Learning Flashcards
Classical Conditioning
when a neutral stimulus produces a response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally produced a response
What is Learning?
Experience that results in a relatively permanent change in the state of the learner
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
Acquistion
the phase of classical conditioning when the CS and the US are presented together
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 by which the CR is observed even though the CS is slightly different from the original one used during acquisition
Discrimination
the capacity to distinguish between similar but distinct stimuli
Phobias
We can develop fears of many stimuli, but some are more common than others
Fetishes
Sexual attraction to nonliving things
Disgust Reactions
CS’s w/ distinguished US’s come to elicit disgusts themselves
Operant Conditioning
a type of learning in which the consequences of an organism’s behavior determine whether it 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; more effective than punishment in promoting learning
Punisher
any stimulus or event that functions to decrease the likelihood of the behavior that led to it
Overjustification Effect
circumstances when external rewards can undermine the intrinsic satisfaction of performing a behavior
Positive Reinforcement
Positive outcome or consequence of a behavior strengthens the probability of the behavior
Negative Reinforcement
Removal of a negative outcome or consequences of a behavior that strengthens the probability of the behavior
Positive Punishment
Removal of a negative outcome or consequences of a behavior that strengthens the probability of the behavior
Negative Punishemnt
Removal of a pleasant consequence of a behavior that decreases the probability of the behavior
Fixed Interval Schedule (FI)
reinforcements are presented at fixed time periods, provided the appropriate response is made
Variable Interval Schedule (VI)
reinforcements are presented at fixed time periods, provided the appropriate response is made
Fixed Ratio Schedule (FR)
reinforcement is delivered after a specific number of responses have been made
Variable Ratio Schedule (VR)
the delivery of reinforcement is based on a particular average number of responses
Intermittent Reinforcement
when only some of the responses made are followed by reinforcement; produce slightly higher rates of responding and are more resistant to extinction (intermittent-reinforcement effect)
Shaping
learning that results from the reinforcement of successive steps to a final desired behavior
Supersitions
rare or odd behaviors may be repeated if they are accidentally reinforced, which may lead to mistaken beliefs regarding causal relationships
Premack Principle
Principle that a less frequently performed behavior can be increased in frequency by reinforcing it with a more frequent behavior
Observational Learning
a condition in which learning takes place by watching the actions of others
Diffusion Chain
a process in which 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
Implict Learning
learning that takes place largely without awareness of the process or the products of information acquisition (Some forms of learning being explicitly but become implicit over time)
Habituation
a general process in which repeated or prolonged exposure to a stimulus results in a gradual reduction in response
