Unit 4 Term List Flashcards
Reinforcement
Any consequence that increases the frequency of a behavior.
Punishment
Any consequence that decreases the frequency of a behavior.
Skinner Box
A completely controlled environment used to study the effectiveness of patterns of reinforcement.
Acquisition
When the organism shows a new behavior - the initial learning phase in both classical and operant conditioning.
Extinction
The gradual weakening and disappearance of a response because it is no longer followed by reinforcement - In classical conditioning, the process by which the conditioned response decreases after repeated exposure to the conditioned stimulus in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus; in operant conditioning, the disappearance of a learned behavior through the removal of its reinforcer.
Resistance to Extinction
An organism continues to make a response after delivery of the reinforcer because it has been terminated.
Continuous Reinforcement
Reinforcing a behavior each time the behavior is shown.
Intermittent Reinforcement
Reinforcing a behavior occasionally - not reinforcing the behavior each time.
Fixed-Ratio Schedule
The reinforcer is given after a fixed number of nonreinforced responses.
Variable-Ratio Schedule
The reinforcer is given after a variable number of nonreinforced responses.
Fixed-Interval Schedul
The reinforcer is given for the first response that occurs after a fixed interval has elapsed.
Variable-Interval Schedule
The reinforcer is given for the first response after a variable amount of time has elapsed.
Positive Reinforcement
Increasing a response by adding a pleasurable consequence.
Negative Reinforcement
Increasing a response by removing an unpleasant consequence.
Stimulus Contiguity
Pavlov found that classical conditioning occurred only when the CS preceded the US. And, he found that the fastest conditioning occurred within 1/2 of a second between the two stimuli.
Spontaneous Recovery
The reappearance of a seemingly extinct conditioned response.
Stimulus Generalization
Showing the same conditioned response to a similar stimulus.
Stimulus Discrimination
Not showing the same conditioned response to another stimulus.
Higher Order Conditioning
A second level of classical conditioning.
Observational Learning
Occurs when an organism’s responding is influenced by the observation of others, who are called models.
Model
The one being observed in observational learning.
Descriptive Statistics
A way of organizing numbers and summarizing them so that patterns can be discerned.
Measures of Central Tendency
Numbers that best represent the most typical score of a data set.
Mean
The arithmetic average of a data set.
Median
The middle score in an ordered distribution of scores, or the mean of the two middle numbers.
Mode
The most frequent score in a data set.
Normal Curve
A frequency distribution, shaped like a bell, in which the scores are symmetrically distributed around the mean. And, the mean, median, and mode are all located on the same point on the curve.
Operant Conditioning
Learning that occurs when voluntary actions become associated with their consequences.
Shaping
A process by which a person observes the behaviors of another organism, providing reinforcers if the organism performs at a required level.
Classical Conditioning
A learning process in which two stimuli become associated with each other; when an originally neutral stimulus is conditioned to elicit an involuntary response.
Unconditioned Response (UR)
A reflexive, involuntary response to an unconditioned stimulus.
Unconditioned Stimulus (US)
A stimulus that automatically triggers an involuntary response without any learning needed.
Conditioned Response (CR)
A learned response to a conditioned stimulus.
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
A previously neutral stimulus that an organism learns to associate with an unconditioned stimulus.
Instinctive Drift
The tendency for animals to revert to instinctual behaviors after a behavior pattern has been learned.
Partial Reinforcement
A schedule of reinforcement in which target behaviors are reinforced intermittently, not continuously.
Partial Reinforcement Effect
The tendency for behaviors acquired through intermittent reinforcement to be more resistant to extinction than those acquired through continuous reinforcement.
