PSY 205 EXAM #2 STUDY GUIDE
James Olds and Peter Millner's Experiment - Answers - - The Reward Pathway
- Rat hooked up to device with electrode
- Stimulation lead to happiness
- Self-stimulation by pressing pedal
Learning - Answers - Change in behavior as a result of experience that something
endures. It is reversible, non-heritable, and non-maturational.
B.F. Skinner - Answers - (1904 - 1990) No such thing as free will, every action is a
result of reward or punishment, the environment selects species, traits, and behavior
Positive Reinforcement - Answers - Anything that increases the rate of response -- if
you study, you will get an A, so on future exams, you will study
Negative Reinforcement - Answers - Anything that prevents an event from happening
(an event that increases the rate of response) -- removing something negative, removal
of an unpleasant stimulus
Operant Conditioning - Answers - Shaping, reinforcing by successive approximations
(association of an act with a reward), focuses on strengthening or weakening voluntary
behaviors. Associate with SKINNER.
Susie's Story - Answers - Demonstrated that behavior is maintained by reinforcement,
Susie was coughing nonstop, no one knew why. Palfai paid her 10 cents for 60 seconds
without coughing, 25 cents for five mins, etc. Led to no more coughing
Lisa's Story - Answers - Girl ran around in school on hands and knees, if people got
mad or laughed at her, she kept up the odd behavior, everything was a reinforcer, they
found out that she was doing it to seek attention, school told children that when she
continued the behavior, ignore her. Only pay attention to her when she's standing.
Fixed Ratio - Answers - Deliver reinforcement after fixed number of responses (for
every 10 A's you get, you'll get $5)
Variable Ratio - Answers - Deliver reinforcement after a random number of responses,
will produce a high rate of response (for every x A's you get, you'll get $5)
Fixed Interval - Answers - Reward is given after a set time (you will get a piece of candy
after every ten minutes), leads to the "scalloping effect"***
Variable Interval - Answers - You never know when the reward is coming (steady, lower
rate of response)
, Classical Conditioning - Answers - Placing a neutral signal before a reflex
Unconditioned Stimulus (US) - Answers - A naturally occurring stimulus (in Pavlov's
case, the dog food)
Unconditioned Response (UR) - Answers - An involuntary response to your
unconditioned stimulus or US (in Pavlov's case, salivation)
Conditioned Stimulus (CS) - Answers - Stimulus that causes a learned reflex (in
Pavlov's case, the ringing of the bell). The learned reflex is your ultimate goal!
Conditioned Response (CR) - Answers - A reflex, learned response to the conditioned
stimulus (in Pavlov's case, the salivation caused by simply ringing the bell)
Acquisition Phase - Answers - Time it takes to learn new material
Extinction Phase - Answers - Time it takes to forget learned material
Stimulus Generalization - Answers - Similar to but untrained conditioned stimuli elicit a
response (if you're scared of spiders, a toy spider might freak you out)
Stimulus Discrimination - Answers - Being able to tell different stimuli (if you're scared of
bees, a cartoon bee would NOT freak you out)
Stimulus Extinction - Answers - Weakening of a conditioned response
Punishment - Answers - Process by which behavior is weakened by consequence
Positive Punishment - Answers - Putting something into the environment to stop
behavior from happening (scolding a child)
Negative Punishment - Answers - Behavior is weakened by its consequence
Little Albert Experiment - Answers - John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner, 1919:
conditioning a baby to fear a white rat by associating the rat with the sound of a loud
gong
Skinner Box (Operant Chamber) - Answers - Small enclosure in which an animal can
make a specific response that is recorded while the consequences of the response are
systematically controlled
Four Steps to Observational Learning - Answers - 1. Attention (paying attention to the
model)
2. Retention (understanding what model is saying)
3. Reproduction (replicating model's example)
James Olds and Peter Millner's Experiment - Answers - - The Reward Pathway
- Rat hooked up to device with electrode
- Stimulation lead to happiness
- Self-stimulation by pressing pedal
Learning - Answers - Change in behavior as a result of experience that something
endures. It is reversible, non-heritable, and non-maturational.
B.F. Skinner - Answers - (1904 - 1990) No such thing as free will, every action is a
result of reward or punishment, the environment selects species, traits, and behavior
Positive Reinforcement - Answers - Anything that increases the rate of response -- if
you study, you will get an A, so on future exams, you will study
Negative Reinforcement - Answers - Anything that prevents an event from happening
(an event that increases the rate of response) -- removing something negative, removal
of an unpleasant stimulus
Operant Conditioning - Answers - Shaping, reinforcing by successive approximations
(association of an act with a reward), focuses on strengthening or weakening voluntary
behaviors. Associate with SKINNER.
Susie's Story - Answers - Demonstrated that behavior is maintained by reinforcement,
Susie was coughing nonstop, no one knew why. Palfai paid her 10 cents for 60 seconds
without coughing, 25 cents for five mins, etc. Led to no more coughing
Lisa's Story - Answers - Girl ran around in school on hands and knees, if people got
mad or laughed at her, she kept up the odd behavior, everything was a reinforcer, they
found out that she was doing it to seek attention, school told children that when she
continued the behavior, ignore her. Only pay attention to her when she's standing.
Fixed Ratio - Answers - Deliver reinforcement after fixed number of responses (for
every 10 A's you get, you'll get $5)
Variable Ratio - Answers - Deliver reinforcement after a random number of responses,
will produce a high rate of response (for every x A's you get, you'll get $5)
Fixed Interval - Answers - Reward is given after a set time (you will get a piece of candy
after every ten minutes), leads to the "scalloping effect"***
Variable Interval - Answers - You never know when the reward is coming (steady, lower
rate of response)
, Classical Conditioning - Answers - Placing a neutral signal before a reflex
Unconditioned Stimulus (US) - Answers - A naturally occurring stimulus (in Pavlov's
case, the dog food)
Unconditioned Response (UR) - Answers - An involuntary response to your
unconditioned stimulus or US (in Pavlov's case, salivation)
Conditioned Stimulus (CS) - Answers - Stimulus that causes a learned reflex (in
Pavlov's case, the ringing of the bell). The learned reflex is your ultimate goal!
Conditioned Response (CR) - Answers - A reflex, learned response to the conditioned
stimulus (in Pavlov's case, the salivation caused by simply ringing the bell)
Acquisition Phase - Answers - Time it takes to learn new material
Extinction Phase - Answers - Time it takes to forget learned material
Stimulus Generalization - Answers - Similar to but untrained conditioned stimuli elicit a
response (if you're scared of spiders, a toy spider might freak you out)
Stimulus Discrimination - Answers - Being able to tell different stimuli (if you're scared of
bees, a cartoon bee would NOT freak you out)
Stimulus Extinction - Answers - Weakening of a conditioned response
Punishment - Answers - Process by which behavior is weakened by consequence
Positive Punishment - Answers - Putting something into the environment to stop
behavior from happening (scolding a child)
Negative Punishment - Answers - Behavior is weakened by its consequence
Little Albert Experiment - Answers - John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner, 1919:
conditioning a baby to fear a white rat by associating the rat with the sound of a loud
gong
Skinner Box (Operant Chamber) - Answers - Small enclosure in which an animal can
make a specific response that is recorded while the consequences of the response are
systematically controlled
Four Steps to Observational Learning - Answers - 1. Attention (paying attention to the
model)
2. Retention (understanding what model is saying)
3. Reproduction (replicating model's example)
