Psychology Unit 4 Flashcards
learning
the process of acquiring through experience new information or behaviors.
habituation
decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to a stimulus.
associative learning
learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning).
stimulus
any event or situation that evokes a response.
respondent behavior
behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus
operant behavior
behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences.
cognitive learning
the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language
classical conditioning
a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli; as a result, to illustrate the Pavlov’s classic experiment, the first stimulus (a tone) comes to elicit behavior (drooling) in anticipation of second stimulus (food).
behaviorism
the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).
neutral stimulus (NS)
in classical condition, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning
unconditional response (UR)
in classical conditioning, naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (US) (such as food in the mouth).
conditioned response (CR)
in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS).
conditioned stimulus (CS)
in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR).
acquisition
In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.
higher-order conditioning
a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. For example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone. (Also called second-order conditioning.)
extinction
the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.
spontaneous recovery
the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response.
generalization
the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses. (In operant conditioning, generalization occurs when responses learned in one situation occur in other, similar situations.)
discrimination
in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus. (In operant conditioning, the ability to distinguish responses that are reinforced from similar responses that are not reinforced.)
operant conditioning
a type of learning in which a behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer or less likely to recur if followed by a punisher.
law of effect
Throndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely.
operant chamber
in operant conditioning research, a chamber (also known as a Skinner box) containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal’s rate of bar pressing or key pecking.
reinforcement
in operant conditioning, any even that strengthens the behavior it follows.
shaping
an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.
discriminative stimulus
in operant conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement)
positive reinforcement
Increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.
negative reinforcement
increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing aversive stimuli. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response (Note: negative reinforcement is not punishment.)
primary reinforcer
an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need. (food, sex, comfort, loss, embarrassment)
conditioned reinforcer
a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer.
reinforcement schedule
a pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced.
continuous reinforcement
reinforcing that desired response every time it occurs
partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule
reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement.
fixed-ratio schedule
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses.
variable-ratio schedule
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses.
fixed-interval schedule
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed.
variable-interval schedule
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals.
punishment
an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows
