Learning Flashcards
Covering material from Unit II of Introduction to Psychology
learning
a relatively permanent chance in performance potential that arises from experience
classical conditioning
a type of learning response; a neutral object comes to elicit a response when it is associated with a stimulus that already produces that response
unconditioned response (UR)
a response that does not have to be learned, such as a reflex
unconditioned stimulus (US)
a stimulus that elicits a response, such as a reflex, without an prior learning
conditioned stimulus (CS)
a stimulus that elicits a response only after learning has taken palce
conditioned response (CR)
a response to a conditioned stimulus, a response that has been learned
acquistion
the gradual formation of an association between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli
extinction
a process in which the conditioned response is weakened when the conditioned stimulus is repeated without the conditioned stimulus
contiguity
the critical element in acquisition of a learned association; stimuli occur together in time
spontaneous recovery
a process in which a previously extinguished response reemerges after the presentation of the conditioned stimulus
stimulus generalization
learning that occurs when stimuli are similar but not identical to the conditioned stimulus produce the conditioned response
stimulus discrimination
a differentiation between two similar stimuli when only one of them is consistently associated with the unconditioned stimuli
second-order conditioning
when a conditioned stimulus becomes associated with other stimuli associated with the unconditioned stimulus
phobia
an acquired fear that is out of proportion tot he real threat of an object of a situation
Little Albert Study
study that demonstrated the role of classical conditioning in the development of phobias, conducted by John B. Watson. Watson paired a small rat (CS) and a loud noise (US) until eventually just the CS produced fear in little albert
systematic desensitization
behavioral therapist Joseph Wolpe developed a formal treatment based on counter-conditioning
conditioned food aversion
the association between eating a novel food and getting sick, even when the illness occurs hours after eating is so strong that food aversion can formed in one trial
biological preparedness
the theory that some animals are genetically programmed to fear certain objects that are potentially dangerous
Rescorla-Wagner model
a cognitive model of classical conditioning; it states that the strength of the CS_US association is determined by the extent tow which the unconditioned stimulus is unexpected or surprising
instrumental (operant) conditioning
a learning process in which the consequences of an action determine the likelihood that it will be performed in the future
puzzle box
a small cage with a trapdoor that would open if the animal inside performs a specific action