Chapter 6 (module 5)

Question 1

acquisition

Answer 1

period of initial learning in classical conditioning in which a human or an animal begins to
connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus will begin to elicit
the conditioned response

Question 2

associative learning

Answer 2

form of learning that involves connecting certain stimuli or events that occur
together in the environment (classical and operant conditioning)

Question 3

classical conditioning

Answer 3

learning in which the stimulus or experience occurs before the behavior and then
gets paired or associated with the behavior

Question 4

cognitive map

Answer 4

mental picture of the layout of the environment

Question 5

conditioned response (CR)

Answer 5

response caused by the conditioned stimulus

Question 6

conditioned stimulus (CS)

Answer 6

stimulus that elicits a response due to its being paired with an unconditioned
stimulus

Question 7

continuous reinforcement

Answer 7

rewarding a behavior every time it occurs

Question 8

extinction

Answer 8

decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer paired
with the conditioned stimulus

Question 9

fixed interval reinforcement schedule

Answer 9

behavior is rewarded after a set amount of time

Question 10

fixed ratio reinforcement schedule

Answer 10

set number of responses must occur before a behavior is rewarded

Question 11

habituation

Answer 11

when we learn not to respond to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly without change

Question 12

higher-order conditioning (also, second-order conditioning)

Answer 12

using a conditioned stimulus to condition a

neutral stimulus

Question 13

instinct

Answer 13

unlearned knowledge, involving complex patterns of behavior; instincts are thought to be more
prevalent in lower animals than in humans

Question 14

latent learning

Answer 14

learning that occurs, but it may not be evident until there is a reason to demonstrate it

Question 15

law of effect

Answer 15

behavior that is followed by consequences satisfying to the organism will be repeated and
behaviors that are followed by unpleasant consequences will be discouraged

Question 16

learning

Answer 16

change in behavior or knowledge that is the result of experience

Question 17

model

Answer 17

person who performs a behavior that serves as an example (in observational learning)

Question 18

negative punishment

Answer 18

taking away a pleasant stimulus to decrease or stop a behavior

Question 19

negative reinforcement

Answer 19

taking away an undesirable stimulus to increase a behavior

Question 20

neutral stimulus (NS)

Answer 20

stimulus that does not initially elicit a response

Question 21

observational learning

Answer 21

type of learning that occurs by watching others

Question 22

operant conditioning

Answer 22

form of learning in which the stimulus/experience happens after the behavior is
demonstrated

Question 23

partial reinforcement

Answer 23

rewarding behavior only some of the time

Question 24

positive punishment

Answer 24

adding an undesirable stimulus to stop or decrease a behavior

Question 25

positive reinforcement

Answer 25

adding a desirable stimulus to increase a behavior

Question 26

primary reinforcer

Answer 26

has innate reinforcing qualities (e.g., food, water, shelter, sex)

Question 27

punishment

Answer 27

implementation of a consequence in order to decrease a behavior

Question 28

reflex

Answer 28

unlearned, automatic response by an organism to a stimulus in the environment

Question 29

reinforcement

Answer 29

implementation of a consequence in order to increase a behavior

Question 30

secondary reinforcer

Answer 30

has no inherent value unto itself and only has reinforcing qualities when linked
with something else (e.g., money, gold stars, poker chips)

Question 31

shaping

Answer 31

rewarding successive approximations toward a target behavior

Question 32

spontaneous recovery

Answer 32

return of a previously extinguished conditioned response

Question 33

stimulus discrimination

Answer 33

ability to respond differently to similar stimuli

Question 34

stimulus generalization

Answer 34

demonstrating the conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the
conditioned stimulus

Question 35

unconditioned response (UCR)

Answer 35

natural (unlearned) behavior to a given stimulus

Question 36

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

Answer 36

stimulus that elicits a reflexive response

Question 37

variable interval reinforcement schedule

Answer 37

behavior is rewarded after unpredictable amounts of time

have passed

Question 38

variable ratio reinforcement schedule

Answer 38

number of responses differ before a behavior is rewarded

Question 39

vicarious punishment

Answer 39

process where the observer sees the model punished, making the observer less
likely to imitate the model’s behavior

Question 40

vicarious reinforcement

Answer 40

process where the observer sees the model rewarded, making the observer
more likely to imitate the model’s behavior