Psychology Chapter 6 - Learning and Behaviorism
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Questions and Answers

What defines primary reinforcers?

  • They are reinforcing due to previous experiences.
  • They are items like money or social approval.
  • They are only effective in social contexts.
  • They are reinforcing because they are inherently valuable. (correct)
  • Which of the following is an example of a secondary reinforcer?

  • Money earned from a job (correct)
  • A warm blanket on a cold night
  • A hug from a parent
  • A favorite toy
  • What is the primary effect of punishment?

  • It reinforces the action positively.
  • It decreases the probability of a response. (correct)
  • It provides immediate satisfaction.
  • It encourages the behavior to continue.
  • According to the content, when is punishment most effective?

    <p>When it is given consistently and quickly.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did Skinner's experiment with rats illustrate about punishment?

    <p>Punishment only works if immediate alternatives are available.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What might happen to children who are frequently spanked, according to the findings presented?

    <p>They may suffer from low self-esteem and antisocial behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following statements regarding the correlation between spanking and behavior in children is accurate?

    <p>Children who misbehave tend to prompt more spanking.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a potential consequence of using severe punishment on children?

    <p>They potentially develop antisocial behaviors.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What behavior do children exhibit towards the doll after watching aggressive films?

    <p>They attack the doll mimicking aggressive movements.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is termed as vicarious reinforcement?

    <p>Learning from another's positive experiences.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the outcome for the children who were not exposed to a story about the consequences of cheating?

    <p>They were more likely to cheat.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What role does self-efficacy play in imitating behaviors?

    <p>It enhances belief in performing tasks successfully.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does self-reinforcement involve?

    <p>Rewarding oneself after achieving a goal.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why did Ron Ash continue to smoke while reading academic journals?

    <p>He was trying to associate smoking with boredom.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a common effect of observing high-quality performance in peers?

    <p>Greater likelihood to drop out of the course.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What typically characterizes vicarious punishment?

    <p>It does not have a significant effect on behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What behavior was the rat trained to perform before receiving reinforcement?

    <p>Pull the string to hoist the flag.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key characteristic of a fixed-ratio reinforcement schedule?

    <p>Reinforcement is received after a specific number of correct responses.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is an example of a variable-ratio schedule?

    <p>Winning a prize in a lottery-style game.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do animals respond under a fixed-interval schedule?

    <p>They pause after reinforcement and respond again near the end of the interval.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which schedule provides reinforcement at varying time intervals?

    <p>Variable-interval schedule.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What behavior might suggest a fixed-ratio schedule is in use?

    <p>Frequent long pauses followed by bursts of rapid responses.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In which scenario does a fixed-interval schedule likely apply?

    <p>Issuing a reward after a set period of time since the last reward.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following behaviors is least likely to be reinforced on a variable-ratio schedule?

    <p>Getting a bonus for every fifth sale.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What term describes the initial stimulus that naturally elicits a response without prior conditioning?

    <p>Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What process occurs when a conditioned stimulus (CS) is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus (UCS)?

    <p>Extinction</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What happens during spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning?

    <p>The conditioned stimulus elicits the response after a time delay.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Stimulus generalization occurs when:

    <p>Similar stimuli trigger similar conditioned responses.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the given example of the alarm clock, what kind of behavioral strategy is being employed when distinguishing between clicks?

    <p>Discrimination</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why is extinction not considered the same as forgetting?

    <p>Extinction requires active facilitation.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following best describes the transition of a neutral stimulus to a conditioned stimulus?

    <p>Pairing the NS with UCS repeatedly</p> Signup and view all the answers

    If someone successfully distinguishes between different brands of similar products, which concept are they demonstrating?

    <p>Stimulus discrimination</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does behaviorism primarily focus on in psychology?

    <p>Observable actions of individuals</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was Ivan Pavlov originally researching when he discovered classical conditioning?

    <p>Digestive processes in dogs</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is meant by 'psychological secretion' in Pavlov's work?

    <p>The salivation response before food is presented</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does behaviorism seek to control behavior?

    <p>By changing the environment and experiences</p> Signup and view all the answers

    According to behaviorism, what primarily causes behavior?

    <p>Environmental events and past experiences</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the role of classical conditioning in learning as suggested by Pavlov?

    <p>It creates conditioned reflexes from unconditioned stimuli.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following statements aligns with behaviorism's guiding principle?

    <p>Behavior is a response to environmental stimuli.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What concept did Pavlov's initial observation lead to in the field of psychology?

    <p>Classical conditioning</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the primary behavior observed in the cat during Thorndike's experiments?

    <p>The cat improved its escape time inconsistently.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does operant conditioning differ from classical conditioning?

    <p>Operant conditioning relies primarily on the animal's reactions and behaviors.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    According to Thorndike, what contributes to an increase in the likelihood of a behavior?

    <p>A positive response introduced after the behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did John Watson express about the influence of environment on behavior?

    <p>He believed a controlled environment can train individuals into any role.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does reinforcement involve according to the concept described?

    <p>A method of increasing the likelihood of a behavior through reward.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was indicated about the nature of animal learning in the context discussed?

    <p>Learning occurs only through trial and error without understanding.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the significance of the study where individuals smelled chemicals before electrical shocks?

    <p>It demonstrated that behaviors linked to environmental cues can be learned.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What aspect of reinforcement did Thorndike's methodology revolutionize?

    <p>The understanding of behavior sequences through rewards and consequences.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Unit 8 - Learning

    • The unit covers learning, behaviorism, and classical conditioning.
    • The textbook for the unit is Kalat, J. (2010). Introduction to Psychology (12th Edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
    • The content corresponds to Chapter 6, Modules 6.1-6.3 of the textbook excluding Explanations of Classical Conditioning (pp. 184-186) and Drug Tolerance as an Example of Classical Conditioning (pp. 186-187).
    • Behaviorism is a form of psychological empiricism.
    • Behaviorism focuses on observable behaviors rather than internal thoughts or feelings.
    • In the legal system, witnesses are not allowed to describe internal states like "nervous and worried" but instead use observable descriptions like "trembling".
    • A human being is born with almost no mobility, which is not a bad thing.
    • Surviving and thriving involve learning what is safe and unsafe.
    • Learning is about establishing and changing behavior.
    • Theories of learning explain why we react to different stimuli, e.g., salivating at the sight of food.

    Behaviorism and Classical Conditioning

    • The instructor is Themistoklis Pantazakos, Ph.D.
    • Contact information includes Email: [email protected] and Office: DC 709.

    Classical Conditioning: History

    • Ivan Pavlov, the father of classical conditioning, won the Nobel Prize in 1904.
    • Pavlov's work focused originally on digestion
    • Pavlov observed that dogs salivated at the sight of the researcher entering the laboratory before food was presented – "psychological secretion".
    • Pavlov believed these learned responses could be transferred from one stimulus to another.
    • This is "classical conditioning".

    Classical Conditioning: Method

    • When Pavlov gave the dog food, it salivated without training – this is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and unconditioned response (UCR).
    • The metronome sound was a neutral stimulus at first.
    • By pairing the metronome with the food, the dog eventually salivated at the sound of the metronome. This has now become a conditioned stimulus (CS) and a conditioned response (CR).

    Classical Conditioning: Extinction

    • If the conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), the conditioned response (CR) will eventually disappear – extinction.
    • Extinction is not forgetting; it is actively facilitated.

    Classical Conditioning: Spontaneous Recovery

    • After a period of extinction, a previously extinguished response may reappear in a weakened form when the conditioned stimulus is presented. This is known as spontaneous recovery.

    Classical Conditioning: Stimulus Generalization

    • Stimulus generalization is when a similar stimulus to the conditioned stimulus (CS) elicits a similar response.
    • For example, if a bee stings you, you might develop a fear of other stinging insects, such as wasps and hornets, as they are similar in their properties.

    Classical Conditioning: Discrimination

    • If an animal is reinforced for responding to a specific stimulus but not to similar stimuli, it learns to discriminate between them.

    Operant Conditioning

    • Operant conditioning involves learning through consequences.
    • Animals will attempt different actions (R1, R2, R3...) to achieve desired outcomes.
    • Reinforcement increases the probability of repeating a behavior.
    • Punishment decreases its probability.

    Operant Conditioning: History

    • Edward Thorndike studied animal behavior using puzzle boxes demonstrating gradually consistent improvement by animals during experiments to escape the box.
    • Thorndike observed that the success rate increased over time without assuming the animal "understood" the mechanism.

    Operant Conditioning: Positive/Negative Reinforcement/Punishment

    • Operant conditioning has positive reinforcement (introducing a desired stimulus to encourage a behavior).
    • Negative reinforcement (removing an undesirable stimulus to encourage a behavior).
    • Positive punishment (introducing an undesirable stimulus to discourage a behavior).
    • Negative punishment (removing a desired stimulus to discourage a behavior).

    Operant Conditioning: Effectiveness of Punishment

    • Punishment is most effective when it's immediate and predictable.
    • Irregular or delayed punishment is less effective.

    Operant Conditioning: Punishment for Children

    • The effectiveness to spank a child is disputed.
    • The effect of spanking is a disputed topic. Some research indicates a correlation between frequent spanking and problematic behavior in children, but it is not fully understood whether spanking causes problematic behavior or if problematic behaviors cause parents to resort to it.
    • If severe or consistent. spanking may result in unwanted consequences.
    • Mild spanking, when used as a last resort to stop the initial unwanted behavior, may have less harmful long-term effects.

    Operant Conditioning: Extinction

    • Extinction in operant conditioning occurs when a behavior stops producing reinforcements

    Operant Conditioning: Generalization

    • Generalization in operant conditioning occurs when a similar stimulus to the stimulus associated with reinforcement elicits a similar response.

    Operant Conditioning: Discrimination

    • Discrimination in operant conditioning occurs when an animal learns to respond differently to different stimuli.

    Applied Behavior Analysis

    • Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is an approach used to enhance desirable behaviors by removing reinforcement from unwanted ones and reinforcing those preferred.

    Variations of Learning: Preparedness

    • Certain types of learning are easier than others. This is called preparedness. Animals are more readily able to learn things that are evolutionarily advantageous.

    Variations of Learning: Social Learning

    • Humans learn from others' behavior.
    • Imitation/modeling is common in learning how to act.
    • We can observe and modify our actions based on those around us.

    Vicarious Reinforcement/Punishment

    • Vicarious reinforcement/punishment occurs when people observe another person being reinforced or punished.
    • This impacts how they might later behave.

    Self-Efficacy

    • Self-efficacy is the belief in one's ability to complete a task successfully.
    • Observing competent role models can build self-efficacy.

    Self-Reinforcement and Self-Punishment

    • Some people use self-reinforcement and self-punishment to modify their behaviors.
    • The effectiveness of this method is not always predictable.

    Reinforcement Schedules

    • The schedules of reinforcement are different ways of reinforcing behaviors. There are distinct types of schedules, including fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval and variable-interval. Each type of reinforcement schedule impacts how and when behaviors are exhibited.

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    Description

    This quiz explores the principles of learning, behaviorism, and classical conditioning as outlined in Chapter 6, Modules 6.1-6.3 of Kalat's Introduction to Psychology. It emphasizes the importance of observable behaviors and the implications of learning in our responses to stimuli. Test your understanding of these fundamental psychological concepts!

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