Chapter 1 Flashcards
Applied Behavior Analysis
a technology of behavior in which basic principles of behavior are applied to solving real-world issues
Behavior
any activity of an organism that can be observed or somehow measured
Behavior Analysis (experimental analysis of behavior)
the behavioral science that grew out of Skinner’s philosophy of radical behaviorism
Behaviorism
a natural science approach to psychology that traditionally focuses on the study of environmental influences on observable behavior
British Empiricism
a philosophical school of thought which maintains that almost all knowledge is a function of experience
Cognitive Behaviorism
a brand of behaviorism that utilizes intervening variable, usually in the form of hypothesized cognitive processes, to help explain behavior. Sometimes called “purposive behaviorism”
Cognitive Map
the mental representation of one’s spatial surroundings
Countercontrol
the deliberate manipulation of environmental events to alter their impact on our behavior
Empiricism
in psychology, the assumption that behavior patterns are mostly learned rather than inherited. Also known as the nurture perspective
Evolutionary Adaptation
an inherited trait (physical or behavioral) that has been shaped through natural selection
Functionalism
an approach to psychology which proposes that the mind evolved to help us adapt to the world around us, and that the focus of psychology should be
Introspection
the attempt to accurately describe one’s conscious thoughts, emotions, and sensory experiences.
latent learning
learning that occurs in the absence of any observable indication of learning and only becomes apparent under a different set of conditions
Law of Contiguity
A law of association, according to which events that occur in close proximity to each other in time or space are readily associated with each other
Law of Contrast
A law of association, according to which events that are opposite from each other are readily associated with each other
Law of Frequency
A law of association, according to which the more frequently two items occur together, the more strongly they are associated with each other.
Law of Parsimony
the assumption that simpler explanations for a phenomenon are generally preferable to more complex explanations
Law of Similarity
A law of association, according to which events that are similar to each other are readily associated with each other
Learning
a relatively permanent change in behavior that results from some type of experience
Methodological Behaviorism
a brand of behaviorism which asserts that, for methodological reasons, psychologist should study only those behaviors that can be directly observed
Mind-Body Dualism
Descartes’ philosophical assumption that some human behaviors are bodily reflexes that are automatically elicited by external stimulation, while other behaviors are freely chosen and controlled by the mind.
Nativism
the assumption that a person’s characteristics are largely inborn; also known as the nature perspective
Natural Selection
the evolutionary principle according to which organisms that are better able to adapt to environmental pressures are more likely to reproduce and pass along those adaptive characteristics than those that cannot adapt
Neobehaviorism
a brand of behaviorism that utilizes intervening variables, in the form of hypothesized physiological processes, to help explain behavior
Radical Behaviorism
a brand of behaviorism that emphasizes the influence of the environment on overt behavior, rejects the use of internal events to explain behavior, and views thoughts and feelings as behaviors that themselves need to be explained
Reciprocal Determinism
the assumption that environmental events, observable behavior, and “person variables” (including internal thoughts and feelings) reciprocally influence each other.
Social Learning Theory
a brand of behaviorism that strongly emphasizes the importance of observational learning and cognitive variables in explaining human behavior. It has more recently been referred to as “social-cognitive theory”
S-R theory
the theory that learning involves the establishment of a connection between a specific stimulus (S) and a specific response (R)
Structuralism
an approach to psychology which assumes that it is possible to determine the structure of the mind by identifying the basic elements that compose it
