Psychology 5th Edition - Chapter 5: Learning

Vocabulary flashcards covering core learning concepts, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, cognitive learning theories, and observational learning from Chapter 5.

Learning

Any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or practice.

Ivan Pavlov

Russian physiologist who discovered classical conditioning through his work on digestion in dogs.

Classical conditioning

Learning to make a reflex response to a stimulus other than the original, natural stimulus that normally produces the reflex.

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

A naturally occurring stimulus that leads to an involuntary response.

Unconditioned response (UCR)

An involuntary response to a naturally occurring or unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

A stimulus that becomes able to produce a learned reflex response by being paired with the original unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned response (CR)

A learned reflex response to a conditioned stimulus.

Acquisition

The repeated pairing of the neutral stimulus (NS) and the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) while the organism is in the process of acquiring learning.

Stimulus generalization

The tendency to respond to a stimulus that is only similar to the original conditioned stimulus with the conditioned response.

Stimulus discrimination

The tendency to stop making a generalized response to a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus because the similar stimulus is never paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

Extinction

The disappearance or weakening of a learned response following the removal or absence of the unconditioned stimulus in classical conditioning, or the removal of a reinforcer in operant conditioning.

Spontaneous recovery

The reappearance of a learned response after extinction has occurred.

Higher-order conditioning

Process occurring when a strong conditioned stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus, turning the neutral stimulus into a second conditioned stimulus.

Conditioned emotional response (CER)

An emotional response that has become classically conditioned to occur to learned stimuli, such as fear of dogs or emotional reactions to attractive people.

Stimulus substitution

Original theory in which Pavlov stated that classical conditioning occurred because the conditioned stimulus became a substitute for the unconditioned stimulus by being paired closely together.

Cognitive perspective

Modern theory in which classical conditioning is seen to occur because the conditioned stimulus provides information or an expectancy about the coming of the unconditioned stimulus.

Vicarious conditioning

Classical conditioning of a reflex response or emotion by watching the reaction of another person.

Conditioned taste aversion

Development of a nausea or aversive response to a particular taste because that taste was followed by a nausea reaction.

Biological preparedness

Tendency of animals to learn certain associations, such as taste and nausea, with only one or few pairings due to the survival value of the learning.

Operant conditioning

The learning of voluntary behavior through the effects of pleasant and unpleasant consequences to responses.

Thorndike's law of effect

Principle stating that if a response is followed by a pleasurable consequence, it will tend to be repeated; if followed by an unpleasant consequence, it will tend not to be repeated.

B.F. Skinner

Behaviorist who gave operant conditioning its name and focused strictly on observable, measurable behavior.

Reinforcement

Any event or stimulus, that when following a response, increases the probability that the response will occur again.

Primary reinforcer

Any reinforcer that is naturally reinforcing by meeting a basic biological need, such as hunger, thirst, or touch.

Secondary reinforcer

Any reinforcer that becomes reinforcing after being paired with a primary reinforcer, such as praise, tokens, or gold stars.

Skinner box

An experimental chamber where an animal learns to press a bar to receive food pellets or avoid shock.

Positive reinforcement

The reinforcement of a response by the addition or experience of a pleasurable stimulus.

Negative reinforcement

The reinforcement of a response by the removal, escape from, or avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus.

Partial reinforcement effect

A response that is reinforced after some—but not all—correct responses tends to be very resistant to extinction.

Continuous reinforcement

Reinforcement of each and every correct response.

Fixed interval schedule of reinforcement

Schedule in which the interval of time that must pass before reinforcement becomes possible is always the same.

Variable interval schedule of reinforcement

Schedule in which the interval of time that must pass before reinforcement becomes possible is different for each trial or event.

Fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement

Schedule in which the number of responses required for reinforcement is always the same.

Variable ratio schedule of reinforcement

Schedule of reinforcement in which the number of responses required for reinforcement is different for each trial or event.

Schedules of reinforcement

Patterns of responding across fixed and variable interval and ratio schedules, showing distinct curves and rates of cumulative responses over time.

Punishment

Any event or object that, when following a response, makes that response less likely to happen again.

Punishment by application

The punishment of a response by the addition or experiencing of an unpleasant stimulus.

Punishment by removal

The punishment of a response by the removal of a pleasurable stimulus.

Discriminative stimulus

Any stimulus, such as a stop sign or a doorknob, that provides the organism with a cue for making a certain response in order to obtain reinforcement.

Shaping

Reinforcement of simple steps, leading to a desired complex behavior.

Successive approximation

Small steps, one after another, that lead to a particular goal behavior.

Instinctive drift

Tendency for an animal's behavior to revert to genetically controlled patterns rather than maintained conditioned behaviors.

Behavior modification

Use of operant conditioning techniques to bring about desired changes in behavior.

Token economy

Type of behavior modification in which desired behavior is rewarded with tokens.

Time-out

Form of mild punishment by removal in which a misbehaving animal, child, or adult is placed in a special area away from the attention of others.

Applied behavior analysis (ABA)

Modern term for a form of behavior modification that uses shaping techniques to mold a desired behavior or response.

Biofeedback

Use of feedback about biological conditions to bring involuntary responses such as blood pressure and relaxation under voluntary control.

Neurofeedback

Form of biofeedback using devices (EEG, fMRI) to provide feedback about brain activity in an effort to modify behavior.

Cognition

Mental events that take place inside a person's mind while behaving.

Tolman's maze experiment

Experimental setup created by Edward Tolman featuring a start box, curtains, one-way doors, and an end box to study maze learning in rats.

Latent learning

Learning that remains hidden until its application becomes useful, as demonstrated by Edward Tolman's study with rats.

Insight

The sudden perception of relationships among various parts of a problem, allowing the solution to the problem to come quickly.

Positive psychology

Perspective focusing on adaptive, creative, and psychologically more fulfilling aspects of human experience rather than mental disorders.

Learned helplessness

Tendency to fail to act to escape from a situation because of a history of repeated failures in the past.

Observational learning

Learning new behavior by watching a model perform that behavior.

Learning/performance distinction

The concept that learning can take place without actual performance of the learned behavior.

Real-world cat toilet training

An application of operant conditioning involving shaping, preparing a training arena, and positive reinforcement on a variable schedule.