1) Adaptability (T) is our capability to learn new behaviors that help us to manage changing circumstances.
a. My brother is adaptable because he was able to learn that he would get in trouble when he misbehaved, so he adapted and changed his behavior and now he is obedient and a good kid.
2) Habituation (T) is an action, thought, or process, which one adopts into their life, and after a varied amount of time and exposure, the action becomes routine.
a. I never used to floss, but after being told I needed to, I began to do so automatically, until it became a habit, and now I have to floss before bed.
3) Learning (T) is the process of gaining new information or insight. Learning continues throughout one’s life, as they are able to build upon gained information.
a. When a new baby is born, they begin the learning process immediately, learning who gives them food, and who to trust.
4) Associative Learning (T) is the connection of repeated events that happen in a series. It then causes one to think in the future, knowing that there will be a specific response with an action.
a. When I ate popcorn at a movie I really liked, I thought that if I got popcorn again, I would enjoy the movie.
5) Stimulus (T) is a thing or event which stimulates a specific response or reaction.
a. Cold environments stimulate shivering and numbness.
6) Cognitive Learning (T) is the learning which is procured through watching the actions of someone else do something we have never experienced or done. Information can also be attained through language.
a. When I was younger, I went to a ball, and in order to learn how to dance I went to classes. At these classes I used cognitive learning by watching how my teachers danced and then repeated the actions they did.
7) Classical Conditioning (T) is learning when one links two or more stimuli together, which allows for them to predict events.
a. I learnt that the smell of toast meant that my dad was cooking breakfast which I found caused my stomach to rumble in hunger.
8) Operant Conditioning (T) is the type of learning which is enforced and diminished when a behavior is followed by a punisher or reinforcer. The learning is strengthened when followed by a reinforcer or is weakened when followed by a punisher.
a. When I was a kid I used to talk back to my mom, once she started punishing me every time I talked back, I stopped talking back.
9) Ivan Pavlov (I) (1849-1936) Ivan Pavlov was a Russian psychologist who explored classical conditioning. He was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1904. His experiment was based around the salivation of a dog when it perceived a certain stimuli.
10) Pavlov’s Experiments (R) began when he observed that every time food was put in a dog’s mouth, they began to salivate. Pavlov found that the dog could associate a neutral stimulus with food. Pavlov began to sound a tone before the delivery of the food and eventually the dogs began to salivate to the sound of the tone because they associated the tone with the arrival of food.
11) Behaviorism (T) is an approach to psychology which believes that psychology should be an objective science that focuses on the study of behavior without observing mental processes.
a. Someone who believed in behaviorism would not bother to study consciousness or mental capabilities but would rather focus on behavior.
12) Neutral Stimulus (T) is a stimulus in classical conditioning which produces no response before conditioning.
a. In Pavlov’s experiment, the neutral stimulus was the tone, until he conditioned the dogs to associate the tone with food.
13) Unconditioned Response (T) is an unlearned response to a stimuli, meaning the response happens naturally.
a. In Pavlov’s experiment the unconditioned response is the salivation in response to food being in the dog’s mouth.
14) Unconditioned Stimulus (T) is a stimuli which naturally elicits an unconditioned response.
a. In Pavlov’s experiment, the stimuli, food automatically and naturally causes the dog to unconditionally respond by salivating.
15) Conditioned Response (T) is a learned response to a neutral stimulus which is now a conditioned stimulus.
a. In Pavlov’s experiment, the conditioned response was the salivation due to the sound of the tone.
16) Conditioned Stimulus (T) is a stimulus which once was neutral and produced no response, but through classical conditioning, the conditioned stimulus now produces a conditioned response.
a. In Pavlov’s experiment, the conditioned stimulus is the tone, because it was once neutral but now causes the dog to salivate.
17) Acquisition (T) in classical conditioning is when the neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are linked, which begins to trigger the conditioned response.
a. When the dogs began to understand and recognize that the tone meant that food would follow.
18) Higher Order or Second Order Conditioning (T) is when one neutral stimulus creates a conditioned response, and then when a second neutral stimulus is introduced that relates to and predicts the first stimulus, one may begin to respond completely to the second stimulus.
a. My brother knows that his bedtime is at 9pm by looking at the clock and he often feels sleepy when seeing this, but my parents introduced a new stimulus which is the sound of their favorite show which starts at 8;45, he responds to the intro music and begins to feel sleepy and is aware of his upcoming bedtime and the arrival of 9pm.
19) Extinction (T) is when the unconditioned stimulus is presented without the conditioned stimulus, causing a decrease in the conditioned response.
a. In Pavlov’s experiment, when he sounded the tone but didn’t present the food, the dogs weren’t as likely to respond with salivation.
20) Spontaneous Recovery (T) is when the conditioned response returns after a short pause and the unconditioned stimulus is extinct.
a. When the dogs hear the tone, the spontaneous recovery is when they begin to salivate after a period of time for the conditioned response to kick in.
21) Generalization (T) is when a conditioned response which is triggered by a specific conditioned stimuli begins to work for other similar stimulus. Generalization means that one has a response to a stimulus similar to the conditioned stimulus.
a. My sister gets motion sick, and she only used to get car sick but the similar stimuli, planes and trains now produce the same response to her carsickness.
22) Discrimination (T) is one’s ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and a stimuli that does not produce a conditioned response.
a. I am able to eat minty and strawberry ice breakers but I can’t eat fruit punch ice breakers.
23) John B. Watson (I) (1878-1958) was a behaviorist psychologist who studied human and animal behavior in many experiments. One of his most well-known experiments was that of Little Albert where he conditioned a fear of white rats in an infant. John B. Watson has two notable works of literature that relate to his views as a behaviorist psychologist.
24) Little Albert Study (R) was a study done by John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner in which they studied fear by using an infant named Albert. Albert was scared of loud noises but not rats, so to see if they could condition a fear towards rats, Watson and Rayner would create a loud noise behind Albert’s head every time he reached to touch the rat. Eventually Albert would sob when he saw a rat, and using generalization, he also became frightened by dogs and rabbits.
Module 27: Operant Conditioning 46 pts.
1) B.F. Skinner (I) (1904-1990) was a behaviorist psychologist whose work was controversial and influential. He studied the law of effect and looked at behavior control. He experimented on pigeons and was able to teach them behaviors which are not normal for a pigeon to be able to do. He shaped behavior through reinforcement and punishment. Skinner was able to shape the behaviors of rats through the use of the operant chamber.
2) Edward Thorndike (I) (1874-1949) was a psychologist who is known for his work on the theory of learning and operant conditioning. Thorndike used cats and puzzle boxes, timing how long it took cats to get out of the puzzle box. Once they were aware of the way to get out and knew about the favorable consequences once getting out of the box, they found their way out much faster and with repetition.
3) Law of Effect & Puzzle Box (R) the law of effect is the idea that undesired consequences result in an action less likely to occur and that desired consequences result in the repeat of an action. Skinner tested these ideas by using rats and pigeons, and controlled their actions through the use of consequences or reinforcement.
4) Operant Chamber or Skinner Box (R) the operant chamber was a box that was used in Skinner’s experiments which contained a bar or disc that an animal could move to get the reward of food or water. The box also tracked how many times the animal manipulated the disc or bar. This box symbolizes the idea of reinforcement because the rats received a reward for pressing the bar or disc which increased the frequency of animals manipulating the bar or disc.
5) Reinforcement (T) is a term that relates to operant conditioning, which means that a desired behavior is reinforced, usually through the use of rewards.
a. When my parents see an action that they like, such as my sister crawling, they will use rewards like candy and give it to her when she crawls to reinforce the behavior of crawling.
6) Shaping (T) is guiding the actions of one towards the desired results. All other responses are ignored one is rewarded when their actions grow closer to the desired result.
a. When my parents saw my sister sitting, they would not reward her, but when she got on her hands and knees, they gave her candy, which soon led her to crawl.
7) Positive Reinforcement (T) strengthens a behavior by providing a desirable stimulus after a behavior has been carried out.
a. In the example with my sisters crawling, the positive reinforcement is the pleasurable stimulus of a candy after she has crawled.
8) Negative Reinforcement (T) is not a form of punishment but rather a behavior which is used to take away or reduce a negative stimuli. The reduction in something bad, results in people desiring the negative reinforcement.
a. When my sister was a baby, my parents would put a pacifier in her mouth to stop her from crying, then she began to cry more often so that my parents would give her a pacifier.
9) Primary Reinforcers (T) are basic behaviors that are performed so that one is able to live and fulfill a natural essential.
a. A primary reinforcer in my life is food, and from the moment I was born to this day, I have a desire for food because it is a human necessity. This need for food was never conditioned, it has always been there.
10) Conditioned Reinforcers (T) is a behavior which is installed in one, when the use of a primary reinforcer is associated with a secondary reinforcer.
a. The smell of food is associated with food, so when I smell food, I can associate it with real food. The smell of food is an example of a conditioned reinforcer.
11) Immediate Reinforcers (T) offer an instantaneous reward.
a. An immediate reinforcer would be receiving a pay check directly after working.
12) Delayed Reinforcers (T) suspend a reward for a later time. This can cause people to not feel happy immediately, but eventually they will.
a. A delayed reinforcer would be receiving a paycheck a every two weeks.
13) Reinforcement Schedules (T) are the variation of a reward after desired response. Reinforcement Schedules still happen routinely, and the patterns are scheduled.
a. When my sister would go to the bathroom on the big girl toilet my mom would only give her an Oreo every once in a while, so she didn’t expect the Oreo every time.
14) Continuous Reinforcement (T) is when the desired response is rewarded every time after it is performed. Continuous reinforcement is the most beneficial in causing the repetition of a behavior, but organisms can rely on the reward and in response go extinct.
a. When I get a good grade on a test or quiz my mom always rewards me, because she wants me to continue trying hard and receiving good grades.
15) Partial or Intermittent Reinforcement (T) is when a behavior is only reinforced sometimes. This type of reinforcement results in a slower grasp of the desired behavior but is the best because organisms do not become reliant of the reward.
a. When I trained my dog, we only gave him a treat after he peed or pooped sometimes. We did this so that he did not expect a treat every time after he went to the bathroom.
16) Fixed-Ratio Schedule (T) is when one is rewarded after a set number of times that a behavior is performed.
a. At my nail salon, we have a punch card which has us pay for our nails the first 4 times and the sixth time we get a free nail painting.
17) Variable-Ratio Schedule (T) is when one is rewarded after repeating a behavior an unpredictable amount of times.
a. In a game I play, I am able to open a mystery box every day and inside of one of the boxes is the jackpot prize. Every once in a while, I will win the jackpot box after many unpredictable responses.
18) Fixed-Interval Schedule (T) is one is rewarded after a set period of time has elapsed. Those who are on a fixed interval schedule tend to respond when the anticipated time draws closer.
a. I play games which require energy, and I have to wait an hour for the energy to reload I find myself checking the game to see if the energy has regenerated.
19) Variable-Interval Schedule (T) is a reinforcement schedule that is completely unpredictable. One is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time.
a. When I am talking to a friend then all of the sudden, they don’t respond, I find myself checking often to see when they will respond.
20) Punishment (T) is something that is used to reduce the frequency of a repetitive behavior. Punishment discourages behavior, causing one to be less likely to repeat it in the future.
a. We just got a new puppy, and when she pees in the house, we punish her by telling her no and ignoring her for a little bit. She doesn’t like being ignored, so to prevent it she stops peeing.
21) Positive Punishment (T) is the addition of a punishing stimulus for a behavior. Is the use of another stimuli to discourage behavior.
a. My friends’ parents added an app onto her phone which allows them to turn it off and on whenever they want because she was to obsessed with her phone and was unable to get any work done.
22) Negative Punishment (T) is the taking away of a stimulus to benefit behavior. Is the use of subtracting a stimulus to discourage behavior.
a. My parents will take away my sisters iPad when she lies or doesn’t listen to them to discourage her bad behavior.
23) Applications of Operant Conditioning (R) is the continued use of operant conditioning in attempt to change behavior over a period of time. Operant conditioning can be used in prisons and schools, through the use of tokens as rewards that when saved up can be turned in for a larger item. Students or prisoners will continue to repeat a behavior when they are receiving rewards for it.
Module 28: Comparison of Classical & Operant Conditioning 30 pts.
Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning
Basic Idea Organism associates events
– When I was younger, I got sick from fruit punch ice breakers Organism associates behavior and resulting events
– If a person was speeding and got a ticket from a police officer
Response Involuntary, automatic
– When I smell or see fruit punch, I feel nauseous Voluntary, operates on environment
– Stops driving/speeding
Acquisition Associating events; NS is paired with US and becomes CS
– I associated fruit punch ice breakers with getting really sick so now when I think of it, I get sick Associating response with a consequence (reinforcer or punisher)
– Positive punishment, giving ticket to stop speeding
Extinction CR decreases when CS is repeatedly presented alone
– After seeing fruit punch ice breakers many times, I now don’t feel sick at the sight of them Responding decreases when reinforcement stops.
– Later, person speeds again because police officer is not around to reinforce rules of the road
Spontaneous Recovery The reappearance, after a rest period, of an extinguished CR
– One time I ate a fruit punch ice breaker and got sick The reappearance, after a rest period, of an extinguished response
– Person begins to follow laws of the road so that they don’t get pulled over again
Generalization The tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the CS
– I feel sick every time I eat something that has a fruit punch flavor Organism’s response to similar stimuli is also reinforced
– Person will not drive under the influence or do other things which would cause them to get a ticket
Discrimination The learned ability to distinguish between a CS and other stimuli that do not signal a US
– I am able to eat other ice breakers such as mint ice breakers but not fruit punch Organism learns that certain responses, but not others, will be reinforced.
– Person learns that they may not get pulled over every time they speed
1) Biofeedback (T) is a system which uses electrical instruments and records information about the physiological state of a human. This instrument displays muscle tension and blood pressure, which both can be used to determine stress levels.
a. If my mom underwent biofeedback the results would probably show that she is very stressed by looking at her muscle tension and blood pressure.
Module 29: Biology, Cognition, & Learning 40 pts.
1) John Garcia (I) (1917-2012) was a psychologist whose main contribution to psychology was his focus on taste aversion. He specifically looked at the conditioning of taste aversion and found that it can be used as a survival mechanism. Creatures can decipher whether a food is safe to consume or not, which prevents them from sickness or death.
2) Taste Aversion (R) is a universal survival mechanism. The smell and taste of a food which has caused one to become ill will cause one to create a conditioned stimulus for nausea. Taste aversion is important for the survival of humans and animals because it causes us to avoid foods which can be toxic to us.
3) Ecologically Relevant/Evolutionary Influences (R) refers to the idea that a conditioned response is stronger when the conditioned stimulus is something that is related to the species in which is the behavior is being tested. If an experiment was done with a dog where a red light meant that a bike would be placed into the room, the conditioning would not be strong because dogs cannot use bikes for anything. For a creature to become conditioned to something, the conditioned stimulus must be applicable to them in order for them to respond to the stimuli.
4) Limits on Operant Conditioning (R) is nature. We are biologically dispositioned to perform certain actions, make associations which have been passed through our genes. The instinctive drift that every organism has will cause them to revert back to their biological behaviors instead of the reinforced behaviors.
5) Cognitive Map (T) is the mental image of one’s environment after being exposed to it.
a. When my friends show me around their house for the first time, I make a cognitive map so that I am able to find my way around.
6) Robert Rescorla (I) (1940-present) is a psychologist who studies classical conditioning and the cognitive processes which are associated with it. He proved that animals can learn the likelihood of an event and an understanding of how often an unconditioned stimulus will occur.
7) Edward Tolman (I) (1886-1959) studied rats in mazes and identified the development of a cognitive map in the minds of rats after they went through a maze. After training rats, a specific way to get out of a maze, he blocked their path and the rats became confused.
8) Latent Learning (T) is when someone undergoes learning, but it is not apparent to them or others until they are placed in a situation where they need/have to use it.
a. My friend told me that she didn’t think she knew what to do when there was a fire, but when her house accidentally caught on fire, she saved the day and displayed a great knowledge of how to react.
9) Intrinsic Motivation (T) is when one does something for themselves that would make them happy or bring them joy.
a. I decided to do a confirmation class for myself because I knew that I would feel happy if I did it.
10) Intrinsic Motivation (R) is important because one must do something for themselves. Experiments have found that children who are bribed or rewarded to do something, rather than doing it for themselves, will not feel joy doing the action. When able to do the action again, they would rather not because they weren’t able to do so for themselves.
11) Extrinsic Motivation (T) is when one does something for someone else to gain rewards and avoid punishment.
a. I do the dishes after dinner not by choice but because I don’t want my parents to get angry at me.
12) Extrinsic Motivation (R) is important for achieving things and being able to live a successful life but it can be back when people do things that they are not interested in. Extrinsic motivation can be good when people have no motivation, and a reward is on the table.
13) Coping (T) is a technique, which varies from person to person, that is a verb used to describe alleviate stress. People can cope through mental, emotional, cognitive or behavioral methods.
a. My dad coped with his dad’s death by going to a therapist who helped him work through his issues.
14) Problem-Focused Coping (T) is a way to alleviate stress by changing or confronting the person or thing that is causing one stress. We use problem focused coping when we feel that we have control over a situation or stressor, and the possible ability to change the situation.
a. If someone was bullying me, I would use problem focused coping and go directly to them to see if I can understand why they are bullying me and try to prevent it.
15) Emotion-Focused Coping (T) is a way to alleviate stress by disregarding the person/thing that is causing one stress and focusing on one’s emotional needs instead. We use emotion focused coping when we don’t think that we can change a situation.
a. When my dog died, I turned to emotion focused coping and talked to my friends to express my sadness.
16) Learned Helplessness (T) is when a human or animal has been in a troubling situation and when placed in the same situation again, they are fearful and cower. They react this way because they believe that they are unable to avoid the troubling punishment.
a. My uncle spanked his dog when it did something bad, and now when he goes to spank the dog, the dog cowered in fear knowing there was no escaping the punishment.
17) External Locus of Control (T) is the idea that outside forces control one’s destiny.
a. My friend’s mom chose her college for her, and she told me she felt like she had no control over her life because her mom was making decisions for her.
18) Self-Control (T) is having the power to control one’s own actions and resist temptation and desire for longer rewards. Temperance.
a. I feel that I have good self-control, but my brother does not and cannot control impulses such as hitting me when he is angry, full well knowing that he will get in trouble.
Module 30: Learning by Observation 16 pts.
1) Observational Learning (T) is learning which is done by watching others, and copying. Observational learning is also known as social learning.
a. My sister liked to watch what I did when I was younger and copy me. For example, one time I decided to walk on the curb and my sister watched me than began doing it later.
2) Albert Bandura (I) (1925-present) is a psychologist who looked at observational learning. He conducted the Bobo doll experiment which looked at how children reacted to a doll after seeing the way that adults treated the doll. When the adults showed the children that they were violent towards the doll, the children were violent too.
3) Modeling (T) is the observing and mirroring of a behavior.
a. When my sister began to walk on curbs after she saw me do it.
4) Mirror Neurons (T) are neurons located in the frontal lobe which fire when we do or see a certain action being performed.
a. When someone else yawns and I see it, I also yawn because of mirror neurons.
5) Mirror Neuron Research with Humans (R) has been observed using fMRI’s where doctors are able to see the areas of the brain which mirror neurons are functioning. It is unknown whether or not humans have mirror neurons. We are aware that humans can share an emotion that another person is feeling or share thoughts that another human is having.
6) Prosocial Effects (R) when someone is positive around you, it can cause you to feel and act positively too. In workplaces, new people who are being trained watch other experienced employees and mimic their positive bubbly behavior with customers. Civil rights activists often had parents who were moral and loving.
7) Antisocial Effects (R) when someone negative, aggressive or mean around you can influence you to act and think in a similar way. Studies have shown that aggressive behavior can be passed down, for example husbands who beat their wives often have fathers who beat their wives. If a child grows up in an aggressive environment and therefore learns aggressive behaviors, they will continue to display aggression into adulthood.
8) Does Media Violence Trigger Violent Behavior (R) is an experimental study which is investigating if violence in media such as movies and video games leads to violent behavior in humans. As seen in the Bobo doll experiment, children who see violent behavior will model it. Those who are exposed to violent media are desensitized and feel less sympathy for those who have been injured. For example, people who had just watched a violent movie were less likely to help an injured woman pick up her crutches.
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