Chapter 9-Learning Flashcards
What is behaviorism?
An approach to psychology that emphasizes the study of observable behavior and the role of the environment as a determinant of behavior.
What is learning?
A relatively permanent change in behavior(or behavioral potential) due to experience.
What is conditioning?
A basic kind of learning that involves associations between environmental stimuli and the organism’s responses.
What is an unconditioned stimulus(US)?
The classical conditioning term for a stimulus that elicits a reflexive response in the absence of learning.
What is an unconditioned response(UR)?
The classical-conditioning term for a reflexive response elicited by a stimulus in the absence of learning.
What is a conditioned stimulus(CS)?
The classical-conditioning term for an initially neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a conditioned response after being associated with an unconditioned stimulus.
What is a conditioned response(CR)?
The classical-conditioning term for a response that is elicited by a conditioned stimulus; it occurs after the conditioned stimulus is associated with an unconditioned stimulus.
What is classical conditioning?
The process by which a previously neutral stimulus acquires the capacity to elicit a response through association with a stimulus that already elicits a similar or related response. Also called Pavlovian or respondent conditioning.
What is extinction?
The weakening and eventual disappearance of a learned response; in classical conditioning, it occurs when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus.
What is spontaneous recovery?
The reappearance of a learned response after its apparent extinction.
What is higher-order conditioning?
In classical conditioning, a procedure in which a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus through association with an already established conditioned stimulus.
What is stimulus generalization?
After conditioning the tendency to respond to a stimulus that resembles one involved in the original conditioning; in classical conditioning, it occurs when a stimulus that resembles the CS elicits the CR.
What is stimulus discrimination?
The tendency to respond differently to two or more similar stimuli, it occurs when a stimulus similar to the CS fails to evoke the CR.
What is counterconditioning?
In classical conditioning, the process of pairing a conditioned stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a response that is incompatible with an unwanted conditioned response.
What is operant conditioning?
The process by which a response becomes more likely to occur or less so, depending on its consequences.
What is reinforcement?
The process by which a stimulus or event strengthens or increases the probability of the response that it follows.
What is punishment?
The process by which a stimulus or event weakens or reduces the probability of the response that it follows.
What is a primary reinforcer?
A stimulus that is inherently reinforcing, typically satisfying a physiological need; an example is food.
What is a primary reinforcer?
A stimulus that is inherently punishing; an example is electric shock.
What is a secondary reinforcer?
A stimulus that has acquired reinforcing properties through association with other reinforces.
What is a secondary punisher?
A stimulus that has acquired punishing properties through association with other punishers.
What is positive reinforcement?
A reinforcement procedure in which a response is followed by the presentation of, or increase in intensity of, a reinforcing stimulus; as a result, the response becomes stronger or more likely to occur.
What is negative reinforcement?
A reinforcement procedure in which a response is followed by the removal, delay, or decrease in intensity of an unpleasant stimulus; as a result, the response becomes stronger or more likely to occur.
What is extinction?
The weakening and eventual disappearance of a learned response; in operant conditioning, it occurs when a response is no longer followed by a reinforcer.
What is stimulus generalization in operant conditioning?
In operant conditioning, the tendency for a response that has been reinforced(or punished) in the presence of one stimulus to occur(or be suppressed) in the presence of other similar stimuli.
What is stimulus discrimination in operant conditioning?
In operant conditioning, the tendency of a response to occur in the presence of one stimulus but not in the presence of other, similar stimuli that differ from it on some dimension.
What is discriminative stimulus?
A stimulus that signals when a particular response is likely to be followed by a certain type of consequence.
What is a continuous reinforcement?
A reinforcement schedule in which a particular response is always reinforced.
What is intermittent(partial) schedule of reinforcement?
A reinforcement schedule in which a particular response is sometimes but not always reinforced.
What is shaping?
An operant-conditioning procedure in which successive approximations of a desired response are reinforced.
What is successive approximations?
In the operant-conditioning procedure of shaping, behaviors that are ordered in terms of increasing similarity or closeness to the desired response.
What is instinctive drift?
During operant learning, the tendency for an organism to revert to instinctive behavior.
What is behavior modification?
The application of operant conditioning techniques to teach new responses or to reduce or eliminate maladaptive or problematic behavior; also called applied behavior analysis.
What are extrinsic reinforcers?
Reinforcers that are not inherently related to the activity being reinforced.
What are intrinsic reinforcers?
Reinforcers that are inherently related to the activity being reinforced.
What is latent learning?
A form of learning that is not immediately expressed in an overt response; it occurs without obvious reinforcement.
What are social-cognitive theories?
Theories that emphasize how behavior is learned and maintained through observation and imitation of others, positive consequences, and cognitive processes such as plans, expectations, and beliefs.
What is observational learning?
A process in which an individual learns new responses by observing the behavior of another(a model) rather than through direct experience; sometimes called vicarious conditioning.
