Chapter 6 - Learning Flashcards
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
stimulus that elicits reflexive response e.g. food
Unconditioned response (UCR)
natural reaction to a stimulus e.g. drooling
Neutral stimulus (NS)
stimulus that elicits nothing e.g. sound of a bell PRIOR to conditioning
Conditioned stimulus
stimulus that elicits a response after being repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus e.g. sound of bell PROCEEDING conditioning
Conditioned response
behavior caused by the conditioned stimulus e.g. dog drools when hears bell
Higher-order conditioning (second-order conditioning)
the use of one conditioned stimulus to condition another stimulus
acquisition
when an organism learns to connect a neutral stimulus (bell) with an unconditioned stimulus (food)
extinction
decrease in the conditioned response when unconditioned stimulus is no longer presented with the conditioned stimulus
spontaneous recovery
return of a previously extinct conditioned response following a rest period
stimulus discrimination
when a subject learns to respond differently to various similar stimuli
stimulus generalization
organism demonstrating conditioned response to stimuli that are similar (opposite of stimulus discrimination)
operant conditioning
organisms learn to associate a behavior & what happens because of it
law of effect
behaviors that have satisfying consequences are more likely to be repeated, and vice versa
positive reinforcement
desirable stimulus added to increase a behavior
negative reinforcement
undesirable stimulus removed to increase a behavior
punishment is NOT
negative reinforcement
reinforcement, even when negative, _____ a behavior
increases
punishment ALWAYS _______ a behavior
decreases
positive punishment
add undesirable stimulus to decrease a behavior
negative punishment
remove pleasant stimulus to decrease a behavior
shaping
instead of rewarding only the target behavior, also rewarding successive approximations of target behavior
Primary reinforcer
unlearned reinforcers that are innately reinforcing e.g. water, food, sleep, shelter, sex, etc.
secondary reinforcer
no inherent value & only has reinforcing qualities when paired w/ primary reinforcer e.g. praise “great shot!” linked to primary reinforcer
Continuous reinforcement
when an organism receives a reinforcer each time it displays a behavior
Partial reinforcement (intermittent reinforcement)
organism does NOT get reinforced every time they perform the desired behavior.
Fixed interval
reinforcement delivered at predictable time intervals
variable interval
reinforcement delivered at unpredictable time intervals
fixed ratio
reinforcement delivered after a predictable number of responses
variable ratio
reinforcement delivered after an unpredictable number of responses
radical behaviorism
considered the mind a “black box” & therefore something not to be studied
cognitive map
mental picture
latent learning
learning that occurs but is not observable in behavior until there’s a reason to demonstrate it e.g. riding to school w/ parents and learning the route, but never driving to prove that you learned it.
observational learning
watching others and imitating
model
individual performing imitated behavior
observational learning involves a specific type of neuron called a _________
mirror neuron
vicarious reinforcement
if you saw a model get reinforced for their behavior, you will be motivated to imitate
