Learning Terms Flashcards
AVSAB
American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior
Learning
An enduring change in the mechanisms of behavior involving specific stimuli and/or responses that result from prior experience with similar stimuli and responses.
Habituation
A decrease in response consequence of repeated exposure to stimulus.
Dihabituation
The habituated response is restored by exposure to strong extraneous stimulus paired with the stimulus to which the animal has habituated
Sensitization
An increase in responsiveness produced by repeated stimulation.
Classical Conditioning
An organism learns about relationship between stimuli and alters its behavior accordingly
Unconditioned Stimulus (US)
A stimulus that elicits a particular response without the necessity of prior training
Unconditioned response (UR)
A response that occurs to a stimulus without the necessity of prior training.
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
A stimulus that does not elicit a particular response initially but comes to do so as a result of becoming associated with a US
Conditioned Response (CR)
The response that comes to be made to the CS as a result of classical conditioning
Extinction
If the animal is repeatedly exposed to the CS without further pairing with the US, then the animal’s response to the CS will eventually cease
Operant Conditioning (instrumental conditioning)
Behavior that occurs because it was previously instrumental in producing certain consequences “goal-directed behavior”
Reinforcement
The probability that the behavior will recur is INCREASED
Punishment
The probability that the behavior will recur is DECREASED
Positive = Present
The controlling stimulus is present or occurs as a consequence of the response occurring
Negative = Absent
The controlling stimulus is absent or is removed as a consequence of the response recurring
Positive Reinforcement
The probability that the behavior will recur INCREASES as a consequence of the controlling stimulus being PRESENT or OCCURRING immediately subsequent to the behavior.
If you do X and good things happen, Keep doing X.
Positive Reinforcement
Negative Reinforcement
The probability that the behavior will recur INCREASES as a consequence of the controlling stimulus being ABSENT or REMOVED if the behavior occurs.
If you do X and bad things go away or stay away, keep doing X.
Negative Reinforcement
Positive Punishment
The probability that the behavior will recur DECREASES as a consequence of the controlling stimulus OCCURRING immediately subsequent to the behavior
If you do X and bad things happen, stop doing X
Positive Punishment
Negative Punishment
“Time-out”
The probability that the behavior will recur DECREASES as the consequence of the controlling stimulus being ABSENT or REMOVED if the behavior occurs
If you do X and a good thing does not happen or stops happening, then don’t do X
Negative Punishment
Learned Helplessness
Interference with the learning of new instrumental responses as a result of exposure to inescapable and unavoidable aversive stimulation.
Flooding
Term used for the deliberate exposure of the animal to a stimulus until the response extinguishes or the animal habituates.
Counter-conditioning
A response is elicited that is behaviorally and physiologically incompatible with another response.
