chapter 8 vocab

Question 1

blocking

Answer 1

in classical conditioning, the finding that no conditioning occurs to a stimulus if it is combined with a previously conditioned stimulus during conditioning trials. suggests that information, surprise value, or prediction error is important in conditioning

Question 2

categorize

Answer 2

to sort or arrange different items into classes or categories

Question 3

classical conditioning

Answer 3

the procedure in which an initially neutral stimulus (the conditioned stimulus) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus. The result is that the conditioned stimulus begins to elicit a conditioned response. Classical conditioning is nowadays considered important as both a behavioural phenomenon and as a method to study simple associative learning

Question 4

conditioned compensatory response

Answer 4

in classical conditioning, a conditioned response that opposes, rather than is the same as, the unconditioned response. Often seen in conditioning when drugs are used as unconditioned stimuli

Question 5

conditioned response

Answer 5

the response that is elicited by the conditioned stimulus after classical conditioning has taken place

Question 6

conditioned stimulus

Answer 6

an initially neutral stimulus (like a bell, light, or tone) that elicits a conditioned response after it has been associated with an unconditioned stimulus

Question 7

context

Answer 7

stimuli that are in the background whenever learning occurs. “context” can also be provided by internal stimuli, such as the sensory effects of drugs and mood states. It can also be provided by a specific period in time - the passage of time is sometimes said to change the “temporal context”

Question 8

discriminative stimulus

Answer 8

in operant conditioning, a stimulus that signals whether the response will be reinforced. it is said to “set the occasion” for the operant response

Question 9

extinction

Answer 9

decrease in the strength of a learned behaviour that occurs when the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus (in classical conditioning). The term describes both the procedure (the US or reinforcer is no longer presented) as well as the result of the procedure (the learned response declines). Behaviours that have been reduced in strength through extinction are said to be “extinguished”

Question 10

fear conditioning

Answer 10

a type of classical or Pavlovian conditioning in which the conditioned stimulus is associated with an aversive unconditioned stimulus. As a consequence of learning, the CS comes to evoke fear. The phenomenon is thought to be involved in the development of anxiety disorders in humans

Question 11

goal-directed behaviour

Answer 11

instrumental behaviour that is influenced by the animal’s knowledge of the association between the behaviour and its consequences and the current value of the consequence. Sensitive to the reinforcer devaluation effect

Question 12

habit

Answer 12

instrumental behaviour that occurs automatically in the presence of a stimulus and is no longer influenced by the animal’s knowledge of the value of the reinforcer. Insensitive to the reinforcer devaluation effect

Question 13

instrumental conditioning

Answer 13

process in which animals learn about the relationship between their behaviours and their consequences. also known as operant conditioning

Question 14

law of effect

Answer 14

the idea that instrumental or operant responses are influenced by their effects. Responses that are followed by a pleasant state of affairs will be strengthened and those that are followed by discomfort will be weakened. Nowadays, the term refers to the idea that operant or instrumental behaviours are lawfully controlled by their consequences

Question 15

observational learning

Answer 15

learning by observing the behaviour of others

Question 16

operant

Answer 16

a behaviour that is controlled by its consequences

Question 17

prediction error

Answer 17

when the outcome of a conditioning trial is different from that which is predicted by the conditioned stimuli that are present on the trial. Prediction error is necessary to create Pavlovian conditioning (and associative learning generally). As learning occurs over repeated conditioning trials, the conditioned stimulus increasingly predicts the unconditioned stimulus, and prediction error declines. Conditioning works to correct or reduce prediction error

Question 18

preparedness

Answer 18

the idea that an organism’s evolutionary history can make it easy to learn a particular association.

Question 19

punisher

Answer 19

a stimulus that decreases the strength of an operant behaviour when it is made a consequence of the behaviour

Question 20

quantitative law of effect

Answer 20

a mathematical rule that states that the effectiveness of a reinforcer at strengthening an operant response depends on the amount of reinforcement earned for all alternative behaviours. A reinforcer is less effective if there is a lot of reinforcement in the environment for other behaviours

Question 21

reinforcer

Answer 21

any consequence of a behaviour that strengthens the behaviour or increases the likelihood that it will be performed again

Question 22

reinforcer devaluation effect

Answer 22

the finding that an animal will stop performing an instrumental response that once led to a reinforcer if the reinforcer is separately made aversive or undesirable

Question 23

renewal effect

Answer 23

recovery of an extinguished response that occurs when the context is changed after extinction. Especially strong when the change of context involves return to the context in which conditioning originally occurred. Can occur after extinction in either classical or instrumental conditioning

Question 24

social learning theory

Answer 24

the theory that people can learn new responses and behaviours by observing the behaviour of others

Question 25

social models

Answer 25

authorities that are the targets for observation and who model behaviour

Question 26

spontaneous recovery

Answer 26

recovery of an extinguished response that occurs with the passage of time after extinction. Can occur after extinction in either classical or instrumental conditioning

Question 27

stimulus control

Answer 27

when an operant behaviour is controlled by a stimulus that precedes it

Question 28

taste aversion learning

Answer 28

the phenomenon in which a taste is paired with sickness, and this causes the organism to reject - and dislike - that taste in the future

Question 29

unconditioned response

Answer 29

in classical conditioning, an innate response that is elicited by a stimulus before (or in the absence of) conditioning

Question 30

unconditioned stimulus

Answer 30

in classical conditioning, the stimulus that elicits the response before conditioning occurs

Question 31

vicarious reinforcement

Answer 31

learning that occurs by observing the reinforcement or punishment of another person