Psychology Chapter 6 Vocabulary

conditioning

conditioning

a type of learning that involves stimulus- response connections

classical conditioning

is a simple form of learning in which one stimulus calls forth the response that is usually called forth by another stimulus

unconditioned stimulus

a stimulus that causes a response that is automatic, not learned

unconditioned response

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

conditioned response

a learned response to a stimulus that was previously neutral, or meaningless

conditioned stimulus

repeated association w/ anything

taste aversion

learned avoidance of a particular food

extinction

when the conditioned stimulus is disconnected from unconditional stimulus

spontaneous recovery

organism sometimes display responses that were extinguished earlier

generalization

the act of responding in the same way to stimuli

discrimination

is the act of responding differently to stimuli

flooding

a person is exposed to the harmless stimulus until fear responses to that stimulus are extinguished

systematic desensitization

people are taught relaxation techniques

counterconditioning

a pleasant stimulus is paired repeatedly with a fearful one, counteracting the fear

operant conditioning

people and animals learn to do certain things and not to do others

primary reinforcers

ex. food, water, adequate warmth

secondary reinforcers

must be learned initially acquire their value through being paired with established reinforcers

positive reinforcers

increase the frequency of the behavior they follow

negative reinforcers

increase the frequency of the behaviors that follows when they are removed.

schedule of reinforcement

when and how often the reinforcement occurs

continuous reinforcement

the reinforcement of a behavior every time the behavior occurs

partial reinforcement

a behavior is not reinforced every time it occurs

shaping

a way of teaching complex behaviors in which one first reinforces small steps in the total activity

chaining

each step of a sequence must be learned and must lead to the next until final action is achieved.

reinforcement

the process by which a stimulus increases the chances that the preceding behavior will occur again.