Chp 9 Part 2 Flashcards
Operant conditioning
Learning in which a certain action is reinforced or punished, resulting in corresponding increases or decreases in occurrence.
Reinforcement
Stimulus or event that follows a response and increases the likelihood that the response will be repeated.
Primary reinforcer
A stimulus that is naturally rewarding, such as food or water.
Secondary reinforcer
A stimulus such as money that becomes rewarding through its link with a primary reinforcer.
Fixed-ratio schedule
Specific number of correct responses is required before reinforcement occurs.
Variable-ratio schedule
Reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable number of correct responses.
Fixed-interval schedule
Reinforcement occurs only after a specific amount of time has elapsed.
Variable-interval schedule
Reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable amount of time elapses.
Shaping
The technique in which the desired behavior is “molded” by first rewarding any act similar to that behavior and then requiring closer approximations to the desired behavior before giving the reward.
Response chain
Learned reactions that follow one another in sequence, each reaction producing the signal to the next.
Aversive control
Process of influencing behavior by means of unpleasant stimuli.
Negative reinforcement
Occurs when something unpleasant is taken away if the animal performs an action.
Escape conditioning
Training of an organism to remove or terminate an unpleasant stimulus.
Avoidance conditioning
Training of an organism to withdraw from an unpleasant stimulus before it starts.
Social learning
Form of learning in which an organism observes and imitates the behavior of others.
