Conditioning and Learning

Question 1

What are the 2 types of CONDITIONING?

Answer 1

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
learning by association

OPERANT CONDITIONING
learning by consequences

Question 2

What is CLASSICAL CONDITIONING?

Answer 2

‘neutral’ stimulus (e.g. tuning fork) + unconditioned stimulus (e.g. food)
=> ‘conditioned response’ (e.g. salivation)

this results in the ‘neutral’ stimulus alone being the ‘conditioned stimulus’
(e.g. just the tuning fork alone will elicit the salivation response)

VIA ASSOCIATION

Question 3

What outcomes result from CLASSICAL CONDITIONING?

Answer 3

LEARNED behaviour centres around a relationship between events

KNOWLEDGE acquired that certain events follow other events

dependent on info that the newly conditioned stimulus provides about the unconditioned stimulus

e.g. introduces predictability given that stimulus

Question 4

What is the RELEVANCE of CLASSICAL CONDITIONING?

Answer 4

vast array of

• behavioural
• physiological
• emotional responses can be classically conditioned

Question 5

What are the stages of learning in CLASSICAL CONDITIONING?

Answer 5

• acquisition
• reinforcement
• extinction
• spontaneous recovery
• generalisation

Question 6

What is a clinical example of CLASSICAL CONDITIONING?

Answer 6

[Bernstein]

cancer patients can develop aversion to foods encountered during chemo

where unconditioned stimulus = chemo

neutral stimulus -> conditioned stimulus is food consumed during chemo

Question 7

Why is ‘Taste aversion in chemo’ a unique type of learning?

Answer 7

[type of classical conditioning]

• Taste aversion can be acquired v. quickly often in single trial
• selective to gustatory stimuli
• occurs even after long delays between access to food and admin of aversive agent

Question 8

What are therapeutic uses of CLASSICAL CONDITIONING?

Answer 8

-> systematic desensitisation

works by gradually exposing phobic participants to the object of their fears

starts with innocuous analogues of real object

=> expose to actual fear

Question 9

What is OPERANT CONDITIONING?

Answer 9

• learning by CONSEQUENCES
• critical concepts = reinforcement and punishment
• both reward and punishment can be used e.g. carrot vs stick

Question 10

What are the different types of REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES in operant conditioning?

Answer 10

RATIO SCHEDULES

• Fixed ratios (FR)
• Variable ratios (VR)

INTERVAL SCHEDULES

• fixed intervals (FI)
• Variable intervals (VI)

Question 11

What is the trend of the TYPICAL OPERANT LEARNING CURVE?

Answer 11

responses are reinforced

this increases the rate of response

continued until a steady state is achieved

Question 12

What are the REINFORCEMENTS TYPES in operant conditioning?

Answer 12

PRIMARY REINFORCERS

• linked to survival and biological needs
• functions as rewards irrespective of prior learning

SECONDARY REINFORCERS

• items that are reinforcing due to association with other reinforcers e.g. money
• these are LEARNED

Question 13

What are the key points with OPERANT CONDITIONING?

Answer 13

behaviour following reinforcer very likely to be REPEATED

often, no relationship between the behaviour and reinforcer but come to be associated

Question 14

What is a clinical example of OPERANT CONDITIONING?

Answer 14

positive and negative reinforcement of behaviours elicited b patients in pain

e.g. crying, moaning

may lead to exacerbation or cause chronic pain