Unit 3 // AOS 2 Textbook Definitions

Question 1

Learning

Answer 1

A relatively permanent change in behaviour due to experience

Question 2

Classical conditioning (CC)

Answer 2

A three-phase learning process (before conditioning, during conditioning - acquisition phase - and after conditioning) that results in the involuntary association between a neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response

Question 3

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

Answer 3

In classical conditioning, any stimulus that consistently produces a particular naturally occurring, involuntary response

Question 4

Unconditioned response (UCR)

Answer 4

In classical conditioning, an involuntary response that occurs when the unconditioned stimulus is presented

Question 5

Neutral stimulus (NS)

Answer 5

In classical conditioning, any object or event that does not normally produce a predictable response, becomes a conditioned stimulus through repeated association with the unconditioned stimulus

Question 6

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

Answer 6

In classical conditioning, the stimulus that is initially neutral and does not normally produce the unconditioned response but eventually becomes associated with the unconditioned stimulus and elicits a conditioned response

Question 7

Conditioned response (CR)

Answer 7

In classical conditioning, the learned or acquired response to the conditioned stimulus

Question 8

Operant conditioning (OC)

Answer 8

A learning process whereby the consequences of a behaviour (e.g. reward or punishment) determine the likelihood that it will be performed again in the future

Question 9

Operant

Answer 9

Any response (or set of responses) that acts on the environment to produce some kind of consequence

Question 10

Three-phase model of operant conditioning

Answer 10

Explains operant conditioning as occurring in a specific sequence: (1) presence of an antecedent stimulus that occurs before the behaviour; (2) the behaviour that occurs due to the antecedent and (3) the consequence to the behaviour

Question 11

Antecedent

Answer 11

An object or event that precedes a specific behaviour and signals the probable consequence for the behaviour and therefore influences the occurrence of the behaviour

Question 12

Behaviour

Answer 12

Any action made by a living person (or animal) that can be observed or measured

Question 13

Consequence

Answer 13

In operant conditioning, the environmental event that occurs immediately after the relevant behaviour and has an affect on the occurrence of the behaviour

Question 14

Reinforcement

Answer 14

When a stimulus strengthens or increases the frequence or likelihood of a response that it follows, may also refer to the process of administering the stimulus (i.e. reinforcer)

Question 15

Reinforcer

Answer 15

Any stimulus that strengthens or increases the frequence or likelihood of a response that it follows

Question 16

Positive reinforcer

Answer 16

A stimulus that strengthens or increases the frequency or likelihood of a desired response

Question 17

Positive reinforcement

Answer 17

Presentation of a positive reinforcer following a desired response

Question 18

Negative reinforcer

Answer 18

Any unpleasant or aversive stimulus that, when removed or avoided, strengthens or increases the frequency or likelihood of a desired response

Question 19

Negative reinforcement

Answer 19

The removal of an unpleasant stimulus or aversive stimulus, thereby strengthening or making a desired response more likely to occur

Question 20

Punishment

Answer 20

Delivery of an unpleasant consequence following a response, or the removal of a pleasant consequence following a response, in order to weaken a response or decrease the likelihood of it occurring again

Question 21

Positive punishment

Answer 21

Presentation of an unpleasant stimulus that weakens a response or decreases the likelihood of the response occurring again

Question 22

Negative punishment (Response cost)

Answer 22

The removal or loss of a desirable stimulus thereby weakening or decreasing the likelihood of a response recurring again

Question 23

Observational learning

Answer 23

Acquisition of information, skills or behaviour through watching the performance of others, either directly or indirectly, involves a sequence of processes called attention, retention, reproduction, motivation and reinforcement

Question 24

Attention

Answer 24

The process of focusing on specific stimuli or aspects of the sensory environment whilst ignoring and therefore excluding others

Question 25

Retention

Answer 25

Remembering a behaviour that has been closely attended to

Question 26

Reproducton

Answer 26

When a behaviour that has been closely attended to and retained in memory is imitated

Question 27

Motivation

Answer 27

Processes within an organism which activate behaviour that is directed towards a particular goal

Question 28

Ways of knowing

Answer 28

Different ways people arrive at a sense of knowledge of the world and respective fields

Question 29

Memory

Answer 29

Processing, storage and retrieval of information acquired through learning, often described as neurological representation of learning

Question 30

Encoding

Answer 30

In relation to memory, conversion of information into a usable form so that it can be neurologically represented and stored in memory

Question 31

Storage

Answer 31

In relation to memory, retention of encoded information over time

Question 32

Retrieval

Answer 32

In relation to memory, recovery of stored information and brining it into conscious awareness for use

Question 33

Atkinson-Shiffrin multi-store model

Answer 33

A representation and explanation of memory as consisting of three separate stores called sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory, differing in function, capacity and duration

Question 34

Sensory memory

Answer 34

The entry point of memory where new incoming sensory information is stored in its original, raw state for a very brief time

Question 35

Iconic memory

Answer 35

Visual sensory memory for incoming visual information that stores visual images in their original sensory form for about a third of a second

Question 36

Echoic memory

Answer 36

Auditory sensory memory for incoming auditory information that stores sounds in their original sensory form for about 3 or 4 seconds

Question 37

Short-term memory (STM)

Answer 37

A memory system with limited storage capacity in which information is stored for a relatively short time, unless renewed in some way, also maintains information in conscious awareness and functions as ‘working memory’

Question 38

Long-term memory (LTM)

Answer 38

A memory store that holds a potentially unlimited amount of information for a very long time, possibly permanently

Question 39

Explicit memory

Answer 39

Long-term memory that can be consciously retrieved and stated (‘memory with awareness’)

Question 40

Episodic memory

Answer 40

The long-term memory of personally experiences events associated with a particular time and place

Question 41

Semantic memory

Answer 41

Long-term explicit memory of facts and knowledge about the world

Question 42

Implicit memory

Answer 42

Long-term memory that does not require conscious or intentional retrieval (‘memory without awareness’)

Question 43

Procedural memory

Answer 43

The long-term implicit memory of skills that have been learned previously

Question 44

Hippocampus

Answer 44

A structure in the medial temporal lobe, deep within the brain and part of the limbic system, crucial role in the formation, encoding and consolidation of new long-term explicit memories and their transfer to the cortex for storage

Question 45

Consolidation

Answer 45

The neurobiological process making a newly formed memory stable and enduring following a learning experience

Question 46

Amygdala

Answer 46

A small structure in the medial temporal lobe, deep within the brain and part of the limbic system, involved in emotional reactions (particularly fear and anger) and formation of a wide variety of emotional memories

Question 47

Neocortex

Answer 47

The largest and most recently evolved part of the brain’s cerebral cortex

Question 48

Basal ganglia

Answer 48

A group of structures (neuron cell bodies called nuclei) deep within the brain, involved in the generation of voluntary movements and long-term implicit memories involving motor skills

Question 49

Habituation

Answer 49

The process of growing accustomed to a stimulus and decreasing responsiveness to it