Download Classical conditioning - Exp In Social Studies

Unit VI
Learning
Unit 6:
Learning
Unit 06 - Overview
• How We Learn and Classical Conditioning
• Operant Conditioning
• Operant Conditioning’s Applications, and
Comparison to Classical Conditioning
• Biology, Cognition, and Learning
• Learning By Observation
Module 26:
How We Learn and Classical
Conditioning
How Do We Learn?
How Do We Learn?
• Overview:
There are many different types of learning.
Learning is commonly defined as a long-lasting change
in behavior resulting from experience. Learning can be
measured through behavior. Brief changes are not
indicative of learning. If behavior changes for a short
time afterward, we would not want to attribute this
effect to learning. In addition, learning must result
from experience rather than any kind of innate or
biological change.
Examples of Learning
• Complete Thomas Rocklin’s Handout 6-2
– Hilgard and Bower’s definition of learning:
learning refers to the relatively permanent change
in a person’s behavior to a given situation brought
about by his (or her) repeated experiences in that
situation, provided that the behavior change
cannot be explained on the basis of native
response tendencies, maturation, or temporary
states of the person or other animal (e.g., fatigue,
drugs, etc.).
Examples of Learning
• Rocklin reports that applying the definition yields fairly clearcut answers for the 10 events except item (8), the computer
program. Students generally contend that a computer cannot
“learn” because it “does only what it is programmed to do.”
• What words come to mind when you think of the process of
learning?
• Western students tend to see learning as a matter of
understanding the essentials of a given topic or developing
expertise in a field. When they succeed they feel proud;
when they fail they feel disappointment. Eastern students
learn mainly to perfect themselves morally and socially.
How Do We Learn?
•
•
•
•
Learning
Habituation
Stimulus
Associative learning
–Classical conditioning
–Operant conditioning
–Cognitive learning
• Observational learning
How Do We Learn?
• Learning
– the process of
acquiring new and
relatively enduring
information or
behaviors.
– Learning helps us adapt to
our environment.
– Learned associations often
operate subtly.
How Do We Learn?
• Habituation
• Learned associations also feed
our habitual behaviors.
– an organism’s
decreasing
response to a
• With habituation we eventually
stimulus with
lose our sensitivity to an oftrepeated exposure
to it.
repeated stimulus. Once
habituation occurs, we will
have reduced sensitivity to that
stimulus, even if the stimulus
changes.
• Adaptation
– Occurs when we get
used to a continuous,
unchanging stimulus. As
long as the stimulus is
unchanging, we will
eventually not notice it
at all. When the
stimulus changes,
however, our sensitivity
to the stimulus will go
back to original levels.
• In short, Adaptation is
recoverable.
• Habituation is not.
How Do We Learn?
• Cognitive learning
– the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing
events, by watching others, or through language
• Observational learning
- learning by observing others. Also called social learning.
How Do We Learn?
• Associative learning
– learning that certain events
occur together. The events
may be two stimuli (as in
classical conditioning) or a
response and its
consequence (as in operant
conditioning).
• Stimulus
– any event or situation that
evokes a response.
• Associative learning is
the blanket term for all
the types of
conditioning discussed
in the unit.
• The two main forms of
conditioning are,
Classical conditioning
and Operant
conditioning.
How Do We Learn?
Classical Conditioning
How Do We Learn?
Classical Conditioning
How Do We Learn?
Classical Conditioning
How Do We Learn?
Classical Conditioning
How Do We Learn?
Classical Conditioning
How Do We Learn?
Classical Conditioning
How Do We Learn?
Operant Conditioning
How Do We Learn?
Operant Conditioning
How Do We Learn?
Operant Conditioning
How Do We Learn?
Operant Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
• Behaviorism
– the view that psychology (1) should
be an objective science that (2)
studies behavior without reference
to mental processes. Most
research psychologists today agree
with (1) but not with (2).
– Ivan Pavlov laid the foundation for
Watson
– John B. Watson
Classical Conditioning
• People and animals can
learn to associate
– a type of learning in
which one learns to
neutral stimuli with
link two or more stimuli
stimuli that produce
and anticipate events.
reflexive, involuntary
responses and will learn
to respond similarly to
the new stimulus as
they did to the old one.
• Classical conditioning
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Experiments
• Ivan Pavlov a Russian Psychologist,
inadvertently discovered a kind of learning
while studying digestion in dogs. He found
that the dogs learned to pair the sounds in
the environment where they were fed with
the food that was given to them and they
would begin to salivate simply upon
hearing the sounds. As a result he
deduced the basic principle of Classical
Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Experiments
• Parts of Classical Conditioning
–Neutral Stimulus (NS)
–Unconditioned stimulus (US)
–Unconditioned response (UR)
–Conditioned stimulus (CS)
–Conditioned response (CR)
Parts of Classical Conditioning
• Neutral Stimulus
(NS)
• in classical
conditioning, a
stimulus that
elicits no
response before
conditioning.
Parts of Classical Conditioning
• Unconditioned stimulus
(US)
• in classical conditioning, a
stimulus that
unconditionally – naturally
and automatically –
triggers a response (UR).
• The original stimulus
that elicits a response is
known as the US or
UCS. In the Pavlovian
paradigm, the US is
Food. Food elicits the
natural involuntary
response of salivation.
Parts of Classical Conditioning
• Unconditioned response
(UR)
• The involuntary response
of salivation is called the
• in classical conditioning,
UR
or
UCR.
Through
an unlearned, naturally
repeated pairings with a
occurring response to the
neutral stimulus such as a
unconditioned stimulus
(US), such as salivation
bell, animals will come to
when food is in the mouth.
associate the two stimuli
together.
Parts of Classical Conditioning
• Conditioned stimulus
(CS)
• in classical conditioning, a
learned response to a
previously neutral (but now
conditioned) stimulus (CS).
Ultimately, animals will
salivate when hearing
the bell alone. Once
the bell elicits
salivation, a CR, it is no
longer a neutral
stimulus but rather a
CS.
Parts of Classical Conditioning
• Conditioned response
(CR)
• in classical conditioning, a
learned response to a
previously neutral (but now
conditioned) stimulus (CS).
=
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Experiments
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Experiments
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Experiments
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Experiments
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Experiments
Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
Acquisition
• Acquisition
– in classical conditioning, the
initial stage, when one links a
neutral stimulus and an
unconditioned stimulus so that
the neutral stimulus begins
triggering the conditioned
response.
• Learning has taken place once the
animals respond to the CS without the
presentation of the US. This learning is
AKA Acquisition since the animals have
acquired a new behavior. Many factors
affect acquisition. For instance, up to a
point, repeated pairings of CSs and USs
yield stronger CRs. The order and timing
of the CS and US pairings also have an
impact on strength of conditioning.
Generally the most effective method is
to present the CS first and then to
introduce the US while the CS is still
evident.
Classical Conditioning
Acquisition
• Acquisition occurs fastest if bell is rung and, while it is still
ringing, the dogs are presented with food. This procedure is
known as Delayed conditioning.
• Less effective methods of learning include:
– Trace Conditioning– the presentation of the CS, followed
by a short break, followed by the presentation of the US.
– Simultaneous Conditioning– CS and US are presented at
the same time.
– Backward Conditioning – US is presented first and is
followed by the CS. This method is particularly ineffective.
Classical Conditioning
Higher-order conditioning
• Higher-order conditioning
– a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one
conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus,
creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. For
example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food
might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin
responding to the light alone. (Also called second-order
conditioning.)
• First order conditioning: is the bell + food +salivation to
bell = salivation
Classical Conditioning
Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery
• Extinction
– the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical
conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not
follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant
conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.
Classical Conditioning
Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery
• Spontaneous recovery
– the reappearance, after a pause, of an
extinguished conditioned response.
Classical Conditioning
Generalization
• Generalization
– the tendency, once a
response has been
conditioned, for stimuli
similar to the conditioned
stimulus to elicit similar
responses.
Classical Conditioning
Discrimination
• Discrimination
– in classical conditioning, the learned ability to
distinguish between a conditioned stimulus
and stimuli that do not signal an
unconditioned stimulus.
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Legacy
• Classical conditioning applies to
other organisms
• Showed how to study a topic
scientifically
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Legacy:
Applications of Classical
Conditioning
• John Watson and Baby Albert
Applications of Classical
Conditioning
• John Watson and Little Albert
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hBfnXACsOI
Classical Conditioning
• Averse conditioning- conditioned to have a
negative response to objects (e.g. white rat)
– Used in socially constructive ways (nail biting)
• Taste Aversion- ingest food or drink and then
become nauseous, you will probably develop
an aversion to the food or drink.
– Response is adaptive (helpful for survival of
species) avoid dangerous foods in the future.
Module 27:
Operant Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
• Operant conditioning
– a type of learning in which behavior is
strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or
diminished if followed by a punisher.
• Organisms associate their own actions with consequences.
Actions followed by reinforcers increase; those followed by
punishers often decrease.
• Behavior that operates on the environment to produce
rewarding or punishing stimuli is called operant behavior.
Operant Conditioning
• Classical Conditioning
–Respondent behavior (Automatic
responses to stimulus)
• Operant conditioning
–Actions associated with
consequences
–Operant behavior
Skinner’s Experiments
Edward Thorndike
• Edward Thorndike • Edward Thorndike’s Law of
was one of the first
Effect
people to research
– Thorndike’s principle that
behaviors followed by favorable
this kind of
consequences become more
learning.
likely, and that behaviors followed
by unfavorable consequences
become less likely.
– He used the term instrumental
learning to describe his work. He
believed the consequence was
instrumental in shaping future
behaviors.
Edward Thorndike
• He conducted a series of famous experiments using a cat in a puzzle box.
The hungry cat was locked in a cage next to a food dish. The cat had to get
out to get to the food. Thorndike found after a series of trials that the
time required to get out decreased. The time decreased gradually. The cat
did not suddenly realize how to get out. This finding led Thorndike to
assert that the cat learned the new behavior without mental activity but
rather simply connected a stimulus and a response.
Skinner’s Experiments
• B.F. Skinner
• Most influential and contraversial figure in modern
behaviorism. His work elaborated on Edward
Thorndike’s work.
– Developed a Behavioral technology that
revealed principles of Behavior control.
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-RS80DVvrg
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhvaSEJtOV8
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-lgMnvPDQ0
Skinner’s Experiments
• Operant Chamber
– in operant conditioning research, a chamber (also known as a
Skinner Box) containing a bar or key that an animal can
manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices
record the animal’s rate of bar pressing or key pecking.
• Reinforcement
– in operant conditioning,
any event that strengthens
the behavior it follows.
Skinner’s Experiments
Shaping Behavior
• Shaping
– an operant conditioning
procedure in which
reinforcers guide
behavior toward closer
and closer
approximations of the
desired behavior.
– Successive approximations
• Discriminative stimulus
• in operant conditioning, a
stimulus that elicits a
response after association
with reinforcement (in
contrast to related stimuli not
associated with
reinforcement).
Skinner’s Experiments
Types of Reinforcers
• Positive
reinforcement
• increasing behaviors by
presenting positive
reinforcers. A positive
reinforcer is any stimulus
that, when presented after
a response, strengthens
the response.
• Negative
reinforcement
• increases behaviors by
stopping or reducing
negative stimuli, such as
shock. A negative
reinforcer is any stimulus
that, when removed after
a response, strengthens
the response
• Note: negative
reinforcement is NOT
punishment.
Skinner’s Experiments
Types of Reinforcers
• Reinforcer
–Positive reinforcement
–Negative reinforcement
Skinner’s Experiments
Types of Reinforcers
• Reinforcer
–Positive reinforcement
–Negative reinforcement
Skinner’s Experiments
Types of Reinforcers
• Reinforcer
–Positive reinforcement
–Negative reinforcement
Skinner’s Experiments
Types of Reinforcers
• Reinforcer
–Positive reinforcement
–Negative reinforcement
Skinner’s Experiments
Types of Reinforcers
• Reinforcer
–Positive reinforcement
–Negative reinforcement
Skinner’s Experiments
Types of Reinforcers
• In the Skinner Box, if we give a rat in a Skinner
box food when it presses the lever, we are
using positive reinforcement. However, if we
terminate a loud noise or shock in response to
a press of the lever, we are using negative
reinforcement.
Skinner’s Experiments
Types of Reinforcers
• Escape learning allows one to terminate an
aversive stimulus; avoidance learning, on the
other hand, enables one to avoid the
unpleasant stimulus altogether.
• If Quinn creates ruckus in the AP Psychology
class he hates and is asked to leave, he is
evidencing escape learning. An example of
avoidance learning would be if Quinn cut AP
Psychology class.
Skinner’s Experiments
Types of Reinforcers:
Primary and Secondary
Reinforcers
• Primary reinforcer
• Conditioned reinforcer
–Secondary reinforcer
• Immediate vs
delayed reinforcers
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
• Primary reinforcer
– an innately reinforcer
stimulus, such as one
that satisfies a
biological need.
– Includes things like
food, water, and rest
whose natural
properties are
reinforcing
• Secondary reinforcers
– Are things we have
learned to value such as
praise or the chance to
play a video game.
Money is a special kind
of secondary reinforcer,
called a generalized
reinforcer, because it can
be traded for virtually
anything.
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
• One practical application of generalized
reinforcers is known as a token economy.
• Every time we complete a desired task we are
given a token. Periodically we can trade the
token in for any variety of reinforcers.
• Used in prisons, mental institutions, and even
schools.
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
• Conditioned reinforcer
– a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power
through its association with a primary
reinforcer; also known as a secondary
reinforcer.
– Humans do respond to delayed reinforcers
unlike animals. (Ex. Paycheck at the end of
the week, grade at the end of the term, trophy
at the end of a season.) However, immediate
consequences are more allurin.g
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
• Continuous reinforcement
• Partial (intermittent) reinforcement
• Schedules
–Fixed-ratio schedule
–Variable-ratio schedule
–Fixed-interval schedule
–Variable-interval schedule
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
• Continuous
reinforcement
– reinforcing the desired
response every time it
occurs.
• Partial (intermittent)
reinforcement
– reinforcing a response
only part of the time;
results in slower
acquisition of a
response but much
greater resistance to
extinction than does
continuous
reinforcement.
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
• Fixed-ratio schedule
(FR)
• in operant conditioning, a
reinforcement schedule
that reinforces a response
only after a specific number
of responses.
• Variable-ratio
schedule (VR)
• in operant conditioning, a
reinforcement schedule
that reinforces a response
after an unpredictable
number of responses.
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
• Fixed-interval
schedule (FI)
– in operant
conditioning, a
reinforcement
schedule that
reinforces a response
only after a specific
time has elapsed.
• Variable-interval
schedule (VI)
– in operant
conditioning, a
reinforcement
schedule that
reinforces a response
at unpredictable time
intervals.
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
Skinner’s Experiments
Reinforcement Schedules
Skinner’s Experiments
Punishment
• Punishment
– an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it
follows.
– Positive punishment- the addition of something
unpleasant
– Negative punishment- removal of something pleasant
Skinner’s Experiments
Punishment
• Punishment
–Positive punishment
–Negative punishment
Skinner’s Experiments
Punishment
• Punishment
–Positive punishment
–Negative punishment
Skinner’s Experiments
Punishment
• Punishment
–Positive punishment
–Negative punishment
Skinner’s Experiments
Punishment
• Punishment
–Positive punishment
–Negative punishment
Skinner’s Experiments
Punishment
• Negatives of using punishment
– Punished behavior is
suppressed not forgotten
– Punishment teaches
discrimination
– Punishment can teach fear
– Physical punishment may
increase aggression
Skinner’s Legacy
Skinner’s Legacy
• Controversies surrounding
Skinner’s Operant
Conditioning
–He repeatedly insisted that external
influences (not internal thoughts and
feelings) shape behavior.
–He urged people to use the principles to
change people’s behavior at work, home,
and school.
–Critics said he dehumanized people.
Module 28:
Operant Conditioning’s
Applications, and Comparison
to Classical Conditioning
Application of Operant
Conditioning
Application of Operant
Conditioning
•
•
•
•
At school
In sports
At home
For selfimprovement
Contrasting Classical and
Operant Conditioning
Contrasting Classical and
Operant Conditioning
Contrasting Classical and
Operant Conditioning
Contrasting Classical and
Operant Conditioning
Contrasting Classical and
Operant Conditioning
Contrasting Classical and
Operant Conditioning
Contrasting Classical and
Operant Conditioning
Contrasting Classical and
Operant Conditioning
Contrasting Classical and
Operant Conditioning
Contrasting Classical and
Operant Conditioning
Contrasting Classical and
Operant Conditioning
Contrasting Classical and
Operant Conditioning
Contrasting Classical and
Operant Conditioning
Contrasting Classical and
Operant Conditioning
Contrasting Classical and
Operant Conditioning
Contrasting Classical and
Operant Conditioning
Contrasting Classical and
Operant Conditioning
Module 29:
Biology, Cognition, and
Learning
Biological Constraints on
Conditioning
Biological Constraints on
Conditioning
Biological Constraints on
Conditioning
Biological Constraints on
Conditioning
Biological Constraints on
Conditioning
Biological Constraints on Conditioning
Limits on Classical Conditioning
• John Garcia
–Conditioned Taste Aversion
–Biologically primed associations
• Natural Selection and
Learning
–Genetic predisposition
Biological Constraints on Conditioning
Limits on Classical Conditioning
Biological Constraints on Conditioning
Limits on Classical Conditioning
Biological Constraints on Conditioning
Limits on Classical Conditioning
Biological Constraints on Conditioning
Limits on Classical Conditioning
Biological Constraints on Conditioning
Limits on Operant Conditioning
• Naturally
adapting
behaviors
• Instinctive drift
Cognition’s Influence on
Conditioning
Cognition’s Influence on Conditioning
Cognitive Processes and
Classical Conditioning
• Predictability of an event
–Expectancy
• Stimulus
associations
Cognition’s Influence on Conditioning
Cognitive Processes and
Operant Conditioning
• Latent learning
–Cognitive map
• Insight
• Intrinsic
motivation
• Extrinsic
motivation
Influences on Conditioning
Influences on Conditioning
Influences on Conditioning
Influences on Conditioning
Influences on Conditioning
Learning and Personal Control
Learning and Personal Control
• Cope
• Problem-focused coping
• Emotion-focused coping
Learning and Personal Control
Learned Helplessness
• Learned helplessness (Martin Seligman)
Learning and Personal Control
Learned Helplessness
• Learned helplessness (Martin Seligman)
Learning and Personal Control
Learned Helplessness
• Learned helplessness (Martin Seligman)
Learning and Personal Control
Learned Helplessness
• Learned helplessness (Martin Seligman)
Learning and Personal Control
Learned Helplessness: Internal
Versus External Locus of Control
• External locus of control
• Internal locus of control
Learning and Personal Control
Learned Helplessness:
Depleting and Strengthening
Self-Control
• Self-control
Module 30:
Learning by Observation
Mirrors and Imitation in the
Brain
Mirrors and Imitation in the
Brain
• Observational learning
–Social learning
–Modeling
–Bandura’s Bobo
Doll Experiment
Mirrors and Imitation in the
Brain
Mirrors and Imitation in the
Brain
Mirrors and Imitation in the
Brain
Mirrors and Imitation in the
Brain
• Mirror neurons
Mirrors and Imitation in the Brain
• Cognitive imitation
Applications of Observational
Learning
Applications of Observational Learning
Prosocial versus Antisocial
Effects
• Prosocial effects
• Antisocial effects
The End
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Definition
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Learning
= the process of acquiring new and relatively
enduring information or behaviors.
Habituation
= an organism’s decreasing response to a
stimulus with repeated exposure to it.
Associative Learning
= learning that certain events occur together.
The events may be two stimuli (as in
classical conditioning) or a response and
its consequence (as in operant
conditioning).
Stimulus
= any event or situation that evokes a
response.
Cognitive Learning
= the acquisition of mental information,
whether by observing events, by watching
others, or through language
Classical Conditioning
= a type of learning in which one learns to
link two or more stimuli and anticipate
events.
Behaviorism
= the view that psychology (1) should be an
objective science that (2) studies behavior
without reference to mental processes.
Most research psychologists today agree
with (1) but not with (2).
Neutral Stimulus
= in classical conditioning, a stimulus that
elicits no response before conditioning.
Unconditioned Response (UR)
= in classical conditioning, an unlearned,
naturally occurring response to the
unconditioned stimulus (US), such as
salivation when food is in the mouth.
Unconditioned Stimulus (US)
= in classical conditioning, a stimulus that
unconditionally – naturally and
automatically – triggers a response (UR).
Conditioned Response (CR)
= in classical conditioning, a learned
response to a previously neutral (but now
conditioned) stimulus (CS).
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
= in classical conditioning, an originally
irrelevant stimulus that, after association
with an unconditioned stimulus (US),
comes to trigger a conditioned response
(CR).
Acquisition
= in classical conditioning, the initial stage,
when one links a neutral stimulus and an
unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral
stimulus begins triggering the conditioned
response. In operant conditioning, the
strengthening of a reinforced 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 (often weaker) conditioned
stimulus. For example, an animal that has
learned that a tone predicts food might then
learn that a light predicts the tone and begin
responding to the light alone. (Also called
second-order conditioning.)
Extinction
= the diminishing of a conditioned response;
occurs in classical conditioning when an
unconditioned stimulus (US) does not
follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs
in operant conditioning when a response is
no longer reinforced.
Spontaneous Recovery
= the reappearance, after a pause, of an
extinguished conditioned response.
Generalization
= the tendency, once a response has been
conditioned, for stimuli similar to the
conditioned stimulus to elicit similar
responses.
Discrimination
= in classical conditioning, the learned ability
to distinguish between a conditioned
stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an
unconditioned stimulus.
Operant Conditioning
= a type of learning in which behavior is
strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or
diminished if followed by a punisher.
Law of Effect
= Thorndike’s principle that behaviors
followed by favorable consequences
become more likely, and that behaviors
followed by unfavorable consequences
become less likely.
Operant Chamber
= in operant conditioning research, a
chamber (also known as a Skinner Box)
containing a bar or key that an animal can
manipulate to obtain a food or water
reinforcer; attached devices record the
animal’s rate of bar pressing or key
pecking.
Reinforcement
= in operant conditioning, any event that
strengthens the behavior it follows.
Shaping
= an operant conditioning procedure in
which reinforcers guide behavior toward
closer and closer approximations of the
desired behavior.
Discriminative Stimulus
= in operant conditioning, a stimulus that
elicits a response after association with
reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli
not associated with reinforcement).
Positive Reinforcement
= increasing behaviors by presenting
positive reinforcers. A positive reinforcer is
any stimulus that, when presented after a
response, strengthens the response.
Negative Reinforcement
= increases behaviors by stopping or
reducing negative stimuli, such as shock.
A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that,
when removed after a response,
strengthens the response
• Note: negative reinforcement is NOT
punishment.
Primary Reinforcer
= an innately reinforcer stimulus, such as
one that satisfies a biological need.
Conditioned Reinforcer
= a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power
through its association with a primary
reinforcer; also known as a secondary
reinforcer.
Reinforcement Schedule
= a pattern that defines how often a desired
response will be reinforced.
Continuous Reinforcement
= reinforcing the desired response every
time it occurs.
Partial (intermittent)
Reinforcement
= reinforcing a response only part of the
time; results in slower acquisition of a
response but much greater resistance to
extinction than does continuous
reinforcement.
Fixed-Ratio Schedule
= in operant conditioning, a reinforcement
schedule that reinforces a response only
after a specific number of responses.
Variable-Ratio Schedule
= in operant conditioning, a reinforcement
schedule that reinforces a response after
an unpredictable number of responses.
Fixed-Interval Schedule
= in operant conditioning, a reinforcement
schedule that reinforces a response only
after a specific time has elapsed.
Variable-Interval Schedule
= in operant conditioning, a reinforcement
schedule that reinforces a response at
unpredictable time intervals.
Punishment
= an event that tends to decrease the
behavior that it follows.
Biofeedback
= a system for electronically recording,
amplifying, and feeding back information
regarding a subtle physiological state,
such as blood pressure or muscle tension.
Respondent Behavior
= behavior that occurs as an automatic
response to some stimulus.
Operant Behavior
= behavior that operates on the
environment, producing consequences.
Cognitive Map
= a mental representation of the layout of
one’s environment. For example, after
exploring a maze, rats act as if they have
learned a cognitive map of it.
Latent Learning
= learning that occurs but is not apparent
until there is an incentive to demonstrate
it.
Insight
= a sudden realization problem’s solution.
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.
Coping
= alleviating stress using emotional,
cognitive, or behavioral methods.
Problem-Focused Coping
= attempting to alleviate stress directly – by
changing the stressor or the way we
interact with that stressor.
Emotion-Focused Coping
= attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding
or ignoring a stressor and attending to
emotional needs related to one’s stress
reaction.
Learned Helplessness
= the helplessness and passive resignation
an animal or human learns when unable to
avoid repeated aversive events.
External Locus of Control
= the perception that chance or outside
forces beyond our personal control
determine our fate.
Internal Locus of Control
= the perception that you control your own
fate.
Self-Control
= the ability to control impulses and delay
short-term gratification for greater longterm rewards.
Observational Learning
= learning by observing others. Also called
social learning.
Modeling
= the process of observing and imitating a
specific behavior.
Mirror Neurons
= frontal lobe neurons that some scientists
believe fire when performing certain
actions or when observing another doing
so. The brain’s mirroring of another’s
action may enable imitation and empathy.
Prosocial Behavior
= positive, constructive, helpful behavior.
The opposite of antisocial behavior.