Chapter 7 Vocab Flashcards
learning
The acquisition of new knowledge, skills, or responses from experience that result in a relatively permanent change in the state of the learner.
classical conditioning
A phenomenon 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 stimulus that is initially neutral and produces no reliable response in an organism.
conditioned response (CR)
A reaction that resembles an unconditioned response but is produced by a conditioned stimulus.
acquisition
The phase of classical conditioning when the CS and the US are presented together.
second-order conditioning
Conditioning in which the stimulus that functions as the US is actually the CS from an earlier procedure in which it acquired its ability to produce learning.
extinction
The gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when the US is no longer presented.
spontaneous recovery
The tendency of a learned behavior to recover from extinction after a rest period.
generalization
A process in which the CR is observed even though the CS is slightly different from the original one used during acquisition.
discrimination (stimuli)
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 that behavior will be repeated in the future.
law of effect
The principle that 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 (FI) schedule
An operant conditioning principle in which reinforcements are presented at fixed time periods, provided that the appropriate response is made.
variable interval (VI) schedule
An operant conditioning principle in which behavior is reinforced based on an average time that has expired since the last reinforcement.
fixed ratio (FR) schedule
An operant conditioning principle in which reinforcement is delivered after a specific number of responses have been made.
variable ratio (VR) schedule
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 behaviors 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
A condition in which 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.
diffusion chain
A phenomenon that occurs when individuals initially learn a behavior by observing another individual perform that behavior and then serve as a model from which other individuals learn the behavior.
implicit learning
Learning that takes place largely without awareness of the process or the products of information acquisition.
habituation
A general process in which repeated or prolonged exposure to a stimulus results in a gradual reduction in response.
