Module 26 - How We Learn and Classical Conditioning

Learning

The process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors.

Habituation vs. Sensory Adaptation

Sensory adaptation occurs when a sensory system stops registering an unchanging stimulus, while habituation is a diminished response as a form of learning.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process that occurs through associations between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus.

Operant Conditioning

A learning process that involves reinforcing or punishing voluntary behaviors to shape future actions.

Cognitive Learning

A type of learning that involves understanding, knowing, anticipating, or applying information.

Primary Difference Between Classical and Operant Conditioning

Classical conditioning pairs an involuntary response with a stimulus, while operant conditioning relies on the consequences of voluntary behavior.

Neutral Stimuli (NS)

A stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning.

Unconditioned Stimuli (UCS)

A stimulus that unconditionally triggers a response.

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

An unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

An originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.

Conditioned Response (CR)

A learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus.

Acquisition in Classical Conditioning

The initial stage when one connects a neutral stimulus to an unconditioned stimulus.

Higher Order Conditioning

A procedure in which the conditioned stimulus from one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus.

Extinction in Conditioning

The diminishing of a conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a pause.

Generalization in Conditioning

The tendency for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses.

Discrimination in Conditioning

The learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus.

Pavlov's Legacy in Psychology

He showed that virtually all organisms can learn to adapt to their environment through classical conditioning and that learning can be studied objectively.

Little Albert Experiment

John B. Watson's experiment where a child was conditioned to fear a white rat by associating it with a loud noise.