AP Psychology Unit 3.7 Classical Conditioning and 3.8 Operant Conditioning

Learning

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

Associative learning

Realizing that certain events occur together.

Habituation

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to a stimulus (like sensory adaptation).

Classical conditioning

A type of passive learning in which we link two or more stimuli (behavior comes 2nd).

Behaviorism

The view that psychology should be an objective science that studies observable actions without reference to internal mental processes.

Stimulus

Any event or situation that evokes a response.

Respondent behavior

Behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus.

Operant behavior

Behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences.

Cognitive learning

The acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events/others or through language.

Unconditioned stimulus (US)

Unlearned, naturally occurring cause of behavior.

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

Learned cause of behavior.

Unconditioned response (UR)

Unlearned, naturally occurring behavior.

Conditioned response (CR)

Learned behavior.

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

Elicits no response before conditioning.

Acquisition

The initial stage of learning in which one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus, so the neutral stimulus triggers the unconditioned response.

Extinction

The diminishing of a conditioned response.

Spontaneous recovery

The reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response.

Higher-order conditioning

A procedure in which the conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus creating a second conditioned stimulus.

Stimulus generalization

The tendency for stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit a similar response.

Stimulus discrimination

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

Aversive conditioning

A type of behavior modification that uses negative stimuli to encourage unwanted behaviors.

Preparedness

An organism's readiness or predisposition to be conditioned in certain ways due to its evolutionary theory.

Taste aversion

When exposed to sight or smell of something that is associated with nausea or vomiting, one feels ill and is unlikely to expose themselves again.

Operant Conditioning

type of learning in which a behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer or less likely to recur if followed by a punisher.

Edward Thorndike's law of effect

the principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely.

Operant chamber or skinner box

contains a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain food or water.

Reinforcement

any event that strengthens the behavior that follows.

Positive reinforcement

increasing behaviors by presenting rewarding stimuli. Ex- getting good grades encourages you to study, getting complimented on your looks encourages you to dress a certain way.

Negative reinforcement

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing aversive stimuli. Ex- Putting a coat to stop feeling cold, cleaning your room to get rid of mess/smell.

Shaping

the process in which reinforcement guides behavior closer and closer to the desired behavior.

Primary Reinforcers

innately rewarding by satisfying a biological need (food, water, shelter, etc.)

Conditioned (Secondary Reinforcers)

those that gain power through association with a primary reinforcer (money to buy food, water, shelter, etc.)

Reinforcement Schedules

patterns that define how often a desired response will be reinforced.

Continuous Reinforcement

the desired behavior is reinforced every time.

Partial or intermittent reinforcement

the desired behavior is reinforced only some of the time.

Token economy

a system in which the learner earns tokens by engaging in a targeted behavior and those tokens can be exchanged for a reward.

Fixed ratio

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a desired behavior only after a specific number of actions have been completed.

Fixed interval

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a desired behavior only after a specific amount of time has passed.

Variable ratio

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a desired behavior only after a specific number of actions have been completed.

Variable interval

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a desired behavior only after an unpredictable amount of time has passed.

Fixed

means a set number.

Variable

means a random or changing number.

Reinforcement

increases the likelihood that a response will happen.

Punishment

decreases the likelihood that a response will happen.

Positive punishment

administration of an aversive stimulus.

Negative punishment

removal of a pleasant/rewarding stimulus.

Discriminative stimuli

a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement.

Escape learning

a type of negative reinforcement in which a behavior that removes an unpleasant stimulus is increased.

Avoidance learning

a type of negative reinforcement in which a behavior prevents an unpleasant stimulus from increasing.

Learned helplessness

feeling of hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or person learns when they are unable to avoid repeated aversive events.