Learning Chapter 5 Flashcards

Learning Concepts

• Learning is defined as a process leading to relatively permanent changes in an organism's environment representation due to experience.

Classical Conditioning

• Classical conditioning involves a neutral stimulus followed by an unconditioned stimulus to establish a learned response.

• Conditioned stimulus elicits a response that originally occurred only with the unconditioned stimulus.

• Conditioned response is the learned reaction to the conditioned stimulus.

• Unconditioned response is a natural reaction that occurs without prior learning.

• Unconditioned stimulus triggers an involuntary physical response.

• Neutral stimulus is something perceptible by senses but does not evoke the reflex being tested.

Key Processes in Conditioning

• Generalization refers to the tendency for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses.

• Discrimination occurs when an organism learns to respond to specific stimuli while ignoring others.

• Extinction happens when the conditioned stimulus is presented multiple times without the unconditioned stimulus.

• Spontaneous recovery can occur when the conditioned response reappears after a rest period.

Advanced Conditioning Techniques

• Higher order conditioning involves pairing a new neutral stimulus with an already established conditioned stimulus to create a new response.

• Conditioning can involve fear reduction techniques, associating pleasant stimuli with fear-inducing stimuli to diminish fear responses.

• Flooding exposes individuals to fear-evoking stimuli continuously without harm, leading to extinction of the fear response.

• Systematic desensitization presents a hierarchy of fear-evoking stimuli while the individual remains relaxed.

Operant Conditioning

• Operant conditioning examines the relationship between behaviors and consequences, influencing behavior patterns.

• Reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated.

• Positive reinforcement adds something desirable to encourage a behavior.

• Negative reinforcement involves removing an adverse stimulus to promote desired behavior.

• Punishment aims to decrease the likelihood of a behavior recurring.

• Positive punishment adds an aversive consequence to reduce a behavior.

• Negative punishment takes away a pleasant stimulus to diminish a behavior.

Reinforcers and Schedules

• Primary reinforcers meet basic biological needs (e.g., food, water) and are naturally effective.

• Secondary reinforcers gain value through association with primary reinforcers (e.g., money).

• Discriminative stimuli signal when a behavior will be reinforced.

• Partial reinforcement reinforces behavior only intermittently, making it more resistant to extinction than continuous reinforcement.

• Fixed-ratio schedule grants reinforcement after a set number of responses.

• Fixed-interval schedule provides reinforcement after a specific time has elapsed.

• Variable-ratio schedule offers reinforcement after an average number of responses, producing high response rates.

• Variable-interval schedule reinforces responses after varying amounts of time.

Behavioral Techniques

• Biofeedback training allows individuals to receive real-time feedback as reinforcement for physiological responses.

• Behavior modification teaches adaptive behaviors while discouraging maladaptive behaviors.

• Programmed learning breaks tasks into smaller components, allowing for structured mastery and reinforcement of skills.

Test your knowledge on key concepts of learning with these flashcards from Chapter 5. This quiz covers definitions and principles such as classical conditioning and the role of stimuli in learning. Enhance your understanding of cognitive psychology and how it defines the learning process.