psy chapter 6 Flashcards
learning
a relatively enduring change in behavior or thinking results from experiences
habituation
basic form of learning evident when an organism does not respond as strongly or as often to an event following multiple exposures to it
stimulus
event or occurrence that generally leads to a response
classical conditioning
learning process in which two stimuli become associated with each other when an originally neutral stimulus is conditioned to elicit an involuntary response
operant conditioning
connections between behaviors and consequences are made
observational learning
learning occurs by watching and imitating others
neutral stimulus
stimulus that does not cause a relevant automatic or reflexive response
unconditioned stimulus
stimulus that automatically triggers an involuntary response without any learning needed
unconditioned response
reflexive, involuntary response to an unconditioned stimulus
conditioned stimulus
previously neutral stimulus that an organism learns to associate with an unconditioned stimulus
conditioned response
learned response to a conditioned stimulus
acquisition
the initial learning phase in both classical and operant conditioning
stimulus generalization
after an association is forged between the CS and the CR, the learner often responds to similar stimuli as if they are the original CR
stimulus discrimination
the ability to differentiate between a particular CS and the other significantly different stimuli is stimulus differentiation
extinction
the process by which the conditioned response decreases after repeated exposure to the conditioned stimulus in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus
spontaneous recovery
the reappearance of a conditioned response following its extinction
higher order conditioning
with repeated pairings of a conditioned stimulus and a second neutral stimulus, that second neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus as well
conditioned taste aversion
a form of classical conditioning that occurs when an organism learns to associate the taste of a particular food or drink with illness
little albert
was a baby who developed a fear of rats through his participation in ethically questionable experiments
who conducted little albert experiments
john b watson
reinforcers
events, stimuli, and other consequences that increase the likelihood of a behavior recurring
reinforcement
process of increasing the frequency of behaviors with consequences
positive reinforcement
the process by which reinforcers are added or presented following a target behavior, increasing the likelihood of it occurring again
negative reinforcement
the removal of an unpleasant stimulus following a target behavior that increases the likelihood of it occurring again
primary reinforcers
satisfies a biological need
what’s an example of a primary reinforcer
food, water, physical contact
secondary reinforcers
does not satisfy a biological need but often gains power through its association with a primary reinforce
what’s an example of a secondary reinforcer
money, good grades
successive approximations
method that uses reinforcers to condition a series of small steps that gradually approach the target behavior
shaping
process by which a person observes the behaviors of another organism, providing reinforcers if the organism performs at a required level
continuous reinforcement
every target behavior is reinforced
partial reinforcement
target behaviors are reinforced intermittently, not continuously
partial reinforcement effect
the tendency for behaviors acquired through intermittent reinforcement to be resistant to extinction than those acquired through continuous reinforcement
fixed ratio schedule
subject must exhibit a preset number of desired responses or behaviors before a reinforcer is given
fixed ratio schedule
produces a high response rate, but with a characteristic dip immediately following the reinforcement
variable ratio schedule
subject must exhibit a specific number of desired responses or behaviors before a reinforcer is given, but the number changes across trials
fixed interval schedule
reinforcer is given for the first target behavior occurring after a specific time interval
variable interval schedule
reinforcer comes after an interval of time goes by, but the length of the interval changes from trial to trial
positive punishment
something aversive or disagreeable is applied following a target behavior
negative punishment
taking away something valuable following a target behavior
prosocial behaviors
actions that are kind, generous, and beneficail to others
cognitive maps
mental representation of physical space
