Chapter 7 Terms

Question 1

Learning

Answer 1

The acquisition, from experience, of new knowledge, skills, or responses that results in a 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 unconditioned stimulus.

Question 8

Conditioned Response (CR)

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Second-order conditioning

Answer 9

A type of learning where a conditioned stimulus is paired with a stimulus that became associated with the unconditioned stimulus in an earlier procedure.

Question 10

Acquisition

Answer 10

The phase of classical conditioning when the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are presented together.

Question 11

Extinction

Answer 11

The gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus.

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 conditioned response is observed, even though the conditioned stimulus is slightly different from the conditioned stimulus used during the 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 repeat that behavior in the future.

Question 17

Law of effect

Answer 17

The principle that behaviors that are followed by a “satisfying state of affairs” tends 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 performs that has some impact on the environment.

Question 19

Reinforcer

Answer 19

Any stimulus or event that increases the likelihood of the behavior that led to it.

Question 20

Punisher

Answer 20

Any stimulus or event that decreases the likelihood of the behavior that led to it.

Question 21

Fixed-interval Schedule (FI)

Answer 21

An operant conditioning principle whereby 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 whereby behavior is reinforced on the basis of an average time that has expired since the last reinforcement.

Question 23

Fixed-ratio Schedule (FR)

Answer 23

An operant conditioning principle whereby reinforcement is delivered after a specific number of responses have been made.

Question 24

Variable-ratio Schedule (VR)

Answer 24

An operant conditioning principle whereby the delivery of reinforcement is based on a particular average number of responses.

Question 25

Intermittent Reinforcement

Answer 25

An operant conditioning principle whereby only some of the responses made are followed by reinforcement.

Question 26

Intermittent Reinforcement Effect

Answer 26

The fact that the operant behaviors that are maintained under intermittent reinforcement schedules resist extinction better than do 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

A process in which 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 process by which an organism learns from 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.