Unit 6 - Learning

Question 1

learning

Answer 1

the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

Question 2

habituation

Answer 2

an organism’s decreasing response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it

Question 3

associatice learning

Answer 3

learning that certain events occur together (events may be two stimuli or a response and its consequence)

Question 4

stimulus

Answer 4

any event or situation that evokes a response

Question 5

cognitive learning

Answer 5

the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language

Question 6

classical conditioning

Answer 6

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

Question 7

behaviorism

Answer 7

the view that psychology 1 - should be an objective science and 2 - studies behavior without reference to mental processes

Question 8

neutral stimulus

Answer 8

(NS) in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning

Question 9

unconditioned response

Answer 9

(UR) an unlearned, naturally occurring response

Question 10

unconditioned stimulus

Answer 10

(US) a stimulus that naturally triggers a response

Question 11

conditioned response

Answer 11

(CR) a learned response to a previously neutral but now conditioned stimulus

Question 12

conditioned stimulus

Answer 12

(CS) an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response

Question 13

acquisition

Answer 13

the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response

Question 14

higher-order conditioning

Answer 14

procedure in which the conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second, often weaker, response

Question 15

extinction

Answer 15

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus

Question 16

spontaneous recovery

Answer 16

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response (only after extinction)

Question 17

generalization

Answer 17

the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses

Question 18

discrimination

Answer 18

the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus

Question 19

operant conditioning

Answer 19

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

Question 20

law of effect

Answer 20

thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely..etc

Question 21

operant chamber/skinner box

Answer 21

a chamber 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

Question 22

reinforcement

Answer 22

any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

Question 23

shaping

Answer 23

reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

Question 24

discriminative stimulus

Answer 24

stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement

Question 25

positive reinforcement

Answer 25

increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers

Question 26

negative reinforcement

Answer 26

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli

Question 27

primary reinforcer

Answer 27

satisfies biological need

Question 28

conditioned reinforcer

Answer 28

stimulus that gains reinforcing power through its association with the primary reinforcer

Question 29

reinforcement schedule

Answer 29

a pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced

Question 30

continuous reinforcement

Answer 30

reinforcing the desired response every time it
occurs.

Question 31

partial/intermittent reinforcement

Answer 31

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

Question 32

fixed-ratio schedule

Answer 32

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that
reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses.

Question 33

variable-ratio schedule

Answer 33

in operant
conditioning, a reinforcement schedule
that reinforces a response after an
unpredictable number of responses.

Question 34

fixed-interval schedule

Answer 34

in operant
conditioning, a reinforcement schedule
that reinforces a response on

Question 35

variable interval

Answer 35

in operant
conditioning, a reinforcement schedule
that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals.

Question 36

punishment

Answer 36

an event that decreases
the behavior that it follows.

Question 37

taste aversion

Answer 37

if someone becomes violently ill after eating something, it would be hard to eat that thing again (also can be met with an onslaught of criticism)

Question 38

secondary disgust

Answer 38

the aversion that reminds a person of something that is considered disgusting in its own right

Question 39

cognitive map

Answer 39

a mental representation of the layout of one’s environment.
For example, after exploring a maze, rats
act as if they have learned a cognitive
map of it.

Question 40

latent learning

Answer 40

learning that occurs
but is not apparent until there

Question 41

intrinsic motivation

Answer 41

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own
sake.

Question 42

extrinsic motivation

Answer 42

a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised
rewards or avoid threatened punishment.

Question 43

coping

Answer 43

alleviating stress using emotional cognitive or behavioral methods
Some problems are just unavoidable

Question 44

problem-focused coping

Answer 44

attempting to alleviate stress directly - by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor

Question 45

emotion-focused coping

Answer 45

attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending emotional needs related to one’s stress reaction

Question 46

learned helplessness

Answer 46

hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

Question 47

external locus of control

Answer 47

perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate

Question 48

internal locus of control

Answer 48

we determine our own fate

Question 49

self-control

Answer 49

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long term rewards

Question 50

observational learning

Answer 50

learning by
observing others.

Question 51

modeling

Answer 51

the process of observing
and imitating a specific behavior.

Question 52

mirror neurons

Answer 52

frontal lobe neurons
that fire when performing certain actions
or when observing another doing so. The
brain’s mirroring of another’s action may
enable imitation and empathy.

Question 53

prosocial behavior

Answer 53

positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite
of antisocial behavior.