Chapter 6: Learning

A change in behavior, resulting from experience.

• 1. Non-associative 
• -a person learns about one stimulus, which is information in the external world.
• 2. Associative
• -learning the relationship between two pieces of information

• 1. Habituation
• -where an individual is exposed to a stimulus for a long time, or repeatedly. Eventually, the individual’s behavioral response to that stimulus decreases.
• -Ex. Suppose you live or work in a noisy environment. You learn to ignore the constant noise, because you do not need to respond to.
• 2. Sensitization
• -when an individual is exposed to a stimulus for a long time, or many times, and then has an increased behavioral response.
• -Ex. Suppose you’re sitting with your brother. He keeps annoying you, until finally you react.

-A type of learned response in which a neutral object comes to elicit a response when it is associated with a stimulus that already produces a response.

• 1. Food (unconditioned stimulus) causes a reexive response, salivation (unconditioned response).
• 2. The clicking metronome (neutral stimulus) does not cause the dog to salivate.
• 3. During conditioning trials, the clicking metronome is presented to the dog along with food so that the dog begins to learn the two stimuli are associated.
• 4. During conditioning trials, the clicking metronome is presented to the dog along with food so that the dog begins to learn the two stimuli are associated.

-Little Albert learned to associate a white rat with a loud sound that made Albert feel afraid. Eventually Albert showed the conditioned fear response when he saw the white rat. This case study revealed that phobias could be learned through classical conditioning.

• Learning that occurs when stimuli that are similar but not identical to the conditioned stimulus produce the conditioned response.
• -they fear and avoid similar three-leafed plants—even nonpoisonous ones, such as fragrant sumac.

• -A process in which the conditioned response is weakened when the conditioned stimulus is repeated without the unconditioned stimulus.
• -If the metronome is presented many times and food does not arrive. the animal learns that the metronome is no longer a good predictor of food. Because of this new learning, the animal’s conditioned salivary response to the metronome gradually disappears.

• -A learning process in which the consequences of an action determine the likelihood that the action will be performed in the future.
• -learning, where we learn the relationship between a behavior and its consequences, and the relationship affects our future actions.

In B. F. Skinner’s research, an animal received a reinforcer, such as food, after pressing a lever (operant). Getting the food made the animal more likely to repeat that action. Learning a response in this way is called operant conditioning.

• 1. Reinforcement (increases behavior)
• -makes a behavior more likely to occur
• 2. Punishment (decreases behavior)
• -makes a behavior less likely to occur

• -The removal of a stimulus to decrease the probability that a behavior will recur.
• -Ex. When the lever is pressed, food is removed

• -The addition of a stimulus to decrease the probability that a behavior will recur.
• -Ex. When lever is pressed, shock is given
• rat is not going to press it again

• -The removal of a stimulus to increase the probability that a behavior will be repeated.
• -Ex. Put on Ear plugs to remove noise
• Ex. Take pill to remove headache
• Ex. Rat pushed down lever, shock is removed. rat will push down lever when shocked

• -The addition of a stimulus to increase the probability that a behavior will be repeated.
• -also called reward
• -Ex. when you receive praise from your boss or an increase in pay, your response is to work harder.
• -Ex. When rat presses lever, food is given. rat is press lever again

• 1. Primary reinforcer
• -satisfy biological needs
• -food, water
• 2. Secondary reinforcer
• -do not satisfy biological needs

• -pre school children split into two groups, one watched violent adult and one watched quiet adult with doll
• - those who had seen the more aggressive display were more than twice as likely to act aggressively toward the doll 
• -Exposing children to violence may encourage them to act aggressively.

• -Each piece of knowledge about a culture that can be shared, such as knowing it is a bad idea to text while driving. 
• -are selectively passed from one generation to the next

• -A sudden understanding of how to solve a problem after a period of either inaction or thinking about the problem.
• - a solution suddenly emerges after a delay a period of either inaction or thinking through the problem.
• - After mulling over a problem for a while and seeming to get nowhere, suddenly you know the answer.

-A visuospatial mental representation of an environment