#AP Psychology: Learning - The Ultimate Study Guide 🧠

Welcome! This guide is designed to help you ace the AP Psychology exam, focusing on the critical concepts of learning. Let's dive in!

#Developing Understanding of Learning 👀

According to the College Board, this unit explores how humans and animals learn and how experiences change behavior and mental processes. It bridges physiological and psychological processes 🧠. Many psychologists focus on observable behaviors and how they can be changed or reinforced. Others study how observing others influences our mental processes and behaviors. Remember, this unit builds on the previous two, so make sure you're solid on those!

#Guiding Questions 🤔

• How do we learn? 📚
• How do our experiences shape our behaviors and mental processes? 💡

#Introduction to Learning

Learning isn't just about memory; it's about the acquisition of behaviors. This unit covers three main types of learning:

• Classical Conditioning: Learning through associations (reflexive behaviors).
• Operant Conditioning: Learning through consequences (voluntary behaviors).
• Observational Learning: Learning by watching others (modeling).

This unit accounts for about 7-9% of the AP Psychology exam. Make sure you know it well!

#Key Facts and Figures

#🤓 Psychologists to Know

#Albert Bandura

• Key Contribution: Bobo doll experiment 🤡
• What to Know: Children model aggressive behavior they observe. This highlights the power of observational learning.

#Ivan Pavlov

• Key Contribution: Classical conditioning with dogs 🐕
• What to Know: Pavlov's experiments showed how neutral stimuli can become associated with reflexive responses.

#Gif Courtesy of Giphy.

#Robert Rescorla

• Key Contribution: Contingency model of conditioning.
• What to Know: Conditioning depends on the cognitive interpretation of whether a stimulus-response pairing is logical. It's not just about pairing; it's about predictability.

#Edward Lee Thorndike

• Key Contribution: Law of Effect
• What to Know: Behaviors with good outcomes are repeated; behaviors with bad outcomes stop. This is the foundation of operant conditioning.

#Edward Tolman

• Key Contribution: Latent learning and cognitive maps.
• What to Know: Rats in mazes 🐀 learned the layout even without rewards, showing that learning can occur without immediate reinforcement. This challenges strict behaviorism.

#John B. Watson

• Key Contribution: Conditioned fear responses (Little Albert experiment).
• What to Know: Demonstrated that fear can be learned through classical conditioning and can generalize to similar stimuli.

#Gif Courtesy of Giphy.

#John Garcia

• Key Contribution: Biological constraints on conditioning (Garcia Effect).
• What to Know: Taste aversions are easily conditioned to internal stimuli (like nausea 🤢), while pain is easily conditioned to external stimuli (like a tone). This shows we're biologically prepared to learn some associations more easily than others.

#📝 Key Vocabulary

#Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning is all about learning through association. It's how we learn to link two stimuli together.

#Key Components:

• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): A stimulus that naturally triggers a response (e.g., food).
• Unconditioned Response (UCR): The natural response to the UCS (e.g., salivation to food).
• Neutral Stimulus (NS): A stimulus that initially doesn't trigger a response (e.g., a bell).
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): The NS becomes the CS after being paired with the UCS (e.g., the bell after being paired with food).
• Conditioned Response (CR): The learned response to the CS (e.g., salivation to the bell).

#Processes:

• Acquisition: The initial learning phase where the NS becomes a CS.
• Extinction: The weakening of the CR when the CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS.
• Spontaneous Recovery: The reappearance of the CR after a period of extinction.
• Stimulus Generalization: Responding to stimuli similar to the CS (e.g., fearing all furry things after fearing a rat).
• Stimulus Discrimination: Being able to distinguish between the CS and other irrelevant stimuli (e.g., only fearing the specific rat, not all furry things).

#Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning focuses on how consequences affect voluntary behaviors. It's learning through rewards and punishments.

#Key Concepts:

• Reinforcement: Increases the likelihood of a behavior.
  • Positive Reinforcement: Adding something desirable (e.g., giving a treat for doing a trick).
  • Negative Reinforcement: Removing something undesirable (e.g., turning off an annoying alarm).
• Punishment: Decreases the likelihood of a behavior.
  • Positive Punishment: Adding something undesirable (e.g., scolding for misbehaving).
  • Negative Punishment: Removing something desirable (e.g., taking away phone for misbehaving).

#Schedules of Reinforcement:

• Fixed Ratio: Reinforcement after a set number of responses (e.g., getting a bonus after selling 5 cars).
• Variable Ratio: Reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses (e.g., slot machines).
• Fixed Interval: Reinforcement after a set time period (e.g., getting a paycheck every two weeks).
• Variable Interval: Reinforcement after an unpredictable time period (e.g., checking your email for a response).

#Observational Learning

Observational learning is learning by watching others. It's also known as social learning.

#Key Processes:

• Attention: Paying attention to the model's behavior.
• Retention: Remembering the observed behavior.
• Reproduction: Being able to physically perform the behavior.
• Motivation: Having the desire to imitate the behavior.

#Other Types of Learning

• Insight Learning: Sudden realization of a solution to a problem (the "aha!" moment).
• Latent Learning: Learning that occurs without immediate reinforcement or expression (Tolman's rats in the maze).
• Cognitive Map: Mental representation of a physical space (Tolman's rats developed a mental map of the maze).

#Final Exam Focus 🎯

#High-Priority Topics:

• Classical vs. Operant Conditioning: Understand the differences and be able to apply them to scenarios.
• Reinforcement Schedules: Know the different schedules and their effects on behavior.
• Observational Learning: Understand the key processes and Bandura's experiment.
• Key Psychologists: Know their contributions and experiments.

#Common Question Types:

• Scenario-based MCQs: Applying learning principles to real-life situations.
• FRQs: Explaining and comparing different types of learning, often combining multiple concepts.

#Practice Questions

Practice Question

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. A child is bitten by a dog and develops a fear of all dogs. This is an example of: (A) stimulus discrimination (B) spontaneous recovery (C) stimulus generalization (D) extinction (E) negative reinforcement

2. Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement? (A) scolding a child for misbehaving (B) giving a child a treat for doing homework (C) taking away a child's video games for misbehaving (D) turning off an alarm clock (E) giving a child a time out

3. A researcher is trying to condition a rat to press a lever for food. The researcher initially gives the rat a treat every time it goes near the lever. Later, the researcher only gives the rat a treat when it presses the lever. This is an example of: (A) shaping (B) extinction (C) spontaneous recovery (D) latent learning (E) observational learning

Free Response Question:

Explain how classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning can be used to explain how a child develops a fear of public speaking. Be sure to include at least one example for each type of learning.

Scoring Breakdown:

• Classical Conditioning (2 points):
  • 1 point for identifying a UCS, UCR, CS and CR related to public speaking.
  • 1 point for a clear explanation of how these components lead to fear (e.g., a humiliating experience (UCS) leads to fear (UCR). The public speaking setting (CS) then leads to fear (CR)).
• Operant Conditioning (2 points):
  • 1 point for identifying a reinforcement or punishment related to public speaking.
  • 1 point for a clear explanation of how the consequence influences the behavior (e.g., avoiding public speaking (negative reinforcement) because it reduces anxiety).
• Observational Learning (2 points):
  • 1 point for identifying a model and behavior related to public speaking.
  • 1 point for a clear explanation of how the model influences the behavior (e.g., observing a peer’s negative experience with public speaking leads to the child also fearing it).

Good luck! You've got this! 💪 Remember to stay calm, trust your knowledge, and apply what you've learned. You're well-prepared to succeed! 🎉