Unit 6 (learning)

Question 1

learned helplessness

Answer 1

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

Question 2

internal locus of control

Answer 2

the perception that you control your own fate

Question 3

habituation

Answer 3

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

Question 4

classical conditioning

Answer 4

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more different stimuli and anticipate the same event

Question 5

acquisition

Answer 5

In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus

Question 6

law of effect

Answer 6

Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

Question 7

operant chamber

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

reinforcement

Answer 8

in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

Question 9

discriminative stimulus

Answer 9

a cue or signal that reinforces a behavior (ex- green light, “sit”)

Question 10

positive reinforcement

Answer 10

addition of stimulus

Question 11

negative reinforcement

Answer 11

removal of stimulus

Question 12

primary reinforcer

Answer 12

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need

Question 13

conditioned reinforcer (secondary reinforcer)

Answer 13

a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer (ex-money)

Question 14

continuous reinforcement

Answer 14

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

Question 15

partial (intermittent) reinforcement

Answer 15

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 16

positive punishment

Answer 16

administer an aversive stimulus (ie. parking ticket)

Question 17

negative punishment

Answer 17

withdraw a rewarding stimulus (ie. revoke library cards, take away teen’s driving priveleges)

Question 18

biofeedback

Answer 18

a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension

Question 19

operant behavior

Answer 19

behavior that is shaped due to consequences

Question 20

cognitive map

Answer 20

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 21

learning

Answer 21

the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

Question 22

associative learning

Answer 22

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).

Question 23

stimulus

Answer 23

any event or situation that evokes a response

Question 24

cognitive learning

Answer 24

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

Question 25

behaviorism

Answer 25

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).

Question 26

neutral stimulus (NS)

Answer 26

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning

Question 27

unconditioned response (UR)

Answer 27

in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus (US)

Question 28

unconditioned stimulus (US)

Answer 28

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response (UR).

Question 29

conditioned response (CR)

Answer 29

in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS).

Question 30

conditioned stimulus (CS)

Answer 30

in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR).

Question 31

higher-order conditioning

Answer 31

a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new second 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.

Question 32

extinction

Answer 32

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.

Question 33

spontaneous recovery

Answer 33

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

Question 34

generalization

Answer 34

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

Question 35

discrimination

Answer 35

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

Question 36

operant conditioning

Answer 36

behavior is strengthened or weakened by consequences that follow it.

Question 37

shaping

Answer 37

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

Question 38

reinforcement schedule

Answer 38

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

Question 39

fixed-ratio schedule

Answer 39

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

Question 40

variable-ratio schedule

Answer 40

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

Question 41

fixed-interval schedule

Answer 41

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

Question 42

variable-interval schedule

Answer 42

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

Question 43

punishment

Answer 43

an event that decreases the behavior that it follows

Question 44

respondent behavior

Answer 44

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus (ex- flinching)

Question 45

latent learning

Answer 45

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it (ex-studying)

Question 46

insight

Answer 46

a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem

Question 47

intrinsic motivation

Answer 47

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

Question 48

extrinsic motivation

Answer 48

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

Question 49

Coping

Answer 49

alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods

Question 50

Modeling

Answer 50

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

Question 51

problem-focused coping

Answer 51

Attempting to alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor.

Question 52

emotion-focused coping

Answer 52

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

Question 53

external locus of control

Answer 53

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate.

Question 54

self-control

Answer 54

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

Question 55

observational learning

Answer 55

learning by observing others; also called social learning

Question 56

mirror neurons

Answer 56

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, language learning, and empathy.

Question 57

prosocial behavior

Answer 57

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

Question 58

cofounding variable

Answer 58

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment (ex- amount of sleep)

Question 59

Classical conditioning versus Operant conditioning

Answer 59

classical conditioning= learning through association (pavlov's dog experiment) operant conditioning= learning through consequences