3.11-3.12 Study Notes

Vocabulary flashcards derived from the lecture text and glossary on behavioral models, conditioning, and learning principles.

neutral stimulus (NS)

a stimulus that does not naturally generate a reaction from the animal or person

unconditioned stimulus (US)

a stimulus that naturally generates a reaction from an organism, usually a reflexive reaction

unconditioned response (UCR)

a natural and expected reaction to an unlearned stimulus, such as dogs salivating to food or Little Albert crying at a loud noise

conditioned stimulus (CS)

a previously neutral stimulus, that through the process of learning in classical conditioning, has now become a learned stimulus that the organism reacts to (a tone, footsteps, or a white rat)

conditioned response (CR)

a learned response to the previously neutral stimulus (now a conditioned stimulus) such as crying and trying to avoid the white rat

stimulus generalization

a learned reaction where the organism expands the conditioned stimulus to include related or similar stimuli; the organism has generalized their emotional reaction to multiple stimuli beyond the original CS

law of effect

a principle elaborated by Edward Thorndike stating that behaviors that result in a “satisfying effect” are more likely to occur again in that situation while behaviors that result in a “discomforting effect” are less likely to occur again

operant behavior

a behavior voluntarily emitted by an organism in response to its environment (it operates on the environment)

reinforcement/reinforcer

a consequence of an operant behavior that increases the frequency of its occurrence in the future

punishment/punisher

a consequence of an operant behavior that decreases the frequency of that behavior in the future

extinction

the process by which a previously learned association is weakened to the point that it no longer regularly occurs

spontaneous recovery

following a period of extinction, exposure to the stimulus or environment that was originally associated with the behavior causes the behavior to occur again

observational learning

a process of vicarious learning that occurs through the observation of others and the consequences of their behavior

latent learning

a form of learning that occurs through observation and experience but is not manifested until later when there is motivation to do so

reciprocal determinism

the principle that a person’s behaviors are influenced both by a person’s cognitive attitudes and skills as well as by the reactions or consequences of others and the environment

phobia

a persistent, excessive fear of a specific object or situation

conditioned compensatory response

a physiological or physical response elicited by drug-associated cues in which the body attempts to compensate for the upcoming effect of the drug, decreasing the impact of the drug on the body

renewal effect

an occurrence after extinction where, if the conditioned stimulus is tested in a new context (such as a different room or location), the conditioned response can return

social models

individuals typically of higher status or authority compared to the observer (such as parents, teachers, and police officers) whose behavior is observed in observational learning

vicarious reinforcement

a process in social learning theory where an individual's decision to imitate a model's behavior depends on whether they see the model reinforced or punished

Skinner box

an operant conditioning chamber containing a lever or disk that an animal can press or peck to receive a food reward, used for the systematic study of how behaviors are strengthened or weakened

classical conditioning

a process of learning in which an unconditioned stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus, causing the neutral stimulus to eventually become a conditioned stimulus that brings about a conditioned response