Chapter 7

Question 1

learning

Answer 1

A relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience.

Question 2

conditioning

Answer 2

A basic kind of learning that involves associations among environmental stimuli and an organism’s behavior.

Question 3

unconditioned stimulus (US)

Answer 3

The classical-conditioning term for a stimulus that already elicits a certain response without additional learning.

Question 4

unconditioned response (UR)

Answer 4

The classical-conditioning term for a response elicited by an unconditioned stimulus.

Question 5

conditioned stimulus (CS)

Answer 5

The classical-conditioning term for an initially neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a conditioned response after being associated with an unconditioned stimulus.

Question 6

conditioned response (CR)

Answer 6

The classical-conditioning term for a response that is elicited by a conditioned stimulus; it occurs after the conditioned stimulus is associated with an unconditioned stimulus.

Question 7

classical conditioning

Answer 7

The process by which a previously neutral stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus that already elicits a response and, in turn, acquires the capacity to elicit a similar or related response.

Question 8

extinction (classical conditioning)

Answer 8

The weakening and eventual disappearance of a learned response; in classical conditioning, it occurs when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 9

spontaneous recovery

Answer 9

The reappearance of a learned response after its apparent extinction.

Question 10

higher-order conditioning

Answer 10

In classical conditioning, a procedure in which a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus through association with an already established conditioned stimulus.

Question 11

stimulus generalization (classical conditioning)

Answer 11

After conditioning, the tendency to respond to a stimulus that resembles one involved in the original conditioning; in classical conditioning, it occurs when a stimulus that resembles the CS elicits the CR.

Question 12

stimulus discrimination (classical conditioning)

Answer 12

The tendency to respond differently to two or more similar stimuli; in classical conditioning, it occurs when a stimulus similar to the CS fails to evoke the CR.

Question 13

behaviorism

Answer 13

An approach to psychology that emphasizes the study of observable behavior and the role of the environment and prior experience as the determinants of behavior.

Question 14

counterconditioning

Answer 14

In classical conditioning, the process of pairing a conditional stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a response that is incompatible with an unwanted conditioned response.

Question 15

operant conditioning

Answer 15

The process by which a response becomes more likely to occur or less so, depending on its consequences.

Question 16

reinforcement

Answer 16

The process by which a stimulus or event strengthens or increases the probability of the response that it follows.

Question 17

punishment

Answer 17

The process by which a stimulus or event weakens or reduces the probability of the response that it follows.l

Question 18

primary reinforcer

Answer 18

A stimulus that is inherently reinforcing, typically satisfying a psychological need; an example is food.

Question 19

primary punisher

Answer 19

A stimulus that is inherently punishing; an example is electric shock.

Question 20

secondary reinforcer

Answer 20

A stimulus that has acquired reinforcing properties through association with other reinforcers.

Question 21

secondary punisher

Answer 21

A stimulus that has acquired punishing properties through association with other punishers.

Question 22

positive reinforcement

Answer 22

A reinforcement procedure in which a response is followed by the presentation of, or increase in intensity of, a reinforcing stimulus; as a result, the response becomes stronger or more likely to occur.

Question 23

negative reinforcement

Answer 23

A reinforcement procedure in which a response is followed by the removal, delay, or decrease in intensity of an unpleasant stimulus; as a result, the response becomes stronger or more likely to occur.

Question 24

extinction (operant conditioning)

Answer 24

The weakening and eventual disappearance of a learned response; in operant conditioning, it occurs when a response is no longer followed by a reinforcer.

Question 25

stimulus generalization (operant conditioning)

Answer 25

In operant conditioning, the tendency for a response that has been reinforced (or punished) in the presence of one stimulus to occur (or be suppressed) in the presence of other similar stimuli.

Question 26

stimulus discrimination (operant conditioning)

Answer 26

In operant conditioning, the tendency of a response to occur in the presence of one stimulus but not in the presence of other similar stimuli that differ from it on some dimension.

Question 27

discriminative stimulus

Answer 27

A stimulus that signals when a particular response is likely to be followed by a certain type of consequence.

Question 28

continuous reinforcement

Answer 28

A reinforcement schedule in which a particular response is always reinforced.

Question 29

intermittent (partial) schedule of reinforcement

Answer 29

A reinforcement schedule in which a particular response is sometimes but not always reinforced.

Question 30

shaping

Answer 30

An operant-conditioning procedure in which successive approximations of a desired response are reinforced.

Question 31

successive approximation

Answer 31

In the operant-conditioning procedure of shaping, behaviors that are ordered in terms of increasing similarity or closeness to the desired response.

Question 32

instinctive drift

Answer 32

During operant learning, the tendency for an organism to revert to instinctive behavior.

Question 33

behavior modification

Answer 33

The application of operant-conditioning techniques to teach new response or to reduce or eliminate maladaptive or problematic behavior.

Question 34

extrinsic reinforcers

Answer 34

Reinforcers that are not inherently related to the activity being reinforced.

Question 35

intrinsic reinforcers

Answer 35

Reinforcers that are inherently related to the activity being reinforced.

Question 36

latent learning

Answer 36

A form of learning that is not immediately expressed in an overt response; it occurs without obvious reinforcement.

Question 37

social-cognitive theories

Answer 37

Theories that emphasize how behavior is learned and maintained through observation and imitation of others, positive consequences, and cognitive processes such as plans, expectations, and beliefs.

Question 38

observational learning

Answer 38

A process in which an individual learns new responses by observing the behavior of another (a model) rather than through direct experience.