Py 361 Exam 1

Any activity of an organism that can be observed/measured

relatively permanent change in behavior that results in some type of experience

Pavlov

conditioned behavior

Bell: food--> Salivation

Bell-->Salivation

Skinner

Voluntary, goal-directed behavior

strengthen/weaken behavior as a result of its' consequences

lever press->Food

effect: likelihood of lever pressing increases

Empricist (nurture)

knowledge is gained in lifetime

Laws of Association

Nature: innate, born with knowledge (Plato) Nativist

Nurture: gain knowledge, born blank slate, empiricism, acquired through laws of association (Aristotle)

Law of Similarity: events similar are readily associated with one another

Law of Contrast: events opposite are associated together

Law of Contiguity: events close in proximity are associated

Law of frequency: more frequently items occur together, more strongly associated

Dualism- Mind & Body = behavior

reflexive behavior: mechanistic

ex. remove hand from fire

voluntary behavior: free will, humans only

ex. go to class

British Empiricist, all knowledge's function of experience

conscious mind's composed of basic elements combined through association into sensations/thoughts= complex thought

born with blank slate, tabula rasa

Titchner, wundt

possible to determine structure of mind by identifying basic elements that composed it

introspection: conscious perception of stimulus, all conscious experiences monitored

Lasting impact: reliance on sci method of systematic observation

eventually abandoned due to lack of replicability of findings

reliance on conscious experiences- confounding variables, focus on unobservable events

Darwin, James

Mind evolved to help us adapt to the world

study using introspection, observing animal behavior

consciousness & learning is an adaptive trait

Darwin. traits vary, traits are inherited, and competitive for limited resources

Natural selection: individuals adapt to environment and reproduce, pass along capability of adapting characteristics

evolutionary adaptation: trait that evolved as a result of natural selection

Watson, monistic view(observable information, mind/body not separate)

psych should be concerned with observable behaviors

no introspection or mentalistic concepts

consequences of behavior's important

natural science

simpler explanations for a phenomenon are generally preferable to more complex explanations

behaviorism

one should interpret animals behavior in terms of lower, primitive processes

Behaviorism

for methodological reasons psych. should only be studied through observable behaviors

ignore thoughts/feelings

view of learning's mechanistic, all behaviors reflexive

learning's believed to involve connection between stimulus and response

chain of responses to stimuli

psych infer the existence of internal events that might mediate between environment and behavior

environmental events-->internal events(intervening variables, physiological (food))-->observable behavior

believes need more broad, molar level of behavior

behaviors more than just a chain of responses, it's an overall pattern of behavior directed toward a particular outcome

intervening variables could be helpful, use in form of hypothesized cognitive processes to explain behaviors

mental representation of one's spatial surroundings, latent learning

learning occurs despite absence of observable indication of learning

learning v performance

ex. non rewarded rats learned maze in 1st ten trials and learned as well as food group

imitation- observable learning

self-referent thoughts- our abilities to influence behavior

reciprocal determinism- environmental events, behavior, and personal variables(internal events, thoughts/feelings) influence each other

rejects the use of internal events to explain behavior

thoughts/feelings are behaviors themselves

emphasize influence of environment on overt behavior

countercontrol- deliberate manipulation of environmental events to alter impact on our behavior

basic principles of behavior are applied to solving real-world problems

behavior modification

Any event that influences behavior

aversive: avoided ex. heat

appetitive: seek out ex. food

increase/decrease frequency of behavior

procedure that affects stimulus

establishing: increases appetitiveness/aversiveness

ex. deprivation, absence of event

abolishing: decreases appetitiveness/aversivness

ex. satiation, prolonged exposure to stimulus

extent to which 2 events co-occur

temporal- close in time

spatial- close in proximity

predictive relationship between 2 events, form of a functional relationship (relationship between IV and DV)

unambiguous, clearly defined

measured objectively

assures reliable, valid, repeated easily

frequency response occurs during a certain time

ex. # of presses/hr

used because it's definable, highly sensitive to other variables, precision learning

# of responses over time with graphic depiction of rate of behavior

-steeper slope, higher rate of response

cumulative record of performance

response latency- length of time required for behavior to begin

response speed- how quickly/slowly behavior occurs

response intensity- force of behavior

response topography- physical form of behavior, how lever's pressed

response rate, duration, # of errors

intervals with agreement/total intervals

variant of interval measures whether or not behavior occurs during each interval within series of discontinuous intervals (intervals spaced out)

not measuring number of responses in each interval, measuring number of intervals with at least one response

measurement of whether or not behavior occurs during each interval within series of continuous intervals

pro- dont have to record every response, also good if difficult to determine start/stop of behavior

not measuring number of responses in each interval, measuring number of intervals with at least one response

Descriptive, systematic observation and recording of behavior in natural env.

pro- ideal for studying inherie behavior, animals

con- many confounding variables, cant assume cause-effect

prevalent in medical research, often not systematic, researcher bias, limited to generalized times, people, places

con- confounding variables

experimental, individuals randomly assigned to control or experimental group

comparitive design- use diff species

pro- asses general effects of variables

con- requires many subjects, focus on average of performance of group, results analyzed only at the end

simple comparison (AB)- comparing baseline scores to treatment scores

reversal comparison (ABA, ABAB)- repeated alterations between A & B phase

pro- allows entire experiemnt for 1 subject, often don't need statistical tests for measuring behaviors if meaningful

con- inappropriate in which treatment intends to produce longterm effects, ethically wrong to remove treatment

treatment's implemented at successive points in time for 2 or more subjects, behaviors, settings

pro- dont have to remove treatment, good for long term effects

con- need more than 1 person

useful when measuring gradual changes

measure changes in which effect of treatments demonstrated by how closely behavior matches criterion being altered

ex. self punishment & cigs

pros- ability to control genetics and learning history, ability to more strictly control subjects environment, good if harmful to humans

IACUC- approves research for animals

operant chamber, better than maze, more control, eliminates confounds

During choice phase: error-->end trial

correct-->Sr Cycle (tone+sr delivery-->end)

choice ommission-->end trial

outcomes: trial initiation response-->choice phase

initation omission-->end trial

performance based reversal criteria: 3 consecutive sessions w/ > 85%, or 20 sessions with stable response

continuous: single experimental session, interval recording

noncontinuous: time sample recording