AP Psychology Module 4

AP Psychology Module 4

1. Lesson 1

   • Pair: Acquisition is the addition of a new behavior through conditioning; Extinction is the removal of a behavior through conditioning.
   • Pair: Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS or US) is stimulus that naturally induces a reaction; Conditioned Stimulus (CS) is an artificial stimulus intended to cause the same response through conditioning.
   • Key Person: Ivan Pavlov - Russian psychologist who introduced the idea of Classical Conditioning with his famous behavioral experiment on his dogs.
   • Concept: Generalization occurs when a response obtained due to conditioning is repeated when the same stimulus is administered. Behaviors conditioned to be contingent on a stimulus can remain long after conditioning has ended. Spontaneous Recovery occurs when the behavior remains even without the stimulus.
   • Concept: Classical Conditioning is a process by which an existing behavior can be associated with a controlled stimulus by the conditioner. A stimulus that already provokes the desired response is paired with a stimulus controlled by the conditioner, and the subject associates the new stimulus with the response as well. Once this has happened, the conditioner can trigger the behavior on command by exposing the subject to the controlled stimulus.

2. Lesson 2

   • Pair: Fixed-Ratio Schedules reinforce a behavioral response after a certain number of responses; Variable-Ratio Schedules reinforce a behavioral response after a changing or random number of responses.
   • Key Person: B. F. Skinner - American behaviorist who created Operant Conditioning and developed the Operant Chamber (or 'Skinner Box') to observe and train animal behavior.
   • Concept: Concept: Biological Taste Aversion was found and documented by John Garcia. When an organism tastes a food and experiences an illness, even if there is not a cause and effect relationship in reality. the organism may develop a lifelong distaste for the food initially eaten. The distance between food and discomfort can be several hours. Garcia initially discovered this in a study on rats exposed to radiation to cause discomfort.
   • Pair: Positive Reinforcement is a reward for a desired behavior by adding a rewarding stimulus; Negative Reinforcement is a reward for a desired behavior by removing an undesirable stimulus.
   • Concept: Operant Conditioning relies on reinforcements and punishments to change a subject's behavior. In some cases, a subject is exposed to a pleasing stimulus when they perform a desired behavior, and deprived of it when they give an undesired response (PR/NP). In other cases, a subject is exposed to an uncomfortable stimulus which is removed when a desired response is produced and used as a punishment to deter undesired responses.

3. Lesson 3

   • Pair: Psychological Constraints are limitations on learning due to a subject's past experiences and beliefs; Biological Constraints are limitations on learning due to intrinsic traits such as genetic disorders and physical disabilities.
   • Pair: Observational Learning is learning through observing the behavior of others (or sometimes through the completion of tasks); Latent Learning is learning a behavior with no memory or conscious thought of learning it, such as learning to walk and vocalize.
   • Key Person: Albert Bandura - American psychologist who created Social Learning Theory (stating that behavior is learned observationally) and studied how children learn aggression in his 'Bobo the Clown' experiment.
   • Concept: Learned Helplessness begins when an individual realizes that they cannot control the world around them. This causes them to lose any motivation to change themselves or put in effort toward improvement. For example, someone who has already missed a deadline for a work project will likely feel unmotivated to work on the project any further.
   • Concept: Latent Learning is unremembered and unconscious, such as learning to walk as a child. Insight Learning is sudden and conscious, such as realizing how to solve a problem through consideration and retaining the solution for the future. Observational Learning is respondent and innate, such as witnessing someone else use a tool and copying their technique.

4. Michael Gadhia / 2019-11-25 / AP Psych / Gallagher