Unit 6: Learning
How experience rewires behavior, from a dog salivating at a bell to a pigeon's response holding steady under a schedule of reward.
10 topics · 37 questions
Each topic is a path, not a menu: work down it in order and every question builds on the one above. Click any of them to watch the answer draw itself.
6.1 Instincts, Reflexes, and the Three Types of Learning
- How it worksHow do an instinct and a reflex differ from a behavior that actually has to be learned?
- How it worksWalk me through how classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning each change behavior differently.
- Going furtherWhat happens when an instinctive behavior like imprinting occurs outside the narrow window it usually needs?
Your turn1 of 2
A dog salivates at the sound of a can opener because it's always preceded dinner. A different dog sits on command because sitting has earned it treats in the past. A third dog learned to open a trash can by watching another dog do it, without ever being reinforced itself. Which three types of learning are shown, respectively?6.2 Pavlov and Classical Conditioning Basics
- How it worksHow does pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus turn it into a conditioned stimulus?
- Worked exampleFind the unconditioned stimulus, conditioned stimulus, and conditioned response in a dog trained to salivate at a bell.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't classical conditioning the same thing as simply teaching an animal a new trick on purpose?
- Going furtherWhat happens to the strength of a conditioned response when the neutral and unconditioned stimulus are paired many more times?
Your turn1 of 2
A dog is repeatedly given food (which naturally causes salivation) immediately after a bell rings. Eventually, the bell alone makes the dog salivate. In this classic setup, what are the unconditioned stimulus and the conditioned response?6.2 Acquisition, Extinction, and Spontaneous Recovery
- How it worksHow does repeatedly presenting the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus extinguish a response?
- How it worksWalk me through spontaneous recovery bringing an extinguished response back after a rest period.
- Going furtherWhat happens to an extinguished response when the original unconditioned stimulus is paired with the cue just once more?
Your turn1 of 2
A dog's fear response to a doorbell sound was extinguished through repeated exposure without anything bad following it, and the fear seemed completely gone. Weeks later, without any new training, the dog hears the doorbell again and shows a small burst of the old fear response. What does this reappearance illustrate?6.2 Stimulus Generalization, Discrimination, and Taste Aversion
- How it worksHow does stimulus generalization spread a conditioned response to things that merely resemble the original cue?
- How it worksWalk me through how a single nauseating meal can create a lifelong taste aversion in just one trial.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't taste aversion learned the slow, gradual way most classical conditioning is?
- Worked exampleFind why a child bitten by a large dog might also flinch at a small, gentle one but not at a cat.
Your turn1 of 2
A child is conditioned to fear a white rat after it was paired with a loud, frightening noise. Afterward, the child also shows fear toward a white rabbit, a Santa mask with a white beard, and a white fur coat, none of which were ever paired with the noise. What does this spread of fear illustrate?6.3 Skinner and Operant Conditioning Basics
- How it worksHow does a consequence following a behavior make that behavior more or less likely to happen again?
- Common mistakeWhy isn't operant conditioning just a fancy word for training an animal with treats?
- Going furtherWhat happens to a learned lever-press when the food reward stops appearing altogether?
Your turn1 of 2
A student says operant conditioning is basically just 'a fancy word for training an animal with treats.' A professor points out this description misses most of what operant conditioning actually covers. What is missing from the student's description?6.3 Positive and Negative Reinforcement
- How it worksHow does positive reinforcement add something desirable to increase a behavior?
- How it worksHow does negative reinforcement remove something unpleasant to increase a behavior instead?
- Common mistakeWhy isn't negative reinforcement the same thing as punishment?
- Worked exampleFind whether taking painkillers to stop a headache is an example of positive or negative reinforcement.
Your turn1 of 2
Someone takes a painkiller specifically to make a throbbing headache go away, and afterward finds themselves reaching for painkillers more readily the next time a headache starts. Is this positive or negative reinforcement, and why?6.3 Positive and Negative Punishment
- How it worksHow does positive punishment add something unpleasant to decrease a behavior?
- How it worksHow does negative punishment take something desirable away to decrease a behavior instead?
- Going furtherWhat happens to a punished behavior once the threat of punishment is removed?
Your turn1 of 2
A teenager who breaks curfew is assigned an extra chore, taking out the trash every day for a week, by one parent, while a different parent instead takes away the teenager's video game console for a week. Both consequences reduce the teenager's curfew-breaking. Which type of punishment does each parent use, respectively?6.3 Shaping Through Successive Approximations
- How it worksHow does shaping reinforce closer and closer approximations of a target behavior?
- Worked exampleFind the sequence of approximations you'd reinforce to shape a dog into rolling completely over.
- Going furtherWhat happens to shaping when the reinforcement schedule is too strict for the animal's current skill?
- Common mistakeWhy isn't shaping the same thing as simply waiting patiently for the final behavior to occur on its own?
Your turn1 of 2
A trainer wants to teach a dog to roll completely over, a behavior it has never shown any sign of doing spontaneously. Rather than waiting for a full roll-over to happen on its own, the trainer first reinforces the dog for lying down, then for rolling onto its side, then for rolling further, and only finally for a complete roll. What technique is being used, and why?6.3 Schedules of Reinforcement
- How it worksHow does a fixed-ratio schedule produce a steady burst of responses followed by a short pause?
- How it worksHow does a variable-ratio schedule produce the highest, steadiest response rate of all four schedules?
- Worked exampleFind how the cumulative response curves for fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, and variable-interval schedules differ on the same graph.
- Going furtherWhat happens to a response rate on a fixed-interval schedule right after the reward has just been collected?
- Common mistakeWhy isn't a fixed-interval schedule as resistant to extinction as a variable-ratio schedule, even though both eventually pay out?
Your turn1 of 2
On a fixed-ratio 15 schedule, a pigeon must peck the key 15 times to earn each food pellet. How many total pecks does it make to earn 29 pellets?6.4 Bandura, Observational Learning, and Cognitive Maps
- How it worksHow does Bandura's Bobo doll experiment show learning happening without any reinforcement of the observer at all?
- How it worksWalk me through how a rat that explored a maze with no reward still reveals a cognitive map once food appears.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't learning something limited to only what gets directly reinforced in an individual?
- Worked exampleFind what happened to children's aggression in Bandura's study when the adult model was punished for hitting the doll instead of going unpunished.
Your turn1 of 2
In Bandura's classic study, children who simply watched an adult model aggressively hit a Bobo doll later went on to hit the doll themselves, even though the children themselves were never reinforced for anything during the observation period. What does this demonstrate about learning?