1
Q
What is learning
A
Biological mechanism
how we interact w/ our world
survival meachanism
adapting to a change
a change in behavior due to previous experience
modifies behavior
2
Q
How does natural selection relate to learning
A
- natural mutations that are beneficial for survival get passed down to the next generation
- mutation need to interact w/ the environment; the environment determines random mutation
3
Q
human behaviors that came about w natural selection are…..
A
innate
adaptive
& help us cope w/ our environment
4
Q
what are reflexes?
A
involuntary relationship b/t an event and a response to that event
some presnt @ birth, other develop w/ time
5
Q
characteristics of reflexes
A
- involuntary
- found in almost all species
- protect us from injury
6
Q
what are Modal Action Patterns (MAPs)
A
“instincts”
- a more complicated series of actions/reflexes
- series of related acts found in almost all members of a species
- **Releaser: stimulus that triggers a MAP
Ex: ant trail, bear hibernation, opossum playing dead
human usually don’t have MAPs
7
Q
characteristics of a MAP
A
- they evolve w/ Natural Selection (survival mech)
- involuntary
- everyone does them the same way
- every time you do a MAP, you do it the same way
8
Q
what makes a MAP different than a reflex
A
- MAPs involve the whole body rather than a part
- MAPs are more complicated than reflexes
9
Q
what are general behavior traits?
A
a tendency to engage in a certain typr of behavior
- response can vary; voluntary
- occur in a variety of situations (no stimulus required)
- can be influenced by hereditary/genetics
- vary w/i a species
10
Q
problems w/ Natural Selection
A
- inefficient
- mutations occur by chance
- it happens very SLOWLY
- good for a species, but not necessarily for an individual in that species
11
Q
what are the two major components of learning?
A
Experience & Behavior
12
Q
what is “experience?”
A
- any change in the environment
- involves stimuli:
- any physical items/ changes in the enviro.
- they effect each other, making the world complicated
13
Q
what is “behavior?”
A
- anything a person does that can be measured
- changes the can be measured
14
Q
what are the 4 measurable changes in behavior?
A
learning is a change in:
- frequency
- intensity
- speed
- form
15
Q
does a change in behavior have to last?
A
NO, the change does not have to be lasting
learning is not memory
16
Q
are all changes learning?
A
No, some changes in behavior are attributed to other factors such as responses to….
- injuries
- other physical limitations
- aging
- intoxication
- illness
17
Q
why measure behavior when you could just measure brain changes?
A
- brain changes can occur w/o learning
- they are physiological & complex
- a small brain change may not cause a change in behavior–> not ADAPTING
- however, brain changes can be related to behavior
18
Q
what is habituation?
A
- most simple example of learning
- reflex adapts to a stimulus
- decr. your rxn to a stimulus; get used to it
Ex: after hearing a book fall repeatedly, you no longer have a response to it
- decr. in strength or occurence of a behavior (reflex response) after repeated exposure to a stimulus that produces the behavior
19
Q
benefits of habituation
A
survival value
helps conserve energy/resources by realizing you don’t need to respond as strongly or at all to a stimulus
20
Q
characteristics of habituation
A
it’s stimulus specific
- after being habituated to one stimulus you may still experience a new stimulus
- Ex: book slamming + fire alarm
** the less intense the stimulus, the easier it is to become habituated to it, the *more * intense, the harder it is (low beep = easy vs. loud siren = hard)
21
Q
what is stimulus generalization?
A
the closer the new stimulus is to the old stimulus , the less the reflex will “bounce back” or recover
22
Q
what is dishabituation?
A
renewal/recovery of responding in a habituated stimulus after presentation of a new stimulus
demonstrates that habituation does not occur simply due to fatigue or disinterest in the stimulus
ex: book falls, startled again
23
Q
how quickly habituation happens depends on…
A
- how arousing the stimulus is
- how many times it is experienced
- time b/t exposure to the stimulus
- learn through repeated exposure that a stimulus is not dangerous
- shorter time pds b/t = quicker habituation
- learn through repeated exposure that a stimulus is not dangerous
24
Q
how long does habituation last?
A
- short term habituation: seconds or minutes
- long term habituation: anything longer than a few minutes
25
what is spontaneous recovery?
reappearance or increase in strength of a response after a period w/o stimulus presentation
more likely to occur for habituation created by more frequent stimulus presentation
26
what is sensitization?
(opposite of habituation)
* experiences w/ an arousing stimulus lead to a stronger response to that stimulus
* ex: electric shock **_w/_** a loud noise
* **increase reflex response**
* * can amplify response to other types of stimuli presented after the sensitizing stimulus*
27
what are the **7 measures of learning?**
1. Topography
2. Fluency
3. Latency
4. Intensity
5. Error
6. Rate
7. Speed
28
what is **_topography_?**
a change in a behaviors **_form_**
ex: learning to use a mouse clicker
29
what is **_fluency_?**
measure of learning that combines error and rate
number of responses per minute
30
what is **_latency_?**
how long it takes one to react to a stimulus
a change in time before a behavior occurs
31
what is **intensity?**
measure of learning noting changes in intensity of a behavior/response to a stimulus
32
what is **error?**
measure of learning noting a reduction in the number of errors
33
what is **rate?**
a change in the rate at which a behavior occurs
number of occurences per unit of time
\*\*\*allows us to see *_subtle changes in behavior _*\*\*\*
34
what is **_speed_**?
a measure of learning noting a change in speed in which a behavior occurs
35
3 sources of data
Anecdotes
Case Studies
Experiments
36
what is an **anecdote?**
1st/2nd-hand report of **_personal experiences_**
common wisdom
\*\*good starting point; get general ideas of how others think
37
criticisms of _anecdotes_
tend to be vague
misremembered
no control over the situation
38
what is a **case study?**
in depth studies of ONE individual in detail
better than anecdotes b/c they have actual data that was obtained in a systematic way
39
criticisms of _case study_
take a long time to conduct
cannot infer causality (no way to determine cause & effect)
individuals may not represent the whole population
verbal reports are not as reliable as quantitative data
40
what is an **experiment?**
a type of study that has an **INDEPENDENT & DEPENDENT **variable, and a control group
41
independent variable
the variable that is manipulated
## Footnote
ex:
physical properties of stimuli
of stimuli
time of testing
drug vs. placebo
42
dependent variable
the variable that is _measured_
the outcome variable that measures behavior
ex:
reaction time
accuracy
brain activity
43
2 types of experiments
between subjects
within subjects
44
**within subject** experiments
one BIG group, but experimenter manipulates the IV to ***fit each individual***
each person is in both the experimental & control group
requires fewer participants
45
**between subject** experiments
* experiments where the IV changes across groups of participants
* experimental group: exposed to variable
* control group: NOT exposed to variable
* assume people in the 2 groups are similar; avoid group differences
* use random assignment
* use matched sampling
46
**benefits **of _experiements_
have control of the situation
CAN determine causality (b/c of variables)
47
**limitations **of _experiments_
not a lot of ecological validity
## Footnote
(not really how it happens in reality)
it's simplistic compared to the real world
48
what is the **baseline period** in within subject experiments?
the ***initial period*** of the experiment
the **_CONTROL_**
provides basis for comparison
49
what is the **treatment period** in within subject experiments?
time where IV varies within the same period
50
ABA reversal design
average the control & treatment periods to balance
## Footnote
**return to the baseline period after the treatment period**
*it eliminates the practice/fatigue effects*
51
why use **_animal model_**s for human learning?
* animals & humans are similar in how we learn
* "unethical" to study humans, but *may* be possible to study animals (depends)
* experimenter can **control heredity & genetics**
* experimenter can **control learning history**
52
benefits and ethical concerns of animal research
can benefit BOTH animal & human knowledge
practical effects on animal treatment
APA provides guidelines to prevent unecessary suffering or pain in animal subjects
53
what did Ivan Pavlov study?
"how do we break down food?"
salivary reflex vs. psychic reflex
54
what are **unconditional reflexes?**
reflexes that **occur no matter what**
they're the same every time
present @ birth
fairly permanent and unchanging
* consists of:
* unconditional stimulus (US)
* unconditional response (UR)
55
what are **conditional reflexes?**
reflexes that are acquired through experience
*depend on many conditions*
**impermanent; vary**
ex: Pavlov's dogs
* consists of:
* conditional stimulus (CS)
* conditional response (CR)
56
unconditional stimulus (US)
an event important to survival
creates UR
57
conditional stimulus (CS)
**learned** event
creates the CR
58
describe **basic conditioning**
* trial 1: present CS→present US→get UR
* trial 2: " "
* trial N: present CS→present US→**get CR**
CR is some sort of reflex response
CS & US appear no matter what
59
higher-order conditioning
& second-order conditioning
present a **new stimulus **_with_ an old stimulus
* trial 1: present CS2→present CS1→get CR
* repeat until *_{second-order conditioning_*}
* trial N: present CS2→get CR
\*\*\* the more intense the stimulus, the higher the conditioning can go; get better conditioning
60
what qualifies as LEARNING?
when latency gets short enough, **the CR appears before the US (**reflex trigger**)**
**\*\*\*when you get the conditioned response\*\*\***
at first CS→US→CR ...then CS→CR→US.
\*\*\* as the time b/t CS & CR decrease, we determine learning occurs
61
test trials/catch trials
usually CS→US→CR.
but every so often CS→...?
(will a CR appear w/o a US?)
62
measure learning by looking at the intensity of the response
if response get stronger over time
increase in the response over time
63
what is **pseudoconditioning?**
responding to a stimulus w/ a _conditioned response (CR) _ after a reflex has occured
similar to sensitization
learning hasn't occured if indiv. becomes sensitized to the certain kind of stimulus
exp. group: CS & US consistently paired together
control group: CS & US sometimes paired together
64
VARIABLES affecting Pavlovian conditioning:
**how you present/pair the CS & US **
* trace conditioning
* when you experience the US, you no longer experience the CS over time
* delay conditioning
* some pverlap where you're experiencing both the CS and US
65
VARIABLES affecting Pavlovian conditioning:
## Footnote
**contingency**
one thing will occur ***only *** when another thing occurs
* "if X, then Y"
* if no X, then no Y"
greater contingency will help us learn faster
66
VARIABLES affecting Pavlovian conditioning:
## Footnote
**contiguity**
how close in time the CS and US are together when occurring
* Interstimulus Interval (ISI)
* time b/t when the CS starts and the US starts
* **_the bigger the ISI, the less contiguity there is_**
67
VARIABLES affecting Pavlovian conditioning:
**stimulus features**
what is a **compound stimulus?**
some things are more likely to become a CS than others
a more intense US = *better results/learn faster*
* _compound stimulus_
* 2 stimuli presented at the same time together as one
* overshadowing
* can occur when one part of the compund stimulus *alone* elicits the CR, but the other doesn't
* one of them is more easily learned
68
VARIABLES affecting Pavlovian conditioning:
**prior experience**
what is l_atent inhabition_ & _blocking_?
person has experienced a stimulus before someone attempts to use it
_Latent inhabition_
* previous experience interferes w/ ability of a stimulus to become a CS
* impairs the ability to learn a new response
\*\*\*using a new stimulus is best for learning
* _blocking_: new stimulus compounded w/ a well-learned CS will not, its self, become a CS
* specific to **compund stimuli**
69
VARIABLES affecting Pavlovian conditioning:
## Footnote
**# of trials**
**time b/t trials**
the more trails there are, the better
* Intertrial Interval (ITI)
* time b/t trials
* *the longer the ITI, the more effective learning is*
* more time to process & associate
70
what are some of the other variables that influence how you learn?
* age
* temperment/personality
* stress
71
what is **extinction?**
a way to "forget" learning
repeatedly presenting the CS alone, so eventually the CS gets *weaker *and will disappear
the CS doesn't signal anything changing or new in the environment
72
how do you test if extinction worked?
by testing to see how fast you *re-learn*
after extinction, relearning the CS--\>CR relationship occurs faster b/c there's some assn to build on
73
what is spontaneous recovery?
* CR reappears after extinction (a pd. w/o CS presentation)
* shows that extinction is not really forgetting; the orig. learning is still there
\*\*\*spontaneous recovery can be eliminated with multiple extinctions
74
what is the **stimulus-substitution theory**
"the CR is exactly the same, in the brain, as the UR"
connect CS & US
there's a pathway linking the CS neuron path and the US neuron path ***before the US appears***, triggering the UR before the US
75
*problems* with the _stimulus substition theory_
a CR will not always be the same as a UR
you are conditioned to expect one thing, so you'll do something else if there is a different stimulus
76
what is the **prepatory response theory?**
* the **_UR_** is an **innate** response designed to *_deal w/_* the US
* the **_CR_** is a **learned** response designed to *_prepare for_* the US
77
what did Watson want to know about fear?
if it was innate or learned
78
Little Albert
baby that had no fear response to a rat
Watson added a loud gong noise with presentation of the rat--\> made Little Albert fear the rat
(pair rat w/ loud noise=think he fear the rat)
\*\*\*shows that we *can* **create** fear/**condition** fear\*\*\*
79
how can we eliminate fear?
Little Peter
naturally afraid of rabbits
Watson asso. positive feelings (food) w/ exposure to the rabbit--\> he no loner feared the rabbit
**^^^counterconditioning therapy/ exposure therapy^^**
there's also **Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) **b/c not all fears are easy to obtain
systematic desensitization
80
what is systematic desensitization?
imagine/virtually recreate scene w/ VRET
often as effectinve as in vivo experimentation
helps w/ PTSD
helps *prevent* PTSD
(create latent inhabition), reduce contingency)
81
what is prejudice?
judging before having facts about an individual/situation
generalizations that are often inappropiate
pairing words about a certain race/ethnicity/religion w/ emotional words
ex: muslim/terrorism, women/weak
82
how can we get rid of prejudice?
with **evaluative conditioning**
** **pair words/images of groups with positive stimuli to reduce/eliminate prejudice
helps adjust views of a group w/ this type of conditioning
83
what is **paraphilia?**
"incorrect love"
sexual arousal often judged as unethical and/or immoral by society
ex: sexual offenders
conditioning may help explain wh it exists
84
how to get rid of paraphilia
use **aversion therapy**
break assn by re-conditioning negative stimuli, that the person sees as positive, to be negative again
CS--\> noxious US--\> unpleasant sensation
85
is treatment for paraphilia morally acceptable?
YES is they are harming others
NO if they are not harming others; if it's their personal preference/desires
86
what is taste aversion?
conditioned taste avoidance
happens very quickly
its _valuable for survival_
(important to avoid dangerous substances)
87
problems with advertising
they NEED to **present product (CS) *_first_*** and more often
they often involve simultaneous or backward conditioning
\*\*\*co-brandning helps (pair a new brand w/ an old favorite brand)
88
how does conditioning work in drug addiction?
drug = US
the high = UR
drug paraphernalia = CS
* our bodies naturally have physiological change that build tolerance to the drug
* **_compensatory response_**
* **__**reduce drugs effectiveness
* paraphernalia --\> CR --\> tolerance
89
what happens when the CS is missing in drug addiction?
the body doesn't have time to **prepare **for the drug with the lack of a CS
often leads to an accidentla overdose
90
what happens when the CS appears w/ no drug in drug addiction?
the drug addicted person will experience withdrawl and cravings for the drug
91
how does conditioning help diagnose patients?
a poor response to condtioning can be an **early sign of dementia**
conditioning can help diagnoase **deafness**
(infant doesn't turn toward a clap)
also helps diagnose autism^^^
Learning & Behavior
flashcards
Decks in class (3)
# Cards
