PSY 410: Psychology of Learning and Motivation – Flashcards

consists of the IV (independent variable) and DV (dependent variable)

Functional relationships- cause and effect of overt (observable) behavior

true experiment- control groups and random assignment

cause and effect of overt (observable) relationships

control groups (you have to subject that group to everything BUT the IV) and random assignment (an equal chance that if something is happening, there is a fair chance of knowing how/why)

Appetitive: hungry for, have an appetite for, something good that the subject wants (a reward)

Aversive: something the subject doesn’t want, or to stop behavior

Deprivation: something that is taken away

Satiation: not going to be as motivated; e.g. if you just ate at a buffet, you aren’t going to be hungry or motivated to eat

temporal: close together in time

spatial: close together in a physical sense

ex: no grades or feedback till the end of the class, your not going to get that reward or reinforcement to work hard. Closer in time, the more effective– use a clicker with dogs to train them

predict one event from another

defining behaviors (DV) in measurable (and unambiguous)
ex: There is a class of first graders and acts of aggression; hitting other kids and variations of “hitting”, how do you define hitting. What is the benchmark of hitting?

how much observers agree with what a researcher has set

80% acceptable
90% optimal

frequency within specified time

the rate of response

intensity (force, magnitude, amount), duration, speed, latency (time to response)

interval – response occurs at least once within specified intervals

time-sample- discountinuous interval

topography- how behavior is performed

error rate- how many mistakes were made

not considered “true” experiments, but equally valid

AB: compares baseline (A) to treatment (B)
– any behavior you want to measure (aggression) how many of these acts before you do anything. Ideally, you do this before you are in the environment. # of aggressive acts before you step in and observe

ABAB/Reversal: multiple treatments and withdrawal

ABCAC: Stronger or different treatment (C)
-same thing but seeing if there is higher measure or effect with C

Multiple Baseline: different subjects or settings

to draw out or bring forth

Naturally-occurring (adaptive) behaviors

Orienting response – automatically positioning oneself to view stimulus

Reflex (e.g., startle response)
Reflex arc

Fixed Action Pattern (e.g., cat scratching litter, dog bow to play)
-Sign stimulus activates specific fixed action pattern
-Some patterns can be modified by experience
-May not maintain adaptive function (e.g., animals zigzag when being “pursued”)

Smell of food -> hunger
Loud noise -> startle response
Nausea -> avoidant response
Bad odor -> loss of appetite
Pain -> avoidant response

happens naturally in unconscious stimuli

Habituation – strength of elicited behavior decreases following repeated presentations

Sensitization – strength of elicited behavior increases following repeated presentations

Effects of both may diminish if stimulus presentation is stopped

Can generalize to other stimuli
-Sensitization more likely to generalize
-Habituation is more stimulus-specific: small changes may re-elicit

the strength of elicited behavior decreases following repeated presentations

e.g. Stanhope apartments being built while living at VC; became accustomed to it and within months hardly noticed it

the strength of elicited behavior increases following repeated presentations
-more likely to generalize because it poses to become a risk or threatening to the stimuli

e.g. People who chew with their mouths open

Low intensity ☞ habituation
High intensity ☞ sensitization
Intermediate ☞ sensitization ☞ habituation

Adaptive Significance
-Higher adaptive significance/Relevance sensitization

Primary-process (a-process): directly elicited by event

◻︎as it a-process is activated, the body reacts by applying the b-process◻︎

Opponent-process (b-process): elicited by primary process
-Counteracts and compensates for the primary process to maintain homeostasis
-Independent of primary process
-strengthened and takes longer to disappear, just kinda keeps going

Skydivers:
-Extreme initial fear followed by extreme relief/pleasurable sensations
-Repeated exposure: fear decreases, post-landing relief, and pleasure increases

Substance Use:
b-process expecting that a-process
-Initial pleasurable sensation
-Opponent-process produces unpleasant emotions (withdrawal)
-Return to homeostasis is slow during opponent-process
-Person attempts to return to homeostasis or pleasurable state by using substance

Substance Use and Ambivalence (Ettenberg, 2004):
-Rats develop ambivalent behavior (approach/avoidance conflict) toward cocaine
-Both positive and negative reinforcement mechanisms
➢Immediate effects are reinforcing
➢State following effects is aversive

you get used to the person and get bored after the honeymoon stage

You come in strong and then you get lazy as the semester goes on

Depends on the person, if you are used to giving bad news the b-process would become constant or you would be ‘numb’ to it
OR
initial emotions are erratic then you deliver bad news and emotions calm

because you are making that decision before the b-process activates you will be making it based on the primary/a-process

a-process can be considered overly-emotional and b-process can be overly rational

-One stimulus does not elicit a particular response
➢NS: neutral stimulus
-Another stimulus naturally elicits the response
➢US: unconditioned stimulus
➢UR: unconditioned response
-The stimulus that did not elicit the response is paired with the stimulus that did, in “conditioning trials”
➢NS is paired with US
-The first stimulus then elicits the response
➢NS also elicits the UR, now called the CS and CR

“that was easy” youtube video of David & Bryan

-Events that elicit positive emotions predict degree of attraction
-People can be liked or disliked depending on whether they are associated with appetitive or aversive stimuli
-How can you use this model on a date or interview?
—dating: go on a rollercoaster with the person you are dating because he likes it!
—Job interview: dressing up to make a good impression like if they think you dress well then they may end up hiring you because of that. OR hygiene; if you smell bad or smell too strong then that could effect if you get the job
*Note: this model is not based on operant conditioning
-> without them noticing they are associating you in a positive way

Delayed Conditioning
☞NS before US and overlaps
——>shock causes unconscious response, when you pair it with NS, they end at the same time
——>Most common and most effective

Trace Conditioning
☞NS starts and stops before US and does not overlap
—->The purpose of the tone is like a warning. Trace interval shouldn’t be too long or they won’t associate it with the conditioning response

Simultaneous Conditioning
☞NS and US at same time
—->can be effective but there is no warning

Backward Conditioning
☞US (shock) presented first, then NS
—-> rat gets a shot and then hears the tone. Not effective because it doesn’t give a lot of association between time and the order in which is easiest to learn

usually most effective
–>Onset of NS should immediately precede US

can be very effective
—>interval must be very brief

Difficult to predict US with NS, so poor conditioning

usually least effective for excitatory conditioning

development of conditioned response through pairing of NS and US
>Speed of acquisition generally rapid at first, then levels off

maximum amount of conditioning that can take place

What happens when you repeatedly present the CS without the US?
-the conditioning will stop

CR can be reacquired quickly (faster than acquisition)

Spontaneous recovery may also occur

-CR reappears after extinction (after a period of rest)
-CR is usually weaker and easier to extinguish
-Several extinction sessions may be needed

Why does spontaneous recovery occur??
– extinction is NOT unlearning the CR, but learning something new: to inhibit the CR
-connection between CS and CR is still there on some level, just inhibited
-spontaneous recovery represents weakening of inhibition during a rest period
-disinhibition- during extinction procedure, CR is suddenly recovered when new stimuli

CR generalizes to similar stimuli
-> semantic generalization- verbal stimuli that are similar in meaning (not sound or appearance)

Discrimination- CR is elicited more to one response than another
->discrimination training- deliberate training of discrimination (e.g., K9’s)

verbal stimuli that are similar in meaning (not sound or appearance)

CR is elicited more to one response than another

deliberate training of discrimination (e.g., K9’s)

Subjects exposed to unpredictable events may develop neurotic symptoms

response may be anxiety or catatonia (also used with schizophrenia patients, just won’t respond anymore)

subjects differ in anxiety response (temperament?)

shy dogs condition more easily

Eysenck’s Theory:
-introverts- highly reactive to external stimuli (condition easily)
-extroverts-less reactive and more tolerant of stimuli (condition less easily)

-introverts: highly reactive to external stimuli (condition easily)

-extroverts: less reactive and more tolerant of stimuli (condition less easily)

a stimulus associated with a conditioned stimulus can also become conditioned, by association

aka second-order conditioning: video with the girl blinking
US: flash
UR: blinking
NS: tapping on the head

CS2 elicits weaker response than the conditioned stimulus
-> only indirectly associated with original, unconditioned stimulus
->how is 2nd-order conditioning different from generalization?
——with generalization, no pairing of CS1 and CS2 is needed

-A stimulus previously associated with a conditioned stimulus becomes conditioned, also by association

-Sensory preconditioning vs. 2nd-order conditioning?
—>Sensory preconditioning happens before the CS1 is conditioned

-CS2 also elicits weaker response than the conditioned stimulus (CS1)

-More effective with fewer preconditioning trials
—->Less familiar stimuli are easier to condition
—->Simultaneous pairing is usually most effective

when conditioning happens for specific stimuli only

want to create this in discrimination training

compound stimulus-> simultaneous presentation of two or more stimuli

-More salient important, painful stimulus of a compound stimulus interferes with conditioning of less salient stimulus
▹More salient = more important or noticeable
▹More salient stimulus is easier to condition

-Little to no conditioning occurs to the less salient stimulus

-When a conditioned stimulus interferes with conditioning of a new stimulus

-Pairing a NS with a CS means the NS never becomes conditioned

-Presence of already conditioned stimulus blocks conditioning to the neutral stimulus

-It’s easier to condition an unfamiliar stimulus
◼︎if you are using an elephant, it would be super noticeable, but if there was a book in the room it wouldn’t be as noticeable

-Why is this adaptive?
It could help prevent over stimulation

-When could this be maladaptive?
can tune things out and create things to be more difficult

-Temporal Conditioning
-Occasion setting
-Occasion setting
Presence of occasion setter excitatory conditioning
Absence of occasion setter inhibitory conditioning

time is the conditioned stimulus

When Todd waits for me to get home from school, somehow he knows that I am coming home and he is waiting in the window for my car to pull up

a stimulus signals that a conditioned stimulus is likely to be followed by its associated unconditioned stimulus

= presence of occasion setter (additional stimulus) signals that NS/CS (bell) will be followed by US (food)

Presence of occasion setter ▶︎excitatory conditioning
Absence of occasion setter ▶︎ inhibitory conditioning

Presentation of a new stimulus at the same time as a conditioned stimulus weakens conditioned response
–> trying to train a dog with a good UR, bring it to a new dog park it won’t have the same NS because it is a new environment

New stimulus serves as a distraction

-After conditioning occurs, intensity of unconditioned stimulus (food) is changed ( large amount of food)

-Intensity of response changes to conditioned stimulus (bell)

-This change occurs without the modified US (large amount of food) ever being paired with the CS (bell)

-When the elicited response is actually the result of sensitization, not conditioning

-Any stimulus might be eliciting a response because subject is sensitized

-More common with emotionally arousing stimuli
—–>How can you tell if apparent conditioning isn’t just pseudoconditioning?
>Control group: receives NS and US, just separately
>Difference in experimental from control group response indicates level of conditioning actually occurring

The UR (S-R Model)
->Stimulus-Response Model connects NS with UR

The US (S-S Model)
->Stimulus-Stimulus Model connects NS with US

S-R Model: neutral stimulus is associated with unconditioned response and then elicits the same response as the unconditioned response
-Dog associates bell with salivation

S-S Model: neutral stimulus is associated with the unconditioned stimulus and then elicits a response directly related to unconditioned stimulus
-Dog associates bell with food

Conditioned stimulus becomes a substitute for the unconditioned stimulus
-Bell substitutes for food
-Unconditioned stimulus activates region of cerebral cortex, which then activates another part of the cortex
-Another part of the cortex is activated by the bell
-Connection forms between “food” region and “bell” region of cortex

S-S: involves formation of association between NS and US

S-R: predicts that conditioned response will be the same as/very similar to the unconditioned response

-Conditioned response can be similar to or different from the unconditioned response…why?

-Purpose of the conditioned response is to prepare for the presentation of the unconditioned stimulus

-Sometimes the CR is actually the opposite of the UR

An extension of preparatory-response theory

Conditioning results in a CR that is opposite from original UR
—>Opioids decrease blood pressure (UR)
—>Opioid cues should also decrease blood pressure
—>Opioid cues actually increase blood pressure

Opioids elicit the “a-process” (decrease in BP)

Compensatory response is also elicited (“b-process”/increase in BP)

Stimuli associated with the a-process eventually elicit the b-process…what does this sound like?
-Similar to 2nd-order conditioning

Decrease in blood pressure is both an UR and an US
-UR: occurs “naturally”
-US: elicits increase in blood pressure (b-process)

To maintain homeostasis, compensatory reaction (increase in BP) is activated before opioids, in preparation for opioids

Compensatory response can also be psychological (e.g., tension)

Tension can be activated in the presence of cues

How can we “undo” the association???
—>Removal/avoidance of cues can prevent compensatory response
—>Or, exposure without “using” may extinguish (inhibit) compensatory response

Any unconditioned stimulus has only so much associative value
—>There’s a limit to how much you can make a dog salivate

Associative value: strength of conditioning trials ( ≈ max value of asymptote)

Associative value must be distributed among conditioned stimuli (e.g., cues)

Stronger stimuli support more conditioning/associative value

different values to different stimuli but also have a maximum value it can reach

strength of conditioning trials ( ≈ max value of asymptote)

[Tone + Light] (V = 0): Food (Max = 10) Salivation

[Tone + Light] (V = 10) Salivation (CSs are fully conditioned, obtaining maximum associative value)

Tone (V = 6) 6 Drops of Salivation

Light (V = 4) 4 Drops of Salivation

One stimulus is stronger than the other and overshadows it and the other one is over looked in a sense. It can’t be conditioned as greatly or it is weaker.

blocking: When one stimulus is blocking the other it prevents the other from being effective, it kinda soaks up the stimulus value

Adaptive & Maladaptive

Phobias are extreme, irrational, and maladaptive

association between NS (hornets buzzing) and US (bite) prevents walking into hornet area

conditioned fear response to one event is overgeneralized to other harmless events

extreme, irrational, and maladaptive

ABAB Single Subject Design

▷[A] (baseline): no reaction to rat, rabbit, dog, wool, etc.
▷[B] (treatment): Loud Noise (US): White Rat (NS) Startle Response (UR)
▷[A] (treatment withdrawn): Following 30-day break, tentatively reached for rat, but quickly withdrew hand
▷[B] (treatment): US:NS UR

Conditioning Test: rat presented without noise
Rat (CS) Startle/fear Response-crawling away (CR)

1. Observational Learning
2. Temperament
3. Preparedness
4. History of Control
5. Incubation
6. US Revaluation
7. Selective Sensitization

US: display of fear by another person
UR: Fear of subject
NS: object that is incidentally conditioned

EX: Germs; being brought up in a household where germs were highly attempted to extort

Innate emotionality and reactivity

Jerome Kagan and temperament demonstration

Why would temperament affect the likelihood of developing a phobia?
-personality you are born with; extraversion and introversion personality differences

Genetically-based, species-specific predisposition to learn certain kinds of associations

Valentine (1930) conditioned fear to caterpillar but not opera glasses in daughter

Soares and Öhman (1993) using shocks, conditioned anxiety to fear-relevant subliminal images (e.g., snakes), but not fear-irrelevant (e.g., flowers)

Rhesus monkeys exposed to video of other monkey reacting fearfully or non-fearfully to fear-relevant or fear-irrelevant stimulus

Monkeys exposed to fearful observation of fear-relevant stimulus acquired a conditioned fear reaction

-Jason develops phobia more easily than Samantha = temperament

-Both Jason and Samantha develop a fear of snakes but not flowers = preparedness

Locus of control (When they get to eat, sleep. A lot of children doesn’t have a lot of control over these things)

History of being able to control important events

Why is sense of control important in development of phobias?
be more aware of the cues and environment
-Lack of control➢stimuli signaling danger are more salient

-Avoidance

-Exposures

-Conditioned

section one:
minor skateboarding injury -> slight anxiety
skateboarding-> slight anxiety

section two:
severe injury-> strong anxiety
skateboarding -> strong anxiety

An increase in reactivity to a potentially fearful stimulus following exposure to an unrelated stressful event

The more stress a person is experiencing, the more sensitive they may be

Most popular and used!!
happens very systematically. Sounds like it is operant conditioning, but it isn’t because it’s not a reward to get the cookies, they are just paring the cookies and the rabbit together

✯Peter (2 yo): extreme fear of rabbits
✯Cookies paired with rabbit at a distance
✯Rabbit brought successively closer
✯Eventually Peter held rabbit while eating cookies

Why couldn’t Jones just feed Peter cookies with the rabbit very close?
-Counterconditioning has to occur first

-Wolpe (1958): Cats exposed to shocks were fearful of shock chamber and room and refused to eat in room

-Cats fed in dissimilar room that gradually became more similar to shock room; eventually ate in chamber

-Counterconditioning: CS is associated with event that elicits an incompatible response

-Counterconditioning Pit bull and Vacuum

1. Training in Relaxation
-Deep muscle relaxation, hypnosis, meditation

2. Hierarchy of Fear Exposure
– Very minor◀︎10-15 scenes ▶︎ maximum anxiety
– visualizations

3. (Pairing of each) Fear Exposure (with) Relaxation
– 10-30s (of visualization) ▶︎ relaxation (until) visualization (does not produce) anxiety

– Systematic desensitization carried out with actual phobic stimuli

-Generalization to real-life scenarios is much easier

-But, may not be practical

-Combination may be an option

Prolonged and full exposure to feared stimulus

Prevents the avoidance response

Maximum opportunity to extinguish conditioned fear response

Can be imaginal or in vivo

Does not involve counterconditioning

Exposure has to continue until extinction occurs

-Reduces attractiveness of a stimulus by associating it with an unpleasant (aversive) stimulus
-Pliny the Elder: spider in glass
-Modern-day aversion therapy: Disulfiram (Antabuse*)
-Covert sensitization: imaginal aversion therapy

-Why are nausea-based treatments more effective than shock-based treatments for alcohol abuse?
▷▷▷Preparedness

– Russell et al. (1984): conditioned allergic reaction to odor in guinea pigs by pairing odor and allergy-inducing protein

-Bovbjerg et al. (1990): women receiving chemotherapy in hospital later showed immunosuppression

-Buske-Kirschbaum et al. (1994):
——>Sherbet (NS) paired with adrenaline (US) ➢ Increased natural killer cell activity (UR)
—–>Sherbet (CS) ➢ Increased NK cell activity (CR)

– Pairing the appearance of the drug (NS) with active ingredients of drug (US)

– Placebo effect is stronger when patient originally treated with actual drug

– Placebo by itself typically demonstrates extinction

Elicited responses are reflexive (classical conditioning)

Operant behaviors are behaviors that are influenced by their consequences
——->Behaviors “operate” on the environment to achieve a desired outcome (or avoid an undesirable outcome)

Cats in puzzle boxes: strengthening of effective response and weakening of ineffective responses (not sudden insight)

Behaviors -> satisfaction = strengthened or “stamped in”

-Behaviors -> dissatisfaction = weakened or “stamped out”

-“Skinner box”: Operant conditioning chamber
—>Rats or pigeons earn food pellets by pushing lever or pecking at a response key
—>”Free operant” procedure: rat does what it wants when it wants to

-Evolution in behaviorism: Behavior is not just reflexive/”respondent behavior”
—>Shift from mental processes to “effect of consequences on future probability of behavior”
—>Behaviors that lead to favorable outcomes are more likely to be repeated

1. A response that produces a certain consequence
–any behavior you want to train

2. The consequence that increases or decreases the probability of a response

3. A discriminative stimulus that precedes the response
-Signals that a certain consequence is available

pigeons

Responses that result in consequences

Emitted by the organism, not the stimulus

Lever press Food pellet
->Effect: Future probability of pressing lever increases

-Considered a type of stimulus
-Occur after the behavior (consequence)

-Reinforcers: Strengthen the behavior
Probability of behavior increases
SR

-Punishers:
Probability of behavior decreases
SP

Strengthen the behavior
Probability of behavior increases
S^R

Probability of behavior decreases
S^P

-Behavior is reinforced, not the subject
—->”Your behavior was bad” v. “You are a bad person”

-Reinforcer ≠ Reinforcement; Punisher ≠ Punishment
—>Reinforcers and Punishers are simply consequences
~~~~>Defined by their consequences/effect on behavior, not their intended effect
—>Reinforcement and Punishment refer to the process

Discriminative stimulus (SD)- responses are reinforced when the SD is present, and not reinforced when it is not present

Similar to “occasion-setting” in classical conditioning
~>But SD doesn’t elicit behavior, consequences do

Three-term Contingency:
(1) Antecedent S^D
(2) Behavior R
(3) Consequence S^R

Example:
Coffee shop Open Order coffee
Get coffee to drink

-Punishment (S^Dp)
-Signals that behavior will be punished
S^Dp -> R ->
EX:
Parents home
Fight
Punishment

-Extinction (S^)
-Signals the absence of reincorcement
S^ -> R -> ——
EX:
Light on
Lever Press
No food

Positive: Something is Added
1) Positive Reinforcement (SR+)
2) Positive Punishment (SP+)

Negative: Something is Subtracted
3) Negative Reinforcement (SR-)
4) Negative Punishment (SP-)

Reinforcement – probability of behavior increases
Punishment – probability of behavior decreases

-Behavior results in a desirable consequence
-Likelihood of behavior occurring again increases

Cleaning room R Ice cream S^R+

More likely to clean room in future

Behavior results in an undesirable consequence
Likelihood of behavior occurring again decreases

Speeding R
Speeding Ticket S^P+

Less likely to speed in future

Behavior results in the removal of something undesirable
Likelihood of behavior occurring again increases

Spray Bug Repellent R
No Bites S^R-

More likely to use bug repellent in future

Behavior results in the removal of something desirable
Likelihood of behavior occurring again decreases

Drink and Drive R
Lose License S^P-

less likely to drink and drive