AP Psychology Learning Test

Classical Conditioning

A form of learning in which a previously neutral stimulus acquires the power to elicit the same innate reflex produced by another stimulus

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

A stimulus which initially produces no specific response other than focusing attention

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that unconditionally, naturally and automatically triggers an uncontrollable response/reaction

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

The natural, innate and uncontrollable response to an unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that, after becoming associated or paired with  with the unconditioned stimulus, eventually comes to trigger a conditioned response

Conditioned Response (CR)

The learned response to the previously neutral stimulus.

Pavlov’s Experiment with Dogs

Pavlov discovered that a neutral stimulus, when paired with a natural reflex-producing stimulus, will begin to produce a learned response, even when it is presented by itself.

Watson and Little Albert

a famous psychological experiment conducted by psychologist John B. Watson; he conditioned an infant named "Little Albert" to fear a white rat by repeatedly pairing the rat with a loud noise; found emotional responses can be learned through association

2nd or higher order conditioning

Learning to associate a stimulus with another stimulus that already has meaning, creating a secondary conditioned response

Thorndike’s Law of Effect

Behaviors which produce a satisfying outcome are more likely to be repeated, while behaviors with unsatisfying outcomes are less likely to occur again

B.F. Skinner

The “Mac Daddy” of Operant Conditioning; used the “Skinner Box” (Operant Conditioning Chamber) to prove his concepts

the Premack Principle

A psychological theory that states that a less-preferred behavior is more likely to occur if it's followed by a more-preferred behavior

overjustification

A psychological phenomenon that occurs when an external reward decreases a person's intrinsic motivation to perform a task

shaping

Instead of rewarding only the target behavior, we reward successive approximation of a target behaviors; it’s a form of positive reinforcement

chaining

a psychological technique that teaches a sequence of behaviors, or a behavior chain, through a series of small steps; it’s a type of operant conditioning

token economies

A behavioral therapy technique that uses tokens to reward desired behaviors. E.g. Students gain tokens for participating or behaving that can later be traded for a reward

Operant Conditioning

A form of learning in which the probability of a response is changed by its consequence; that is by the stimuli, reward or punishment that follows the response

Positive Reinforcement

Addition of a pleasant stimulus as a result of operant behavior that leads to an increase in the behavior

Negative Reinforcement

When an unpleasant stimulus is removed as a result of operant behavior that leads to an increase in the behavior

Positive Punishment

When you add a stimulus or do something to decrease a behavior

Negative Punishment

Taking away something and causing the person emotional or physical pain to make them stop performing a behavior

Escape Learning

Occurs to terminate an unpleasant stimulus; it’s a type of negative reinforcer

Avoidance Learning

The transformed form of escape learning that happens if you give the unwanted stimulus

Primary Reinforcers

A stimulus that motivates behavior because it satisfies a basic need. E.g. food, sleep, water

Secondary Reinforcers

A stimulus that becomes reinforcing after being associated with a primary reinforcer. E.g. money, praise, stickers

Schedule of Reinforcement

A rule that determines how often a behavior is reinforced

Interval

Schedule is based on the time between reinforcements

Ratio

Schedule is based on number of responses between reinforcements

Fixed Ratio (F.R.)

Reinforcement is delivered after a predictable number of responses

Variable Ration (V.R.)

Reinforcement is delivered after an unpredictable, random number of responses

Fixed Interval (F.I.)

Reinforcement is delivered at predictable time intervals

Variable Interval (V.I)

Reinforcement is delivered at unpredictable time intervals

Continuous vs. Intermittent

Continuous means something happens without stopping, while intermittent means something happens occasionally or with breaks

Reinforcement

Anything that increases a behavior

Punishment

Anything that decreases a behavior

Positive

to add/apply

Negative

to subtract/remove

Social Learning

A psychological theory that explains how people learn through observation and imitation of others

Observational Learning

The process of learning by watching the behaviors of others

Bandura and modeling “Bobo”

Psychologist Albert Bandura’s experiment involves showing preschool children a video of an adult either acting aggressively towards an inflatable clown doll (Bobo) or behaving non-aggressively; found out that children who observed the aggressive behavior were more likely to imitate it than the control

Vicarious learning

The process of learning from the experiences of others, rather than through direct personal experience

role of reinforcement

Reinforcement plays a crucial role by increasing the likelihood of a behavior being imitated or repeated, particularly when an individual observes someone else being rewarded for performing that behavior

role of self-efficacy

Represents an individual's belief in their ability to perform a task, significantly impacting their motivation to engage in new behaviors

Cognitive Learning

A learning style that helps students use their brains more effectively to learn, think, and remember. It involves using strategies to help students understand and organize information.

Insight Learning

A cognitive process that involves suddenly realizing how to solve a problem; an AHA Moment

Latent Learning

The process of subconsciously retaining information without motivation or reinforcement

Cognitive Maps

A mental representation of a person's spatial environment and the relationships between its parts

Kohler and chimps

Psychological experiments conducted by German psychologist Wolfgang Köhler, where he studied the problem-solving abilities of chimpanzees, demonstrating that they could solve complex issues through "insight" rather than just trial and error, revealing a higher level of cognitive ability than previously thought

Tolman, rats and mazes

A series of psychology experiments conducted by psychologist Edward Tolman, where he used rats navigating mazes to demonstrate the concept of "latent learning" and "cognitive maps," proving that animals can learn about their environment without immediate reinforcement

Seligman and learned helplessness

In Martin Seligman’s experiment, dogs were exposed to inescapable electric shocks, which conditioned them to believe they had no control over the situation; when later placed in a new environment where they could easily escape shocks, these dogs often did not try to avoid them, demonstrating a learned sense of helplessness, even when escape was possible; Seligman was also a pioneer of positive psychology

Learned Helplessness

An organism learns to accept and endure unpleasant stimuli, and unwilling to avoid them, even when it is avoidable

Attribution Theory

The belief that people attempt to understand events and actions by attributing intentions, beliefs, and feelings to the events; we tend to place causation into two categories: internal (dispositional) and external (situational) factors; first developed by Fritz Heider

Actor-Observer Bias

the tendency for people to attribute situational factors for their own behavior, but more trait-based attributions for others

Self-Serving Attribution

The idea that people have the basic psychological need to view themselves in a positive light

Internal Attribution

When a person looks internally for reasons to explain a situation or event

Stable Attribution

When a person believes that an event or situation happens with no input from internal or external events

Global Attribution

A general thought that covers a broad area of events or situations