Midterm study guide

Question 1

Neutral stimulus

Answer 1

is a stimulus which initially produces no specific response other than focusing attention. In classical conditioning, when used together with an unconditioned stimulus, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus. With repeated presentations of both the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus, the neutral stimulus will elicit a response as well, known as a conditioned response.

Question 2

Negative reinforcement

Answer 2

is the encouragement of certain behaviors by removing or avoiding a negative outcome or stimuli.

Question 3

Secondary reinforcer

Answer 3

Pavlov’s dog experiment. : One of the most popular examples of secondary or conditioned reinforcement was demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov’s experiment of classical conditioning. Using a “clicker” to train a dog. : Many people use clickers (devices that generate clicking sounds) in effort to train their dogs. … Monetary compensation. …Verbal encouragement. …

Question 4

Conditioned stimulus

Answer 4

Pavlov’s Dogs. In the mid-1920s, Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov was studying the digestive system of dogs by measuring the amount of saliva they produced in response to various foods (response …

Question 5

Unconditioned Stimulus

Answer 5

is one that unconditionally, naturally, and automatically triggers a response.

Question 6

Classical conditioning

Answer 6

learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired: a response which is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone.

Question 7

Association

Answer 7

refers to a mental connection between concepts, events, or mental states that usually stems from specific experiences.

Question 8

Skinner

Answer 8

was an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher. He was a professor of psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974.

Question 9

Positive Punishment

Answer 9

Positive punishment is one of four (positive parenting) methods of modifying behavior according to the theory of operant conditioning (Skinner, 1971).

Question 10

Positive Reinforcement

Answer 10

Rewarding something when someone does something good. Building up spirit

Question 11

Pavlov

Answer 11

Russian physiologist best known in psychology for his discovery of classical conditioning. During his studies on the digestive systems of dogs, Pavlov noted that the animals salivated naturally upon the presentation of food.

Question 12

Behaviorism

Answer 12

is a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex evoked by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that indivi…

Question 13

Operant Conditioning

Answer 13

a type of associative learning process through which the strength of a behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment.

Question 14

Watson

Answer 14

was an American psychologist who popularized the scientific theory of behaviorism, establishing it as a psychological school

Question 15

Discriminatory Stimulus

Answer 15

influences the occurrence of an operant response because of the contingencies of schedules of reinforcement or paradigms of reinforcement/punishment

Question 16

Primary Reinforcer

Answer 16

is any reinforcer that does not need to be learned.

Question 17

Learning

Answer 17

Learning can be defined in many ways, but most psychologists would agree that it is a relatively permanent…

Question 18

Fixed Ratio

Answer 18

Skinner thought that reward ing an organism (animal or human) everytime they behaved in a desirable way was not a good idea . He set about investigating just how often a desired response could be got until reinforcement was needed again.

Question 19

Uncontitioned Response

Answer 19

behavior that occurs naturally due to a given stimulus.

Question 20

Shaping

Answer 20

is a conditioning paradigm used primarily in the experimental analysis of behavior. The method used is differential reinforcement of successive approximations. It was introduced by B. F. Skinner with pigeons and extended to dogs, dolphins, humans and other species.

Question 21

Reinforcer

Answer 21

stimulus that strengthens or weakens the behavior that produced it. reinforcing stimulus,

Question 22

Continuous

Answer 22

forming an unbroken whole; without interruption.

Question 23

Negative Punishment

Answer 23

term described by B. F. Skinner in his theory of operant conditioning. In negative reinforcement, a response or behavior is strengthened by stopping, removing, or avoiding a negative outcome or aversive stimulus.

Question 24

Badura

Answer 24

When someone refers to Albert Bandura’s approach to psychology, they’re referring to the social learning theory. Bandura developed a theory that children learn by what they observe in social situations and executed a famous experiment called the Bobo doll to attempt to prove his predictions.

Question 25

Intrinsic

Answer 25

belonging naturally; essential.

Question 26

Behavior Modification

Answer 26

is the process of changing patterns of human behavior over the long 
term using various motivational techniques, mainly consequences (negative reinforcement) 
and rewards (positive reinforcement).

Question 27

Pavlov

Answer 27

Russian physiologist best known in psychology for his discovery of classical
conditioning. … It was through this observation that Pavlov discovered that by associating the
presentation of food with the lab assistant, a conditioned response occurred.

Question 28

Superstition

Answer 28

Superstitious behavior arises when the delivery of a reinforcer or punisher
occurs close together in time (temporal contiguity) with an independent behavior. Therefore,
the behavior is accidentally reinforced or punished, increasing the likelihood of that behavior
occurring again.

Question 29

Emotion-Focused

Answer 29

Emotion-focused therapy (EFT) is a therapeutic approach based on the
premise that emotions are key to identity. According to EFT, emotions are also a guide for
individual choice and decision making. This type of therapy assumes that lacking emotional
awareness or avoiding unpleasant emotions can cause harm.

Question 30

Thorndike

Answer 30

an American psychologist who spent nearly his entire career at Teachers College, Columbia
University. His work on comparative psychology and the learning process led to the theory of connectionism
and helped lay the scientific foundation for educational psychology.

Question 31

Problem-Focused

Answer 31

targets the causes of stress in practical ways which tackles the problem or
stressful situation that is causing stress, consequently directly reducing the stress.

Question 32

Learned-Helplessness

Answer 32

a mental state in which an organism forced to bear aversive stimuli, or
stimuli that are painful or otherwise unpleasant, becomes unable or unwilling to avoid
subsequent encounters with t

Question 33

Tolman

Answer 33

believed individuals do more than merely respond to stimuli; they act on beliefs,
attitudes, changing conditions, and they strive toward goals. … He felt behavior was mainly
cognitive.

Question 34

Insight Learning

Answer 34

-immediate and clear learning or understanding that takes place without overt
trial-and-error testing.

Question 35

Extrinsic

Answer 35

refers to behavior that is driven by external rewards such as money, fame, grades,
and praise.

Question 36

Rogers

Answer 36

an American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach to psychology.

Question 37

Mirror Neurons

Answer 37

are a type of brain cell that respond equally when we perform an action and
when we witness someone else perform the same action.

Question 38

Latent

Answer 38

refers to knowledge that only becomes clear when a person has an incentive to
display it.

Question 39

Freud

Answer 39

was the founding father of psychoanalysis, a method for treating mental illness and
also a theory which explains human behavior. Freud believed that events in our childhood
have a great influence on our adult lives, shaping our personality.

Question 40

Self-control

Answer 40

ability to manage one’s impulses, emotions, and behaviors to achieve long-term
goals

Question 41

Observational-Learning

Answer 41

describes the process of learning through watching others, retaining
the information, and then later replicating the behaviors that were observed.

Question 42

Bandura

Answer 42

an influential social cognitive psychologist who is perhaps best known for his social
learning theory, the concept of self-efficacy, and his famous Bobo doll experiments.

Question 43

Taste-Aversion

Answer 43

occurs when an animal associates the taste of a certain food with symptoms
caused by a toxic, spoiled, or poisonous substance. Generally, taste aversion is developed
after ingestion of food that causes nausea, sickness, or vomiting.

Question 44

Rescorla

Answer 44

showed that in classical conditioning, pairing two stimuli doesn’t always produce the
same level of conditioning. Conditioning works better if the conditioned stimulus acts as a
reliable signal that predicts the appearance of the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 45

Watson

Answer 45

believed that psychology should primarily be scientific observable behavior. He is
remembered for his research on the conditioning process. Watson is also known for the Little
Albert experiment, in which he demonstrated that a child could be conditioned to fear a
previously neutral stimulus

Question 46

Modeling

Answer 46

a method used in certain cognitive-behavioral techniques of psychotherapy
whereby the client learns by imitation alone, without any specific verbal direction by the
therapist.

Question 47

Garcia

Answer 47

an American psychologist, most known for his research on taste aversion.

Question 48

Skinner

Answer 48

was one of the most influential of American psychologists. A behaviorist, he developed
the theory of operant conditioning – the idea that behavior is determined by its consequences,
be they reinforcements or punishments, which make it more or less likely that the behavior will
occur again.