Chapter 6: Learning

Question 1

Learning

Answer 1

An enduring change in behaviour resulting from prior experience.

Question 2

Associative learning

Answer 2

A form of learning that involves making connections between stimuli and behavioural responses .

Question 3

Nonassociative learning

Answer 3

A form of learning that involves a change in the magnitude of an elicited response with repetition of the eliciting stimulus.

Question 4

Habituation

Answer 4

A form of nonassociative learning by which an organism becomes less responsive to a repeated stimulus.

Question 5

Sensitization

Answer 5

A form of nonassociative learning by which an organism becomes more sensitive, or responsive, to a repeated stimulus.

Question 6

Dishabituation

Answer 6

The recovery of a responsive that has undergone habituation, typically as a result of the presentation of a novel stimulus.

Question 7

Classical conditioning

Answer 7

A passive form of learning by which an association is made between a reflex-eliciting stimulus (e.g., a shock) and other stimulus (e.g., a sound).

Question 8

Unconditional stimulus

Answer 8

A stimulus that produces a reflexive response without prior learning.

Question 9

Unconditioned response

Answer 9

The response that is automatically generated by the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 10

Conditioned stimulus

Answer 10

A stimulus that has no prior positive or negative association but comes to elicit a response after being associated with the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 11

Conditioned response

Answer 11

A response that occurs in the presence of the conditioned stimulus after an association between the conditioned and unconditioned stimulus is learned.

Question 12

Acquisition

Answer 12

The initial learning of an association between the unconditioned and conditioned stimuli during classical conditioning.

Question 13

Generalization

Answer 13

The tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus, so that learning is not tied too narrowly to a specific stimulus.

Question 14

Discrimination

Answer 14

Learning to respond to a particular stimulus but not to similar stimuli, thus preventing overgeneralizations.

Question 15

Extinction

Answer 15

An active learning process in which there is a weakening of the conditioned response to the conditioned stimulus in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 16

Spontaneous recovery

Answer 16

The reappearance of an extinct behaviour after a delay.

Question 17

Blocking

Answer 17

A classical conditioning phenomenon whereby a prior association with a conditioned stimulus prevents learning of an association with another stimulus because the second one adds no further predictive value.

Question 18

Preparedness

Answer 18

The species-specific biological predisposition to learn some associations more quickly than other associations.

Question 19

Conditioned taste aversion

Answer 19

A classically conditioned response where individuals are more likely to associate nausea with food than with other environmental stimuli.

Question 20

Operant conditioning

Answer 20

A mechanism by which our behaviour acts as an instrument or tool to change the environment and, as a result, voluntary behaviours are modified.

Question 21

Law of effect

Answer 21

The idea that behaviour is a function of its consequences- actions that are followed by positive outcomes are strengthened, and behaviours that are followed by negative outcomes are weakened.

Question 22

Reinforcement

Answer 22

A consequence that increases the likelihood that a behaviour will be repeated.

Question 23

Punishment

Answer 23

A consequence that decreases the likelihood that a behaviour will be repeated.

Question 24

Primary reinforcers

Answer 24

A consequence that is innately pleasurable and/or satisfies some biological need.

Question 25

Secondary reinforcers

Answer 25

A learned pleasure that acquires value through experience because of its association with primary reinforcers.

Question 26

Positive reinforcement

Answer 26

The presentation of a positive stimulus, leading to an increase in the frequency of a behaviour.

Question 27

Negative reinforcement

Answer 27

The removal of a negative stimulus, leading to an increase in the frequency of a behaviour.

Question 28

Positive punishment

Answer 28

The presentation of a negative stimulus, leading to a decrease in the frequency of a behaviour.

Question 29

Negative punishment

Answer 29

The removal of a positive stimulus, leading to a decrease in the frequency of a behaviour.

Question 30

Premack principle

Answer 30

The idea that activities individuals frequently engage in can be used to reinforce activities that they are less inclined to do.

Question 31

Shaping

Answer 31

The process by which random behaviours are gradually changed into a desired target behaviour.

Question 32

Instinctive drift

Answer 32

An animal’s reversion to evolutionarily derived instinctive behaviours instead of demonstrating newly learned responses.

Question 33

Continuous reinforcement schedule

Answer 33

A reinforcement schedule in which a behaviour is rewarded every time it is performed.

Question 34

Partial reinforcement schedules

Answer 34

A reinforcement schedule in which a behaviour is rewarded only some of the time .

Question 35

Fixed-ratio schedule

Answer 35

A reinforcement schedule in which a specific number of behaviours are required before a reward is given.

Question 36

Variable- ratio schedule

Answer 36

A reinforcement schedule in which an average number of behaviours are required before a reward is given.

Question 37

Fixed-interval schedule

Answer 37

A reinforcement schedule based on a fixed amount of time before a reward is given.

Question 38

Variable-interval schedule

Answer 38

A reinforcement schedule based on an amount of time between rewards that varies around a constant average.

Question 39

Superstitious conditioning

Answer 39

A form of operant conditioning in which a behaviour is learned because it was coincidentally reinforced, but has no actual relationship with reinforcement.

Question 40

Latent learning

Answer 40

Learning that occurs without either inventive or any clear motivation to learn.

Question 41

Insight learning

Answer 41

A form of learning that occurs without trial and error and thus without clear reinforcement.

Question 42

Observational learning

Answer 42

A form of learning in which a person observes and imitates a behaviour from a model.

Question 43

Imitation

Answer 43

The purposeful copying of a goal-directed behaviour.

Question 44

Social learning theory

Answer 44

A theory of how people’s cognitions, behaviours, and dispositions are shaped by observing and imitating the actions of others.

Question 45

Mirror neurons

Answer 45

Neurons that are active both when performing an action and when the same actions are observed in others.

Question 46

Cultural transmission

Answer 46

The transfer of information from one generation to another that is maintained not by genetics, but by teaching and learning.

Question 47

Vertical transmission

Answer 47

The transmission of skills from parent to offspring.

Question 48

Horizontal transmission

Answer 48

The transmission of skills between peers.

Question 49

Diffusion chain

Answer 49

A process in which individuals learn a behaviour by observing a model and then serve as models from whom other individuals can learn.