3b Psychology

Behavioral perspective

suggests that we must only reference what is observable when trying to understand human behavior

Classical conditioning

a type of learning where the organism learns to associate two stimuli

Acquisition

the learner has become conditioned

Extinction

no longer responding (CR) to the original stimulus (CS)

Spontaneous recovery

reappearance of conditioned responses after a period of extinction or diminished response

Stimulus generalization

responding (CR) the same way to a similar stimulus (CS)

Stimulus discrimination

responding (CR) differently to a similar stimulus (CS)

Higher order conditioning

when a conditioned stimulus plays the role of an unconditioned stimulus in a new association

Habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation

Biological preparedness

the idea that organisms are biologically predisposed to quickly learning associations between stimuli, responses, and reinforcers

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

any stimulus that will always and naturally elicit a response

unconditioned response (UCR)

any response that always and naturally occurs at the presentation of the US

conditioned stimulus (CS)

any stimulus that will, after association with USC, cause a conditioned response when present to a subject by itself

conditioned responses (CR)

any response that occurs upon the presentation of the CS

Operant conditioning

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

Positive reinforcement

addition of a pleasant stimulus will likely strengthen the behavior in the future

Negative reinforcement

removal of an unpleasant stimulus will likely strengthen the behavior in the future

Positive punishment

addition of an unpleasant stimulus which will likely weaken behavior in the future

Negative punishment

removal of a pleasant stimulus which will likely weaken a behavior in the future

Primary reinforcers

things that people need to survive, such as food, water, and shelter from the harsh climate

Secondary reinforcers

a stimulus that reinforces a behavior after it has been associated with a primary reinforcer

Shaping

behavior reinforced gradually through rewarding successive approximations of the desired behavior

Instinctive drift

only certain behavior can be shaped and some animals will return back to instinctive behavior after being trained

Fixed ratio reinforcement

stimulus will happen after a set number of occurrences

Variable ratio reinforcement

stimulus will happen at a randomly during a set number of occurrences

Fixed interval reinforcement

stimulus will happen at a certain time within a set time limit

Variable interval reinforcement

stimulus will occur at any time randomly within a set time limit

Social learning theory

Social learning theory, introduced by psychologist Albert Bandura, suggests that much learning occurs through observation

Observational learning

learning through observing things

Vicarious conditioning

the psychological process through which individuals learn behaviors, attitudes, and emotions by observing others

Modeling

the process of learning new behaviors or skills by observing and imitating the actions of others

Insight learning

occurs when there is no associative learning, reinforcement, punishment or modeling present

Latent learning

Through observation although you are not fully aware your learning it

Cognitive maps

a mental picture or image of the layout of one's physical environment