Unit 4- Lessons 1-3

Behaviorism

A psychological approach that focuses on the scientific study of observable behavior and posits that all learning occurs through interactions with the environment.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process that forms an association between two stimuli, resulting in a learned response.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers an unconditioned response without prior learning.

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

An unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.

Conditioned Response (CR)

The learned response to the previously neutral stimulus, occurring after the association with an unconditioned stimulus.

Ivan Pavlov

A Russian physiologist known for his work in classical conditioning and awarded the 1904 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that initially produces no effect until it is paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioning

The process of learning associations between stimuli and responses.

Behaviorism's view on psychology

Behavior is the primary subject of psychology, rather than mental processes.

Pavlov's Experiment with Dogs

An experiment where dogs learned to salivate at the sound of a buzzer after it was associated with being fed.

Innate Response

A response that is natural and does not require prior learning.

Poor Opinion of Psychology

Pavlov maintained that he was a physiologist studying brain reflexes rather than a psychologist.

Acquisition

Initial stage of learning when a response is first established and gradually strengthened.

Contiguity

The conditioned stimulus (CS) needs to come half a second before the unconditioned stimulus (US) for acquisition to occur.

Extinction

Occurs when the conditioned response decreases or disappears, happening when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous Recovery

The return of a previously extinguished conditioned response following a rest period.

Stimulus Generalization

The tendency for the conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses after the response has been conditioned.

Stimulus Discrimination

The ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have not been paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Little Albert Experiment

Watson's controversial classical conditioning experiment examining the effects of conditioning on fear response in humans.

Taste Aversion

The avoidance of a certain food following a period of illness after consuming that food.

Biological Preparedness

Some associations form more readily because they aid in survival.

What happens during the extinction phase of conditioning?

The occurrences of a conditioned response decreases or disappears when the CS is no longer paired with the US.

What is the importance of contiguity in acquisition?

The CS must precede the US by half a second for acquisition to occur.

What was shown in Watson's Little Albert experiment about fear conditioning?

Fear can be conditioned in a child and generalized to similar stimuli.

What is the outcome of repeated extinction/recovery cycles?

The conditioned response tends to become less intense with each recovery.

What concept explains the easier formation of certain associations in survival scenarios?

Biological preparedness.

Latent Learning

Learning that occurs but is not immediately reflected in behavior.

Cognitive Map

A mental representation that allows an organism to acquire, store, and recall information about its environment.

Insight Learning

A sudden realization of the solution to a problem, often described as a 'light bulb' moment.

Learned Helplessness

A mental state where an organism feels unable to change the outcome of an aversive stimulus, leading to inaction.

Martin Seligman

Psychologist known for investigating learned helplessness through his experiments on dogs with electrified floors.

Observational Learning

Learning that occurs through watching others, retaining the information, and later replicating the observed behaviors.

Bobo Doll Experiment

Study by Albert Bandura demonstrating that children imitate aggressive and violent behaviors observed in adults.

Phobia

An irrational and overwhelming fear of a situation or object that is not genuinely dangerous.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process where an association is made between a neutral stimulus and a stimulus that produces a response.

Shaping

A technique in observational learning whereby behaviors are reinforced to gradually approach the desired behavior.