Chapter 7 Key Terms [Learning] Flashcards
learning
the acquisition of new knowledge, skills, or responses from experience that results in relatively permanent change in the state of the learner
habituation
a general process in which repeated or prolonged exposure to a stimulus results in a gradual reduction in responding
sensitization
a simple form of learning that occurs when presentation of a stimulus leads to an increased response to a later stimulus
classical conditioning
a type of learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus produces a response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally produces a response
unconditioned stimulus (US)
something that reliably produces a naturally occurring reaction in an organism
unconditioned response (UR)
a reflexive reaction that is reliably produced by an unconditioned stimulus
conditioned stimulus (CS)
a previously neutral stimulus that produces a reliable response in an organism after being paired with a US
conditioned response (CR)
a reaction that resembles an unconditioned response but is produced by a conditioned stimulus
acquisition
the phase of classical conditioned when the CS and the US are presented together
second-order conditioning
conditioning in which a CS is paired with a stimulus that became associated within the US in an earlier procedure
extinction
the gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when the CS is repeatedly presented without the US
spontaneous recovery
the tendency of a learned behavior to recover from extinction after a rest period
generalization
the CR is observed even though the CS used during acquisition
discrimination
the capacity to distinguish between similar but distinct stimuli
biological preparedness
a propensity for learning particular kinds of associations over others
operant conditioning
a type of learning in which the consequences of an organism’s behavior determine whether it will be repeated in the future
law of effect
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
operant behavior
behavior that an organism produces that has some impact on the environment
reinforcer
any stimulus or event that functions to increase the likelihood of the behavior that led to it
punisher
any stimulus or event that functions to decrease the likelihood of the behavior that led to it
fixed-interval schedule (FI)
an operant conditioning principle in which reinforcers are presented at fixed-time periods, provided that the appropriate response is made
variable-interval schedule (VI)
an operant conditioning principle in which behavior is reinforced based on an average time that has expired since the last reinforcement
fixed-ratio schedule (FR)
an operant conditioning principle in which reinforcement is delivered after a specific number of responses have been made
variable-ratio schedule (VR)
an operant conditioning principle in which the delivery of reinforcement is based on a particular average number of responses
intermittent reinforcement
an operant conditioning principle in which only some of the responses made are followed by reinforcement
intermittent reinforcement effect
the fact that operant behavior that are maintained under intermittent reinforcement schedules resist extinction better than those maintained under continuous reinforcement
shaping
learning that results from the reinforcement of successive steps to a final desired behavior
latent learning
something is learned, but it is not manifested as a behavioral change until sometime in the future
cognitive map
a mental representation of the physical features of the environment
observational learning
a condition in which learning takes place by watching the actions of others
implicit learning
learning that takes place largely independent of awareness of both the process and the products of information acquisition
