Chapter 6: Learning

Question 1

learning

Answer 1

the process of acquiring through experience new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

Question 2

habituation

Answer 2

decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to a stimulus

Question 3

associative learning

Answer 3

learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequence (as in operant conditioning)

Question 4

stimulus

Answer 4

any event or situation that evokes a response

Question 5

respondent behavior

Answer 5

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus

Question 6

operant behavior

Answer 6

behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences

Question 7

cognitive learning

Answer 7

the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language

Question 8

classical conditioning

Answer 8

a type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli; as a result, to illustrate with Pavlov’s classic experiment, the first stimulus (a tone) comes to elicit behavior (drooling) in anticipation of the second stimulus (food)

Question 9

behaviorism

Answer 9

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2)

Question 10

neutral stimulus

Answer 10

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning

Question 11

unconditioned response

Answer 11

in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (US) (such as food in the mouth)

Question 12

unconditioned stimulus

Answer 12

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers an unconditioned response (UR)

Question 13

conditioned response

Answer 13

in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)

Question 14

conditioned stimulus

Answer 14

in classical conditioning, an originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR)

Question 15

acquisition

Answer 15

in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response

Question 16

higher-order conditioning

Answer 16

a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. For example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone

Question 17

extinction

Answer 17

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced

Question 18

spontaneous recovery

Answer 18

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

Question 19

generalization

Answer 19

the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses. (In operant conditioning, generalization occurs when responses learned in one situation occur in other, similar situations.)

Question 20

discrimination

Answer 20

the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus. (In operant conditioning, the ability to distinguish responses that are reinforced from similar responses that are not reinforced.)

Question 21

operant conditioning

Answer 21

a type of learning in which a behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer or less likely to recur if followed by a punisher

Question 22

law of effect

Answer 22

Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

Question 23

operant chamber

Answer 23

in operant conditioning research, a chamber (also known as a Skinner box) containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal’s rate of bar pressing or key pecking

Question 24

reinforcement

Answer 24

in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

Question 25

shaping

Answer 25

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

Question 26

discriminative stimulus

Answer 26

in operant conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement)

Question 27

positive reinforcement

Answer 27

increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response

Question 28

negative reinforcement

Answer 28

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing aversive stimuli. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Note: Negative reinforcement is not punishment.)

Question 29

primary reinforcer

Answer 29

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need

Question 30

conditioned reinforcer

Answer 30

a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer

Question 31

reinforcement schedule

Answer 31

a pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced

Question 32

continuous reinforcement schedule

Answer 32

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

Question 33

partial reinforcement schedule

Answer 33

reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement

Question 34

fixed-ratio schedule

Answer 34

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

Question 35

variable-ratio schedule

Answer 35

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

Question 36

fixed-interval schedule

Answer 36

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

Question 37

variable-interval schedule

Answer 37

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

Question 38

punishment

Answer 38

an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows

Question 39

biofeedback

Answer 39

a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension

Question 40

preparedness

Answer 40

a biological predisposition to learn associations, such as between taste and nausea, that have survival value

Question 41

instinctive drift

Answer 41

the tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to biologically predisposed patterns

Question 42

cognitive map

Answer 42

a mental representation of the layout of one’s environment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it

Question 43

latent learning

Answer 43

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

Question 44

insight

Answer 44

a sudden realization of a problem’s solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions

Question 45

intrinsic motivation

Answer 45

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

Question 46

extrinsic motivation

Answer 46

a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment

Question 47

problem-focused coping

Answer 47

attempting to alleviate stress directly—by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor

Question 48

emotion-focused coping

Answer 48

attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to our stress reaction

Question 49

personal control

Answer 49

our sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless

Question 50

learned helplessness

Answer 50

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or person learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

Question 51

external locus of control

Answer 51

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate

Question 52

internal locus of control

Answer 52

the perception that we control our own fate

Question 53

self-control

Answer 53

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards

Question 54

observational learning

Answer 54

learning by observing others

Question 55

modeling

Answer 55

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

Question 56

mirror neurons

Answer 56

frontal lobe neurons that some scientists believe fire when we perform certain actions or observe another doing so. The brain’s mirroring of another’s action may enable imitation and empathy

Question 57

prosocial behavior

Answer 57

positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior