Psychology Chapter 6: Habituation and Learning

Podcast

Play an AI-generated podcast conversation about this lesson

Questions and Answers

What is habituation?

A complex learning process

A simple sensory learning in which the strength of a reflex response decreases after repeated presentations of the stimulus (correct)

A type of reinforced learning

A type of motor learning

What is the definition of learning?

An enduring change in the way an organism responds based on its experience (correct)

Changes in behaviour that are permanent and functional

Those experiences, direct or indirect, that shape the behaviour of an individual

The associations formed between stimulus and response as a result of conditioning

What are behaviours that are elicited automatically by a stimulus in the environment referred to as?

Innate predispositions

Motivational behaviours

Reflexes (correct)

Inherited tendencies

Who proposed the law of contiguity?

Aristotle Signup and view all the answers

What is the law of contiguity?

The law that two events will be associated if they are experienced close together in time Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary characteristic of conditional emotional responses (CERs)?

They occur when a formerly neutral stimulus is paired with a stimulus that evokes an emotional response. Signup and view all the answers

What is the most effective form of temporal relationship between the CS and UCS in classical conditioning?

Forward conditioning Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the failure of a stimulus to elicit a CR when it is combined with another stimulus that already elicits the response?

Blocking Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary role of the amygdala in learning?

Associating fear with a new stimulus Signup and view all the answers

What type of reinforcement schedule produces the highest and most consistent rate of response?

Variable-ratio Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary factor that connects two events in the mind, according to classical conditioning?

The close proximity of the events in time Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between an unconditioned stimulus and a conditioned stimulus?

Whether they occur naturally or not Signup and view all the answers

What is the result of the omission of the UCS in classical conditioning?

The extinction of the conditioned response Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of latent inhibition in classical conditioning?

To slow down the process of learning the CS-UCS association Signup and view all the answers

What does Rescorla and Wagner's law of prediction suggest about classical conditioning?

That classical conditioning involves more than automatic connections between stimuli Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary concern of cognitive-social theory in understanding human learning?

the influence of cognitions, emotions, and the environment on behaviour Signup and view all the answers

What type of learning involves the acquisition of new behaviours through observation, with or without reinforcement?

social learning Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the process by which an organism learns to ignore a stimulus after repeated exposure?

habituation Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the phenomenon where prior learning hinders new learning?

blocking Signup and view all the answers

Who proposed the law of effect, which states that an animal's behaviour is influenced by its consequences on the environment?

Edward Thorndike Signup and view all the answers

What is negative reinforcement?

The process of terminating an aversive stimulus to increase a behaviour Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for accidental association of a behaviour with a reinforcer?

Superstitious behaviour Signup and view all the answers

What happens in extinction in operant conditioning?

The operant is not followed by the consequence previously associated with it Signup and view all the answers

What is the goal of punishment?

To replace an undesirable behaviour with a desirable one Signup and view all the answers

What is latent learning?

Learning that has occurred but is not yet manifest in behaviour Signup and view all the answers

What type of conditioning is responsible for negative emotional reactions to hypodermic needles?

classical conditioning Signup and view all the answers

What is the principle of Aristotle's principle of similarity related to?

stimulus generalisation Signup and view all the answers

What is the maximum time interval for which learning can occur in conditioned taste aversions?

all of the options listed Signup and view all the answers

What is the most effective form of temporal relationship between the CS and the UCS in classical conditioning?

forward conditioning Signup and view all the answers

What type of conditioning is involved in the sight of drug paraphernalia activating physiological reactions that reduce the effect of the heroin?

paradoxical conditioning Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of paradoxical conditioning?

To counteract the effects of a stimulus Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for a learned avoidance of a taste that has been associated with an unpleasant feeling?

Conditioned taste aversion Signup and view all the answers

What was the main goal of Watson's experiment involving Little Albert?

To demonstrate that emotional responses can be learned Signup and view all the answers

What would have happened to Little Albert's fear response if Watson and Raynor had exposed him repeatedly to the white rat without the noise?

It would have extinguished Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the phenomenon where an organism learns to respond differently to two or more stimuli that are similar but not identical?

Stimulus discrimination Signup and view all the answers

What do theories of learning generally share according to the text?

Experience shapes behavior, learning is adaptive, and careful experimentation uncovers laws of learning. Signup and view all the answers

What is classical conditioning characterized by?

When a neutral stimulus is paired with a stimulus that produces a response a number of times, the neutral stimulus comes to evoke a similar response. Signup and view all the answers

How can aversion development be prevented in a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy?

By changing nurses and varying the room in which chemotherapy is administered. Signup and view all the answers

What does 'prepared learning' refer to in the context of conditioning?

The biologically wired preparedness of an organism to learn some associations more easily than others. Signup and view all the answers

What is paradoxical conditioning characterized by?

The body attempts to counteract the effects of a stimulus. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Learning and Conditioning

Habituation: a simple form of learning where the strength of a reflex response decreases after repeated presentations of the stimulus.
Learning: an enduring change in the way an organism responds based on its experience.

Classical Conditioning

Reflex: a behaviour that is elicited automatically by an environmental stimulus.
Classical Conditioning: a type of learning discovered by Ivan Pavlov, where a neutral stimulus is paired with a stimulus that naturally elicits a response.
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): a stimulus that naturally elicits a response.
Unconditioned Response (UCR): a natural response to an unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned Stimulus (CS): a neutral stimulus that is paired with a UCS to elicit a response.
Conditioned Response (CR): a response to a conditioned stimulus.
Law of Contiguity: a law proposed by Aristotle, which states that two events will be associated if they are experienced close together in time.
Conditioned Taste Aversions: a type of classical conditioning where an organism associates a taste with nausea or other unpleasant visceral experiences.

Key Factors in Classical Conditioning

Temporal Order: the CS must precede the UCS for maximal conditioning.
Extinction: the process of a conditioned response decreasing in strength when the CS is presented without the UCS.
Latent Inhibition: the phenomenon where a familiar stimulus is less likely to produce a conditioned response.
Rescorla and Wagner's Law of Prediction: a law that suggests classical conditioning involves more than automatic connections between stimuli, but rather an organism's ability to make predictions about the environment.

Operant Conditioning

Operant Conditioning: a type of learning discovered by B.F. Skinner, where behaviour is modified by its consequences.
Reinforcement: an environmental event that increases the probability of a response.
Positive Reinforcement: a stimulus that follows a response and increases the probability of the response.
Negative Reinforcement: the removal of an aversive stimulus that increases the probability of a response.
Punishment: a stimulus that follows a response and decreases the probability of the response.

Schedules of Reinforcement

Fixed-Ratio Schedule: a schedule of reinforcement where a response is reinforced after a fixed number of responses.
Variable-Ratio Schedule: a schedule of reinforcement where a response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses.
Fixed-Interval Schedule: a schedule of reinforcement where a response is reinforced after a fixed period of time.
Variable-Interval Schedule: a schedule of reinforcement where a response is reinforced after an unpredictable period of time.

Social Learning: the process of learning through observation and imitation of others.
Cognitive Theory: a theory that proposes that learning is influenced by an individual's expectations, attributions, and cognitions.
Generalized Expectancies: expectancies that influence a wide range of behaviours.
Radical Behaviourism: a theory that focuses on observable behaviours and rejects the role of mental processes and motivations.### Classical Conditioning
Natural selection has favored organisms that associate stimuli related to survival or reproduction.
Classical conditioning involves more than simple contiguity, as the order of presentation of the CS and UCS matters.

Conditioning and Learning

Paradoxical conditioning occurs when the CR is the body's attempt to counteract the effects of a stimulus, such as conditioned tolerance to a drug.
Classical conditioning allows us to learn that two events are related.
Conditioned taste aversions result from associating a taste with nausea and are crucial for survival, especially for foraging animals.

Watson's Experiment and Little Albert

Watson's experiment involved teaching Little Albert to fear a furry white rat by frightening him with a loud noise each time he reached out to touch the rat.
The purpose of the experiment was to determine if emotional responses can be learned.
Little Albert's fear response would have extinguished if he had been exposed repeatedly to the white rat without the noise.

Stimulus Generalisation and Discrimination

Stimulus generalisation occurs when an animal shows the same CR to stimuli that resemble a CS, such as Little Albert's fear of white sheep and other white furry objects.
Stimulus discrimination is the learned tendency to respond to a restricted range of stimuli or only to the stimulus used during training.

Phobias and Irrational Fears

Many people display severe negative emotional reactions to hypodermic needles due to exposure to injections in childhood, which can be explained in terms of classical conditioning.
Classical conditioning is an explanation for some human irrational fears of specific objects and situations.

Factors Influencing Classical Conditioning

Several factors influence the extent to which classical conditioning will occur, including the interstimulus interval, the individual's learning history, and the individual's preparedness to learn.
The temporal order of the CS and the UCS is crucial, with maximal conditioning occurring when the CS precedes the UCS (forward conditioning).

Studying That Suits You

Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.

Description

Assess your understanding of habituation and learning concepts, including the definition of learning and the characteristics of habituation.