Human Growth and Development Flashcards
A schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement occurs after random or variable time intervals
Variable Interval Schedule
The control over behavior exerted by a discriminative stimulus. The extent to which behavior is influenced by different stimulus conditions. It can refer to different responses occurring in the presence of different stimuli or to differences in the rate, temporal organization, or topography (see response topography) of a single response in the presence of different stimuli.
Stimulus Control
The momentary storage of sensory information.
Sensory memory
The presentation of an undesirable stimulus or removal of a desirable stimulus following a behavior for the purpose of decreasing that behavior.
Punishment
According to Kohlberg, the first level of moral development when judgments are made on theThe basis of physical consequences and personal needs. Includes ‘punishment – obedience’ and ‘instrumental – relativeistic’ substages. Most common type of morality in childhood.
Preconventional morality
The learning of a behavior as a result of observing the behavior being performed by a model; learning through imitation.
Observational learning
A period of psychological turmoil precipitated by reevaluation of one’s past and awareness of one’s mortality. Usually occurs in the early to mid 40s and ordinarily followed by a period of stability. May be precipitated by major life events such as health problems, children leaving home, or menopause.
Midlife crisis
Thorndike’s law of learning which states “responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation become more likely to occur again in that situation, and responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to occur again in that situation”
Law of effect
The apparently sudden understanding of the relationship between elements in a problem-solving situation. According to Gestalt psychology, insight involves perceptual reorganization.
Insight
The characteristics an individual has genetically inherited and will pass on to his or her offspring.
Genotype
Reinforcement schedule in which reinforcement for a response occurs at a fixed interval of time, regardless of number of responses.
Fixed interval schedule
The process of memory in which external (environmental) stimuli are transformed to meaningful, useful internal forms (forms which can be used by the memory). This is the initial form of Learning.
Encoding
Abilities which are a function of learning and experience. Examples include vocabulary, general knowledge, and mathematical knowledge. These abilities are believed to be relatively unaffected by physiological processes and, ordinarily do not decline in old age.
Crystallized abilities
Refers to Harlow and Harlow’s hypothesis that contact is more important for the development of attachment than feeding. Based on observations that monkeys consistently prefer a cloth surrogate mother over a wire one, even when the wire surrogate provides food.
Contact comfort
Learning that occurs as a result of the pairing of a previously neutral stimulus with a unconditioned stimulus so the condition (previously neutral) stimulus eventually elicits a response normally elicited by the unconditioned stimulus. Also referred to as learning through stimulus substitution and respondent conditioning.
Classical conditioning
