Chapter 6 Flashcards
phobias
irrational fears of specific objects or situations
classical (pavlovian) conditioning
a type of learning in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus, involuntary responses
unconditioned stimulus
stimulus that evokes an unconditioned response without previous conditioning
unconditioned response
an unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus that occurs without previous conditioning
conditioned stimulus
a previously neutral stimulus that has through conditioning acquired the capacity to evoke a conditioned response
conditioned response
a learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus that occurs because of previous conditioning
evaluative conditioning
changes in the liking of a stimulus that result from pairing that stimulus with other positive or negative stimuli
acquisition
the initial stage of learning something
extinction
the gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response tendency , occurs when conditioned stimulus is consistently presented alone
stimuli that are ___ are more likely to be conditioned stimuli
new, unusual, especially intense
spontaneous recovery
reappearance of an extinguished response after a period of non exposure to the conditioned stimulus
renewal effect
response comes back if animal returns to the environment where it was learned
stimulus generalization
organism responds in the same way to new stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus
stimulus discrimination
organism does not respond in the same way to new stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus
higher-order conditioning
a conditioned stimulus functions as if it were an unconditioned stimulus
operant conditioning
a form of learning in which responses are controlled by their consequences, voluntary responses
reinforcement
an event following a response increasing organism’s tendency to repeat that response
primary reinforcers
events that are inherently reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs
secondary/conditioned reinforcers
events that acquire reinforcing qualities by being associated with primary reinforcers
shaping
repeatedly reinforcing closer and closer approximations of a desired response until the desired response in achieved
discriminative stimuli
clues that influence operant behavior by indicating the probable consequences of a response
intermittent reinforcement
makes a response more resistant to extinction, works better
positive reinforcement
response is strengthened, followed by a rewarding stimulus
negative reinforcement
response is strengthened, followed by removal of unpleasant stimulus
escape learning
organism acquires a response that decreases or ends some unpleasant stimulation
avoidance learning
organism acquires a response that prevents some unpleasant stimulation from occurring
why are phobias hard to get rid of?
- avoidance measures get reinforced by avoiding fear
2. prevent any conditioned response by never being exposed to the fear
punishment
an event following a response weakens the tendency to make that response
preparedness
species-specific predispositions to be conditioned in certain ways (fears that are threats to survival)
observational learning
occurs when an organism’s responding is influenced by the observation of others, called models
ratio schedules
organism must make the designated response a certain number of times to gain reinforcement
interval schedules
require a time period to pass between the presentation of reinforcers
