terminology Flashcards
learning
driven by experience enduring change in behaviours/knowledge
conditioning
learning connections between events occurring in an organism’s environment.
- a type of learning that requires recognizing difference relationships between stimuli and environments.
Which of the following is NOT an example of learning?
- accommodation reflex
- braking behind another car
- newborn baby crying after birth
Newborn baby crying after birth is NOT an example of learning because it is something that babies do automatically. (they are not aware that there is a reward if they stop crying)
acquisition
refers to the initial stage of learning something.
antecedent
are events that typically precede the target response.
avoidance learning
an organism acquires a response that prevents some aversive stimulation from occurring.
behavioural modification
is a systematic approach to changing behaviour through the application of the principles of conditioning.
classical conditioning
a type of learning in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus.
conditioned reinforcer
are events that acquire reinforcing qualities by being associated with primary reinforcers.
conditioned response
is a learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus that occurs because of previous conditioning.
conditioned stimulus
a previously neutral stimulus that has, through conditioning, acquired the capacity to evoke a conditioned response.
conditioning
involves learning connections between events that occur in an organism’s environment.
continuous reinforcement
occurs when every instance of a designated response is reinforced.
cumulative recorder
creates a graphic record of responding and reinforcement in a Skinner box as a function of time.
elicit
(drawn forth)
emit
means to send forth
escape learning
an organism acquires a response that decreases or ends some aversive stimulation.
evaluative conditioning
refers to changes in the liking of a stimulus that result from pairing that stimulus with other positive or negative stimuli.
extinction
the gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response tendency.
fixed ratio schedule
the reinforcer is given after a fixed number of nonreinforced responses.
higher-order conditioning
in which a conditioned stimulus functions as if it were an unconditioned stimulus.
instinctive drift
occurs when an animal’s innate response tendencies interfere with conditioning processes.
intermittent reinforcement
occurs when a designated response is reinforced only some of the time.
latent learning
learning that is not apparent from behaviour when it first occurs.
law of effect
According to the law of effect if a response in the presence of a stimulus leads to satisfying effects, the association between the stimulus and the response is strengthened.
mirror neurons
are neurons that are activated by performing an action or by seeing another monkey or person perform the same action.
negative punishment
involves the removal of a rewarding stimulus.
negative reinforcement
occurs when a response is strengthened because it is followed by the removal of an aversive (unpleasant) stimulus.
observant learning
occurs when an organism’s responding is influenced by the observation of others, who are called models.
observant chamber
is a small enclosure in which an animal can make a specific response that is recorded while the consequences of the response are systematically controlled.
operant conditioning
is a form of learning in which responses come to be controlled by their consequences.
partial reinforcement
occurs when a designated response is reinforced only some of the time.
phobia
are irrational fears of specific objects or situations.
positive punishment
involved the presentation of an aversive stimulus
positive reinforcement
occurs when a response is strengthened because it is followed by the presentation of a rewarding stimulus.
preparedness
involves a species-specific predisposition to be conditioned in certain ways and not others.
primary reinforcers
are events that are inherently reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs.
punishment
occurs when an event following a response weakens the tendency to make that response.
renewal effect
if a response is extinguished in a different environment than it was acquired, the extinguished response will reappear if the animal is returned to the original environment where acquisition took place.
reinforcement
occurs when an event following a response increases an organism’s tendency to make that response.
resistance to extinction
occurs when an organism continues to make a response after delivery of the reinforcer has been terminated.
schedule of reinforcement
determines which occurrences of a specific response result in the presentation of a reinforcer.
secondary reinforcers
are events that acquire reinforcing qualities by being associated with primary reinforcers.
shaping
which consists of the reinforcement of closer and closer approximations of a desired response.
Skinner box
is a small enclosure in which an animal can make a specific response that is recorded while the consequences of the response are systematically controlled.
spontaneous recovery
is the reappearance of an extinguished response after a period of nonexposure to the conditioned stimulus.
stimulus discrimination
occurs when an organism that has learned a response to a specific stimulus does not respond in the same way to new stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus.
stimulus generalization
generalization occurs when an organism that has learned a response to a specific stimulus responds in the same way to new stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus.
trial
in classical conditioning consists of any presentation of a stimulus or pair of stimuli.
unconditioned response
is an unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus that occurs without previous conditioning.
unconditioned stimulus
is a stimulus that evokes an unconditioned response without previous conditioning.
variable ratio schedule
the reinforcer is given after a variable number of nonreinforced responses.
