Psychology | Chapter 5

learning

p. 184, a relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience

conditioning

p. 184, a learning process in which an organism's behavior becomes dependent on the occurrence of a stimulus in its environment

classical conditioning

p. 186, a type of learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli. A neutral stimulus that signals an unconditioned stimulus (US) begins to produce a response that anticipates and prepares for the unconditioned stimulus. Also called Pavlovian or respondent conditioning.

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

p. 186, In classical conditioning, a stimulus that uncondiionally - naturally and automatically - triggers a response

unconditioned response (UCR)

p. 186, in classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), such as salivation when food is in the mouth.

conditioned stimulus (CS)

p. 186, In classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response.

conditioned response (CR)

p. 186, in classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)

stimulus generalization

p. 188, Process by which a conditioned response becomes associated with a stimulus that is similar but not identical to the original conditioned stimulus

stimulus discrimination

p. 188, Process by which an organism learns to respond only to a specific stimulus and not to other stimuli

higher order conditioning

p. 188, a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new 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. (Also called second-order conditioning.)

extinction (in classical conditioning)

p. 189, the weakening of the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is absent

spontaneous recovery

p. 189, the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

behaviorism

p. 190, the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes

placebo response

p. 194, an individual's psychological and physiological response to what is actually a fake treatment or drug; also called placebo effect

taste aversion

p. 197, A classically conditioned dislike for and avoidance of a particular food that develops when an organism becomes ill after eating the food.

biological preparedness

p. 198, referring to the 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

law of effect

p. 200, Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

operant

p. 201, skinner's term for an actively emitted or voluntary behavior that operates on the environment to produce consequences

operant conditioning

p. 201, conditioning in which an operant response is brought under stimulus control by virtue of presenting reinforcement contingent upon the occurrence of the operant response

reinforcement

p. 201, (psychology) a stimulus that strengthens or weakens the behavior that produced it

positive reinforcement

p. 202, increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.

negative reinforcement

p. 202, increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Note: negative reinforcement is not punishment.)

primary reinforcer

p. 203, stimulus that is naturally rewarding, such as food or water

conditioned reinforcer

p. 203, A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as secondary reinforcer.

punishment

p. 204, can be either positive or negative, intended to reduce the occurrence of a behavior

punishment by application

p. 204, A situation in which an operant is followed by the presentation or addition of an aversive stimulus; also called positive punishment.

punishment by removal

p. 205, a situation in which an operant is followed by the removal or subtraction of a reinforcing stimulus; also called negative punishment

discriminative stimulus

p. 207, in operant conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement)

operant chamber (Skinner box)

p. 209, A small enclosure in which an animal can make a specific response that is recorded while the consequences of the response are systematically controlled

shaping

p. 209, An operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

continuous reinforcement

p. 210, reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

partial reinforcement

p. 210, 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

extinction (in operant conditioning)

p. 210, , A process by which a response that has been learned is weakened by the absence or removal of reinforcement.

partial reinforcement effect

p. 210, the greater persistence of behavior under partial reinforcement than under continuous reinforcement

schedule of reinforcement

p. 211, a timetable for when and how often reinforcement for a particular behavior occurs

fixed-ratio (FR) schedule

p. 211, A reinforcement schedule in which the reinforcer is given after a fixed number of nonreinforced responses.

variable-ratio (VR) schedule

p. 211, a reinforcement schedule in which a reinforcer is delivered after an average number of responses, which varies unpredictably from trial to trial.

fixed-interval (FI) schedule

p. 211, A reinforcement schedule in which the reinforcer is given for the first response that occurs after a fixed time interval has elapsed.

variable-interval (VI) schedule

p. 211, pattern in which we provide reinforcement for producing the response at least once during an average time interval, with the interval varying randomly

behavior modification

p. 212, changing one's choices or actions by manipulating the cues that trigger the actions, the actions themselves, or the consequences of the actions

cognitive map

p. 214, 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.

latent learning

p. 214, learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

learned helplessness

p. 216, the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

instinctive drift

p. 218, tendency for animals to return to innate behaviors following repeated reinforcement

observational learning

p. 218, A type of learning that occurs when an organism's responding is influenced by the observation of others, who are called models.

mirror neurons

p. 220, 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.