Chapter 7 Key Terms [Learning]

Question 1

learning

Answer 1

the acquisition of new knowledge, skills, or responses from experience that results in relatively permanent change in the state of the learner

Question 2

habituation

Answer 2

a general process in which repeated or prolonged exposure to a stimulus results in a gradual reduction in responding

Question 3

sensitization

Answer 3

a simple form of learning that occurs when presentation of a stimulus leads to an increased response to a later stimulus

Question 4

classical conditioning

Answer 4

a type of learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus produces a response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally produces a response

Question 5

unconditioned stimulus (US)

Answer 5

something that reliably produces a naturally occurring reaction in an organism

Question 6

unconditioned response (UR)

Answer 6

a reflexive reaction that is reliably produced by an unconditioned stimulus

Question 7

conditioned stimulus (CS)

Answer 7

a previously neutral stimulus that produces a reliable response in an organism after being paired with a US

Question 8

conditioned response (CR)

Answer 8

a reaction that resembles an unconditioned response but is produced by a conditioned stimulus

Question 9

acquisition

Answer 9

the phase of classical conditioned when the CS and the US are presented together

Question 10

second-order conditioning

Answer 10

conditioning in which a CS is paired with a stimulus that became associated within the US in an earlier procedure

Question 11

extinction

Answer 11

the gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when the CS is repeatedly presented without the US

Question 12

spontaneous recovery

Answer 12

the tendency of a learned behavior to recover from extinction after a rest period

Question 13

generalization

Answer 13

the CR is observed even though the CS used during acquisition

Question 14

discrimination

Answer 14

the capacity to distinguish between similar but distinct stimuli

Question 15

biological preparedness

Answer 15

a propensity for learning particular kinds of associations over others

Question 16

operant conditioning

Answer 16

a type of learning in which the consequences of an organism’s behavior determine whether it will be repeated in the future

Question 17

law of effect

Answer 17

behaviors that are followed by a “satisfying state of affairs” tend to be repeated and those that produce an “unpleasant state of affairs” are less likely to be repeated

Question 18

operant behavior

Answer 18

behavior that an organism produces that has some impact on the environment

Question 19

reinforcer

Answer 19

any stimulus or event that functions to increase the likelihood of the behavior that led to it

Question 20

punisher

Answer 20

any stimulus or event that functions to decrease the likelihood of the behavior that led to it

Question 21

fixed-interval schedule (FI)

Answer 21

an operant conditioning principle in which reinforcers are presented at fixed-time periods, provided that the appropriate response is made

Question 22

variable-interval schedule (VI)

Answer 22

an operant conditioning principle in which behavior is reinforced based on an average time that has expired since the last reinforcement

Question 23

fixed-ratio schedule (FR)

Answer 23

an operant conditioning principle in which reinforcement is delivered after a specific number of responses have been made

Question 24

variable-ratio schedule (VR)

Answer 24

an operant conditioning principle in which the delivery of reinforcement is based on a particular average number of responses

Question 25

intermittent reinforcement

Answer 25

an operant conditioning principle in which only some of the responses made are followed by reinforcement

Question 26

intermittent reinforcement effect

Answer 26

the fact that operant behavior that are maintained under intermittent reinforcement schedules resist extinction better than those maintained under continuous reinforcement

Question 27

shaping

Answer 27

learning that results from the reinforcement of successive steps to a final desired behavior

Question 28

latent learning

Answer 28

something is learned, but it is not manifested as a behavioral change until sometime in the future

Question 29

cognitive map

Answer 29

a mental representation of the physical features of the environment

Question 30

observational learning

Answer 30

a condition in which learning takes place by watching the actions of others

Question 31

implicit learning

Answer 31

learning that takes place largely independent of awareness of both the process and the products of information acquisition