Unit 3 Classical Conditioning

Behavioral perspective

A way of studying psychology that focuses on what people do and how behavior is learned.

Classical conditioning

Learning by connecting two things together, so one leads to a response.

Association

A connection formed between two events or stimuli.

Acquisition

The learning phase when a stimulus starts to cause a response because it is paired with another stimulus.

Associative learning

Learning that happens when you link things together, such as two stimuli or a behavior and its result.

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

Something that naturally causes a reaction without learning.

Unconditioned response (UCR)

The natural reaction that happens because of the unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

Something that learns to cause a reaction after being paired with another stimulus.

Conditioned response (CR)

The learned response that occurs after conditioning when the conditioned stimulus is presented.

Extinction

The weakening and eventual disappearance of a learned response when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous recovery

The sudden reappearance of a learned response after a rest period, even after extinction has occurred.

Stimulus discrimination

The ability to tell the difference between similar stimuli and respond only to the correct one.

Stimulus generalization

The tendency to respond the same way to similar stimuli.

Higher-order conditioning

A type of conditioning where a new neutral stimulus becomes associated with an already conditioned stimulus, creating a new conditioned response.

Counterconditioning

A method of reducing an unwanted response by pairing the stimulus with a new, opposite response.

Taste aversion

A learned avoidance of a food after it causes nausea or illness, often after just one experience.

One-trial conditioning

Learning that occurs after a single pairing of stimuli, rather than repeated pairings.

One-trial learning

Learning something after only one experience, especially when it is strong or meaningful.

Biological preparedness

The idea that organisms are naturally predisposed to learn certain associations more easily than others.

Habituation

A decrease in response after repeated exposure to a stimulus that is harmless.