PSYC 100: Principles of Psychology - Learning and Conditioning

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering principles of learning, memory encoding, classical and operant conditioning, observational learning, and knowledge emotions from PSYC 100 Week 4.

Perceptual Learning

A form of learning that occurs when aspects of an organism's perception change as a function of experience and repeated exposure.

Explicit Learning

The acquisition of knowledge or experiences that can be consciously recalled and articulated, such as intentional studying.

Implicit Learning

The process of unintentionally acquiring knowledge and exhibiting changes in behavior without having intended to learn something.

Implicit Memory

A type of long-term memory that does not require conscious thought to encode; it represents the behavioral effect of having unintentionally acquired knowledge previously.

Nonassociative Learning

Learning that occurs when a single repeated exposure to a stimulus leads to a change in behavior, encompassing habituation and sensitization.

Habituation

A nonassociative learning process that occurs when the response to a stimulus decreases with repeated exposure (e.g., becoming "noseblind" to household odors).

Sensitization

A nonassociative learning process that occurs when the response to a stimulus increases as a result of repeated exposure.

Working Memory

The form of memory used to hold onto information temporarily, typically for the purpose of mental manipulation.

Chunking

The process of grouping individual pieces of information together into meaningful units based on prior knowledge and expertise.

Encoding

The act of putting new information into memory.

Incidental Learning

Learning that occurs when information is acquired without intent and cannot be easily expressed; it can sometimes lead to superior retention compared to intentional learning.

Intentional Learning

Any type of learning that takes place when an individual is consciously motivated by the intention to acquire knowledge.

Metacognition

The knowledge, awareness, and skills that learners possess to monitor and control their own learning and memory processes.

Transfer-Appropriate Processing

A principle stating that memory performance is superior when a test taps the same cognitive processes and mental operations as the original encoding activity.

The Value of Forgetting

A general principle of learning holding that forgetting discards unneeded or outdated information, prevents cognitive clutter, and acts as a prerequisite for additional learning and the benefits of spaced practice.

Classical Conditioning (Pavlovian Conditioning)

A form of stimulus-stimulus associative learning where a neutral environmental stimulus is paired with a significant stimulus to elicit an involuntary response.

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

In classical conditioning, a stimulus that naturally and automatically elicits an unconditioned response before any conditioning has occurred (e.g., food in Pavlov's experiment).

Unconditioned Response (UR)

In classical conditioning, an innate, natural physiological response elicited by a stimulus in the absence of conditioning (e.g., salivation to food).

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

An initially neutral stimulus (such as a bell, tone, or light) that elicits a conditioned response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Response (CR)

The learned response elicited by the conditioned stimulus after classical conditioning has taken place.

Operant Conditioning (Instrumental Conditioning)

A form of stimulus-response associative learning in which an organism learns the relationship between its voluntary behaviors and their environmental consequences.

Operant

A voluntary behavior that operates on the environment and is lawfully controlled by its consequences (e.g., a rat's lever-pressing).

Reinforcer

Any consequence of a behavior that strengthens that behavior or increases the likelihood that it will be performed again.

Punisher

A consequence or stimulus that decreases the strength or future probability of an operant behavior.

Thorndike's Law of Effect

The principle that responses followed by a pleasant state of affairs will be strengthened, whereas responses followed by discomfort will be weakened; modernly, that operant behaviors are controlled by their consequences.

Taste Aversion Conditioning

A phenomenon in which the ingestion of a specific taste is paired with sickness, causing the organism to reject and dislike that taste in the future.

Fear Conditioning

A type of classical conditioning where a conditioned stimulus is associated with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (such as a foot shock), causing the CS to evoke fear; implicated in human anxiety disorders.

Conditioned Compensatory Response

In classical conditioning, a learned response that opposes, rather than mimics, the unconditioned response to reduce its impact; often observed in drug tolerance and overdose vulnerability in novel environments.

Blocking

The finding in classical conditioning that no learning occurs to a new stimulus if it is presented simultaneously with a previously conditioned stimulus, demonstrating that surprise or prediction error is essential for learning.

Prediction Error

The discrepancy that exists when the outcome of a conditioning trial differs from what is predicted by the conditioned stimuli present (i.e., when the US is surprising); learning works to reduce this discrepancy.

Preparedness

The evolutionary predisposition of an organism that makes it biologically easier to acquire specific associations (e.g., taste with nausea, or snakes/spiders with shock).

Extinction

The decrease in the strength of a learned behavior that occurs when the CS is repeatedly presented without the US (classical) or when an operant behavior is no longer reinforced (instrumental).

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response following the passage of time without any additional conditioning trials.

Renewal Effect

The recovery of an extinguished response when the organism is tested in a context different from the extinction context, particularly upon return to the original conditioning setting.

Context

Background stimuli present during learning, including physical settings (such as a room or Skinner box), internal physiological states (drug effects, moods), or specific temporal intervals.

Stimulus Control

A condition in operant conditioning where an operant response is reliably triggered or governed by an antecedent stimulus.

Discriminative Stimulus

In operant conditioning, a specific stimulus that signals whether a response will be reinforced, effectively setting the occasion for the operant behavior.

Quantitative Law of Effect

A mathematical rule stating that a reinforcer's efficacy in strengthening an operant response depends on the total amount of reinforcement earned for alternative behaviors available in the environment.

Reinforcer Devaluation Effect

The finding that an animal will decrease or stop performing an operant response if the reinforcer it typically earns is independently made aversive or undesirable.

Goal-Directed Behavior

Instrumental behavior influenced by an animal's understanding of the association between the action and its consequence, as well as the current value of that consequence; sensitive to reinforcer devaluation.

Habit

Instrumental behavior that occurs automatically in the presence of a stimulus and is insensitive to reinforcer devaluation because it is no longer governed by the current value of the consequence.

Observational Learning

A process of acquiring new behaviors and information by observing the actions and outcomes of other individuals.

Social Learning Theory

The theoretical framework proposing that individuals can learn novel behaviors and responses vicariously by observing social models.

Social Models

Individuals—often high-status, attractive, or authoritative figures—who serve as targets for observation and demonstrate behaviors for others to emulate.

Vicarious Reinforcement

Learning that occurs by observing the consequences (reinforcement or punishment) received by another person, which alters the observer's likelihood of replicating the behavior.

Knowledge Emotions

A family of emotions—including surprise, interest, confusion, and awe—elicited by unexpected or unfamiliar events that motivate exploration, information-seeking, and the construction of expertise.

Surprise

A knowledge emotion rooted in expectancy violation that triggers a quick expectedness check and immediately orients cognitive resources toward an unexpected event.

Interest

A knowledge emotion elicited by appraisals of novelty and complexity combined with high coping potential, motivating deeper engagement and intrinsically motivated learning.

Confusion

A knowledge emotion experienced when an event is appraised as novel, unfamiliar, and complex, but difficult to understand (low coping potential), motivating learners to work through perplexing barriers.

Awe

A profound knowledge emotion evoked when encountering an event that is vast (far exceeding normal experience) and requires accommodation of existing mental knowledge.

Impasse-Driven Learning

An instructional strategy that fosters deeper learning by presenting learners with confusing barriers and perplexing challenges that require active problem-solving to overcome.

Functionalist Theories of Emotion

Theories of emotion proposing that emotions evolved to serve adaptive functions that help individuals manage common challenges and tasks throughout evolutionary history.

Coping Potential

A person's cognitive appraisal or subjective evaluation regarding their ability to manage, handle, or comprehend a challenging situation.

Accommodation

The cognitive process of restructuring and changing one's beliefs and schemas about the world in light of new, vast experiences.

Appraisal Theories

Theories of emotion contending that emotional states are elicited by evaluations that relate environmental events to personal values, goals, beliefs, and coping resources.

Appraisal Structure

The specific pattern and combination of cognitive appraisals that reliably produces a particular emotional response.

Trait Curiosity

A stable individual-difference personality dimension reflecting how frequently and readily a person experiences feelings of curiosity.

Openness to Experience

One of the Big Five personality traits, associated with heightened curiosity, creativity, aesthetic appreciation, and a greater propensity to experience interest and awe.

Chills

A physical sensation of goosebumps on the arms, neck, or scalp that often accompanies profound experiences of awe.

Intrinsically Motivated Learning

Learning pursued "for its own sake"—driven by inner curiosity, wonder, and interest—rather than for extrinsic rewards, grades, or social approval.

Generation Effect

The cognitive phenomenon wherein memory and retention are improved when a learner must actively produce or generate information rather than passively receiving it.

Spacing Effect

The learning principle showing that distributing study sessions across intervals of time produces substantially better long-term retention than massing or cramming study time.

Interleaving

An instructional technique involving the mixing of multiple distinct topics, skills, or problem categories during practice sessions, resulting in superior long-term retention compared to blocked practice.