Classical and Operant Conditioning

Classical Conditioning

Type of learning in which a stimulus gains the power to cause a response.

Stimulus

Anything in the environment that one can respond to.

Response

Any behavior or action.

Unconditioned Stimulus

Stimulus that triggers a response reflexively and automatically.

Unconditioned Response

An automatic response to the unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus

The previously neutral stimulus that gains the power to cause a response through learning.

Conditioned Response

The response to the conditioned stimulus, typically similar to the unconditioned response.

Acquisition

The process of developing a learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.

Extinction

The diminishing of a learned response after repeated presentation of the conditioned stimulus alone.

Generalization

Producing the same response to two similar stimuli.

Discrimination

The ability to distinguish between two signals or stimuli and produce different responses.

Little Albert Experiment

Watson and Rayner conditioned an 11-month-old infant, Albert, to be frightened of white rats, raising ethical questions.

Taste Aversion

Classically conditioned avoidance of specific tastes due to their association with nausea.

Operant Conditioning

Type of learning where the frequency of a behavior depends on its consequences.

Edward Thorndike

Author of the law of effect, stating that behaviors with favorable consequences will occur more frequently.

B.F. Skinner

Behavioral psychologist who developed the principles of operant conditioning and created the Skinner box.

Reinforcement

Any consequence that increases the likelihood of a behavior.

Punishment

Consequences that decrease the likelihood of a behavior.

Positive Reinforcement

Increases the likelihood of a behavior by following it with a desirable event.

Negative Reinforcement

Increases the likelihood of a behavior by removing an undesired event.

Immediate Reinforcement

More effective than delayed reinforcement; short-term benefits predict higher achievement.

Primary Reinforcement

Naturally reinforcing, such as food, warmth, and water.

Secondary Reinforcement

Something learned to value, like money.

Positive Punishment

Adds something to decrease a behavior, e.g., spraying a cat with water.

Negative Punishment

Takes something away to decrease a behavior, e.g., taking away a phone.

Shaping

Reinforcement of behaviors increasingly similar to the desired behavior; used to establish new behavior.

Continuous Reinforcement

A schedule in operant conditioning where a reward follows every correct response.

Partial Reinforcement

Schedule where a reward follows only some correct responses.

Fixed-Interval Schedule

Rewards only the first correct response after a defined period.

Variable-Interval Schedule

Rewards the first correct response after an unpredictable amount of time.

Fixed-Ratio Schedule

Rewards a response only after a defined number of correct responses.

Variable-Ratio Schedule

Rewards an unpredictable number of correct responses.

Latent Learning

Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.

Cognitive Map

Mental representation of a place, shown by experiments with rats learning mazes.

Overjustification Effect

Promising a reward for doing something one already likes can weaken intrinsic motivation.