3: Learning and Memory

Question 1

learning

Answer 1

the way in which we acquire new behaviors

Question 2

stimulus

Answer 2

anything to which an organism can respond

Question 3

habituation

Answer 3

decrease in response to a stimulation due to repeated exposure to the same stimulus

Question 4

dishabituation

Answer 4

recovery of a response to a stimulus after habituation has occured

Question 5

associative learning

Answer 5

creation of a pairing, or association, between two stimuli or between a behavior and a response

Question 6

classical conditioning

Answer 6

Type of associative learning that creates associations between unrelated stimuli by taking advantage of biological, instinctual responses

Question 7

extinction

Answer 7

the disappearance of a conditioned response due to repeated exposure to the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus (bell rings and meat not presented to dog, therefore dog stops salivating at bell)

Question 8

generalization

Answer 8

stimulus similar to conditioned stimulus can also produce conditioned response

Question 9

discrimination

Answer 9

organism learns to distinguish between two similar stimuli

opposite of generalization

Question 10

operant conditioning

Answer 10

Opposite of classical conditioning (which is mostly concerned with biological responses & instincts)
Concerned with linking voluntary behaviors to consequences in effort to alter frequency of those behaviors

Question 11

behaviorism

Answer 11

Associated with operant conditioning

Theory that all behaviors are conditioned

Question 12

reinforcement

Answer 12

The process of increasing the likelihood that an individual will perform a behavior

Question 13

positive reinforcers

Answer 13

Increase a behavior by adding a positive consequence or incentive following the behavior

Question 14

negative reinforcers

Answer 14

Increase behavior by removing something unpleasant following behavior (take aspirin to reduce headache, and headache goes away)

Question 15

escape learning

Answer 15

Form of negative reinforcement

Role of behavior is to reduce unpleasantness of something that already exists

Question 16

avoidance learning

Answer 16

Form of negative reinforcement

Prevent future unpleasant consequence

Question 17

punishment

Answer 17

Uses conditioning to reduce the recurrence of a behavior

Question 18

positive punishment

Answer 18

Adds an unpleasant consequence in response to a behavior to reduce behavior

Question 19

negative punishment

Answer 19

Removes stimulus to reduce behavior (child is grounded from TV after he does something naughty)

Question 20

fixed-ratio schedules

Answer 20

rewards a behavior after a set number of performances of that behavior

Question 21

variable-ratio schedules

Answer 21

rewards behavior after variable number of performances of that behavior (but average number of performances is relatively constant)
fastest and most resistant to extinction

Question 22

fixed-interval schedules

Answer 22

rewards behavior after fixed amount of time

Question 23

variable-interval schedules

Answer 23

rewards behavior after variable amount of time

Question 24

shaping

Answer 24

The process of rewarding increasingly specific behaviors
Can allow for the training of extremely complicated behaviors
Operant conditioning

Question 25

latent learning

Answer 25

Learning that occurs without a reward but is spontaneously demonstrated once a reward is introduced

Question 26

problem solving

Answer 26

o