Conditioning Notes PDF

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Notes regarding the concept of conditioning...

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Conditioning - Learning Condition forms through the pairing of different stimuli Your reactions demonstrate a type of conditioning known as classical conditioning Simple form of learning in which one stimulus calls forth the response done by another stimulus regularly Ivan Pavlov Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov discovered that dogs can learn one thing with another when food is involved US, UR, CR, AND CS Unconditioned Stimulus (US) - A stimulus that causes a response that is automatic, not learned The automatic response, in turn, is called an unconditioned response (UR) Conditioned response (CR) - A learned response to a stimulus that was previous neutral or meaningless Conditioned Stimulus (CS) - A learned stimulus Taste Aversions One form of classical conditioning that can be useful is taste aversion A taste aversion is a learned avoidance of a particular food Extinction When a conditioned stimulus is no longer followed by an unconditioned stimulus, it will eventually lose its ability Spontaneous Recovery Organisms sometimes display responses that were extinct earlier Generalization and Discrimination Generalization is the act of responding in the same ways to stimuli that seem to be similar even if the stimuli is not identical Discrimination is the act of responding differently to stimuli that are not similar to each other Flooding and systematic desensitization In flooding, a person is exposed to the harmless stimulus until fear responses to stimulus are extinguished Systematic desensitization people are taught relaxation techniques to help overcome their fears They are gradually exposed to whatever stimulus they fear Counterconditions A pleasant stimulus is paired repeatedly with a fearful one, counteracting the fear

Operant conditioning People and animals learn to do certain things because of the results of what they do Reinforcement is the process by which a stimulus increases the chances that the preceeding behavior will occur again Primary Reinforcers Function due to biological makeup of the organism are called primary reinforcers Food, water, and warmth are all primary reinforcers Value of secondary reinforcers must be learned, they initially acquire their value through being paired with established reinforcers Money, attention, and social approval are all secondary reinforcers Positive and Negative Reinforcers Positive reinforcers increase the frequency of the behavior they follow when they are applied Food, fun, and social approval are positive reinforcers Negative reinforcers increase the frequency of the behavior that follows when they are removed They are negative in some way Discomfort, fear, and social disapproval are negative reinforcers Rewards Like reinforcers, increase the frequency of behavior Some psychologists use the term reward interchangeably with the term positive reinforcement Punishments Different from negative reinforcers, not the ideal way to approach a problem Continuous and partial Reinforcement Continuous - Reinforcement of a behavior every time the behavior occurs Partial - A behavior is not reinforced every time it occurs Intervals If the amount of time that must elapse between reinforcements of a behavior is greater than zero seconds, the behavior is on an interval schedule of reinforcements There are fixed and variable intervals Fixed - Amount of time must elapse between reinforcements Variable - Varying amounts of time go by between reinforcement In operant conditioning, such as classical conditioning, extinction can occur Operant conditioning happens from repeated performance of the response without reinforcement

Techniques of operant conditioning also have widespread application in the field of education, including shaping, programmed learning, and classroom discipline Shaping Way of teaching complex behaviors in which one first reinforces small steps in the right behavior Programmed learning Assumes that any task, no matter how complex, can be broken down into small steps Latent Learning In the past, many psychologists argued that orgnaisms only learn that which is reinforced, learning can occur without reinforcement

Observationalist Learning Albert Bandura shows that we acquire knowledge and skills by imitating others MEDIA VIOLENCE We learn by observing parents, peers, school, books, and media such as TV and school Most health pros agree that media violence contributes to aggression Preview Previewing the subject matter means getting a general picture of what is covered before hand Question Learning is made easier when we have goals in mind, when there is something in particular we want to learn When we WANT learn something, we become active learner One way to create goals is to phrase questions about the subject matter Read Once you have formulated your questions, read the information with the purpose of answering them Reflect Reflecting on subject matter is an important way to understand and remember it As you read, think of examples or create mental images of the subject matter Recite Reciting something can help people learn Recite words aloud or repeat silent to yourself

Review Look at what you learned on a regular schedule...