMINATION
answer
...
question
The initial learning of a conditioned response is called ACQUISITION. For many conditioning situations, the optimal interval between a neutral stimulus and the US is ½ SEC.
answer
...
question
When the UCS is presented prior to a neutral stimulus, conditioning DOES NOT occur. One function of conditioning is to help animals SURVIVE and REPRODUCE.
answer
...
question
Associations that are not consciously noticed CAN give rise to attitudes.
answer
...
question
If a CS is repeatedly presented, without the US, EXTINCTION soon occurs; that is, the CR diminishes.
answer
...
question
Following a rest, however, if the CR reappears in response to the CS, this phenomenon is called SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY.
answer
...
question
Subjects often respond to similar stimulus as they would to the original CS. This phenomenon is called GENERALIZATION.
answer
...
question
Subjects can also be trained not to respond to SPECIFIC stimuli. This learned ability is called DISCRIMINATION.
answer
...
question
Being able to recognize differences among stimuli has ADAPTIVE value because it lets us limit our learned responses to appropriate stimuli.
answer
...
question
The importance of cognitive processes in human conditioning is demonstrated by the failure of classical conditioning as a treatment for ALCOHOLISM.
answer
...
question
Some psychologists once believed that any natural RESPONSE could be conditioned to any neutral STIMULUS.
answer
...
question
An animal's capacity is constrained by its ABILITY.
answer
...
question
Garcia discovered that rats would associate SICKNESS with taste but not with other stimuli. Garcia found that taste-aversion conditioning WOULD occur when the delay between the CS and the UCS was more than an hour.
answer
...
question
Results such as these demonstrate that the principles of learning are constrained by the NATURAL predispositions of each animal species and that they help each species ADAPT to its environment.
answer
...
question
Another aspect of Pavlov's legacy is that he showed how a process such as learning could be studied OBJECTIVELY.
answer
...
question
Through classical conditioning, drug users often develop a CRAVING when they encounter CUES associated with previous highs.
answer
...
question
Research studies demonstrate that the body's immune system CAN be classically conditioned.
answer
...
question
Classical conditioning associates NEUTRAL stimuli with important stimuli that trigger responses that are AUTOMATIC.
answer
...
question
In contrast, behavior that is more spontaneous and that is influenced by its consequences is called OPERANT behavior.
answer
...
question
B.F. Skinner used Thorndike's LAW OF EFFECT as a starting point in developing a "behavioral technology." This principle states that REWARDED behavior is likely to REOCCUR.
answer
...
question
Skinner designed an apparatus called the SKINNER BOX, to investigate learning in animals.
answer
...
question
The procedure in which a person teachers an animal to perform an intricate behavior by building up to it in small steps is called SHAPING. This method involves reinforcing successive APPROXAMATIONS of the desired behavior.
answer
...
question
An event that increases the frequency of a preceding response is a REINFORCER.
answer
...
question
A stimulus that strengthens a response by presenting a typically pleasurable stimulus after a response is a POSOTIVE REINFORCEMENT.
answer
...
question
A stimulus that strengthens a response by reducing or removing an aversive (unpleasant) stimulus is a NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT.
answer
...
question
Reinforcers, such as food and shock, that are related to basic needs and therefore do not rely on learning are called PRIMARY REINFORCER. Reinforcers that must be conditioned and therefore derive their power through association are called CONDITIONED REINFORCERS.
answer
...
question
Children who are able to delay gratification tend to become MORE socially competent and high achieving as they mature.
answer
...
question
The procedure involving reinforcement of each and every response is called CONTINUOUS REINGORCEMENT. Under these conditions, learning is RAPID. When this type of reinforcement is discontinued, extinction is RAPID.
answer
...
question
The procedure in which responses are reinforced only part of the time is called PARTIAL reinforcement. Under these conditions, learning is generally SLOWER than it is with continuous reinforcement. Behavior reinforced in this manner is VERY resistant to extinction.
answer
...
question
When behavior is reinforced after a set number of responses, a FIXED-RATIO schedule is being used.
answer
...
question
Three-year old Yusef knows that if he cries when he wants a treat, his mother will sometimes give in. When, as in this case, reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable number of responses, a VARIABLE-RATIO schedule is being used.
answer
...
question
Reinforcement of the first response after a set interval of time defines the FIXED INTERVAL schedule.
answer
...
question
When the first response after a varying amounts of time is reinforced, a VARIABLE-INTERVAL schedule is in effect.
answer
...
question
An aversive consequence that decreases the likelihood of the behavior that preceded it is called PUNISHMENT. If an aversive stimulus is administered, it is called POSATIVE PUNISHMENT. If a desirable stimulus is withdrawn, it is called NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT.
answer
...
question
Because punished behavior is merely SUPPRESSED, it may reappear.
answer
...
question
Skinner and other behaviorists resisted the growing belief that expectations, perceptions, and other COGNITIVE processes have a valid place in the science of psychology.
answer
...
question
When a well-learned route in a maze is blocked, rats sometimes choose an alternative route, acting as if they were consulting a COGNITIVE MAP.
answer
...
question
Animals may learn from experience even when reinforcement is not available. When learning is not apparent until reinforcement has been provided, LATENT LEARNING is said to have occurred.
answer
...
question
Excessive rewards may undermine INTRINSIC MOTIVATION, which is the desire to perform a behavior for its own sake. The motivation to seek external rewards and avoid punishment is called EXTRINSIC MORIVATION.
answer
...
question
Operant conditioning IS constrained by an animal's biological predispositions.
answer
...
question
For instance, with animals it is difficult to use food as a REINFORCER to encourage behaviors that are not naturally associated with FOOD and HUNGER.
answer
...
question
Biological constraints predispose organisms to learn associations that are naturally ADAPTIVE. When animals revert to their biologically predisposed patterns, they are exhibiting what is called "INSTINCTIVE DRIFT."
answer
...
question
Skinner's views were controversial because he insisted that EXTERNAL influences, rather than INTERNAL THOUGHTS and FEELINGS shape behavior.
answer
...
question
Skinner also advocated the use of OPERANT principles to influence people in ways that promote desirable BEHAVIOR.
answer
...
question
Skinner's critics argued that he DEHUMANIZED people by neglecting their personal FREEDOM and by seeking to CONTROL their actions.
answer
...
question
Many economists and psychologists believe that people's spending behavior is controlled by its consequences (its COST and BENEFITS).
answer
...
question
In using operant conditioning to change your own behavior, you would follow these four steps: STATE YOUR GOAL - MONITOR - REINFORCE - REDUCE THE INCENTIVES
answer
...
question
Learning by observing and imitating others is called MODELING . This form of learning OCCURS in species other than our own.
answer
...
question
Neuroscientists have found MIRROR neurons in the brain's FRONTAL lobe that provide a neural basis for OBSERVATIONAL learning. These neurons have been observed to fire when monkeys perform a simple task and when they OBSERVE. This type of neuron HAS been found in human brains.
answer
...
question
By age 9mo, infants will imitate novel play behaviors. By age 14mo, they will imitate acts modeled on television.
answer
...
question
The psychologist best known for research on observational learning is BANDURA.
answer
...
question
In one experiment, the child who viewed an adult punch an inflatable doll played MORE aggressively than the child who had not observed the adult.
answer
...
question
Bandura believes people imitate a model because of FEINFORCEMENTS and PUNISHMENTS, those received by the model as well as by imitators.
answer
...
question
These results may help explain why ABUSIVE parents might have AGGRESIVE children. However, ENVIRONMENTAL factors may also be involved.
answer
...
question
Children will also model positive, or HELPFUL, behaviors.
answer
...
question
Models are most effective when their words and actions are CONSISTENT.
answer
...
question
Children in developed countries spend more time WATCHING TV than they spend in school.
answer
...
question
Compared to real-world crimes, television depicts a much higher percentage of crimes as being VIOLENT in nature.
answer
...
question
Correlational studies LINK watching television violence with violent behavior.
answer
...
question
The more hours children spend watching violent programs, the more at risk they are for AGGRESSION and CRIME as teens and adults.
answer
...
question
Correlation does not prove CAUSE. Most researchers believe that watching violence on television DOES lead to aggressive behavior.
answer
...
question
The violence effect stems from several factors, including IMITATION of observed aggression and the tendency of prolonged exposure to violence ALSO DESENSITIZES viewers.
answer
...
