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Learning

A relatively permanent change in behavior caused by experience.

Behavior

Any activity an organism does that can be observed or measured.

Classical Conditioning

Learning involving involuntary or reflexive responses in new situations.

Operant Conditioning

Learning where behavior becomes stronger or weaker because of its consequences.

Classical vs. Operant Conditioning

Classical involves involuntary responses; operant usually involves voluntary or goal-directed behavior.

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

A stimulus that naturally causes a response without prior learning.

Unconditioned Response (UR)

A response naturally caused by the unconditioned stimulus.

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that initially does not cause the response being studied.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that causes a response after conditioning.

Conditioned Response (CR)

The learned response caused by the conditioned stimulus.

Food → Salivation

Food = US; salivation to food = UR.

Bell → Salivation After Conditioning

Bell = CS; salivation to the bell = CR.

Appetitive Conditioning

Conditioning where the US is pleasant or something the organism wants.

Aversive Conditioning

Conditioning where the US is unpleasant or something the organism wants to avoid.

Excitatory Conditioning

The CS signals that the US is going to happen.

Inhibitory Conditioning

The CS signals that the US will not happen or will be removed.

Delay Conditioning

The NS begins before the US and overlaps with it.

Trace Conditioning

The NS ends before the US begins, leaving a short gap between them.

Simultaneous Conditioning

The NS and US begin at the same time.

Backward Conditioning

The US occurs first and the NS follows.

Most Effective Temporal Arrangement

Delay conditioning.

Least Effective Temporal Arrangement

Backward conditioning.

Opponent-Process Theory

An emotional event produces an opposing emotional process that counteracts the original response.

A-Process

The primary emotional response directly caused by an event.

B-Process

The opposing emotional response that counteracts the A-process.

Repeated Exposure and Opponent Process

The B-process becomes stronger and lasts longer with repeated exposure.

Elicited Behavior

Behavior automatically produced by a preceding stimulus.

Reflex

A simple, involuntary response to a stimulus.

Reflex Arc

A neural pathway involving a sensory neuron, interneuron, and motor neuron.

Independent Variable (IV)

The variable that the researcher changes or manipulates.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The outcome that the researcher measures.

Confounding Variable

An outside variable that changes with the IV and could affect the results.

Experimental Group

The group that receives the treatment.

Control Group

The group that does not receive the treatment.

Single-Subject Design

A research design using one or a few subjects to examine behavior closely.

Reversal Design

A single-subject design that switches repeatedly between baseline and treatment.

Reversal Design Pattern

A → B → A → B.

Multiple-Baseline Design

Treatment begins at different times across behaviors, settings, or subjects.

Latency

The amount of time required for a behavior to begin.

Rate of Response

How frequently a response occurs during a certain period of time.

Intensity

The force or magnitude of a behavior.

Duration

The total amount of time a behavior lasts.

Speed

The amount of time needed to perform a complete behavior from start to finish.

Temporal Measurement

Measurement involving time.

Spatial Measurement

Measurement involving location or space.

Behaviorism

An approach emphasizing environmental influences on observable behavior.

John B. Watson

Argued psychology should focus on directly observable behavior.

Methodological Behaviorism

Behaviorist approach associated with John B. Watson.

B. F. Skinner

Psychologist associated with radical behaviorism.

Radical Behaviorism

Skinner's approach that includes both observable behavior and internal events as behavior.

Edward Tolman

Psychologist associated with cognitive maps.

Cognitive Map

A mental representation of one's surroundings.

Albert Bandura

Psychologist associated with social learning theory.

Social Learning Theory

Learning can occur by observing the behavior of others.

Overt Behavior

Behavior that can potentially be observed by someone else.

Covert Behavior

Internal activity that cannot be directly observed by another person.

Appetitive Stimulus

An event that an organism will seek out.

Aversive Stimulus

An event that an organism will avoid or escape.

Acquisition

The initial stage of conditioning when a conditioned response develops.

Asymptote

The maximum level of conditioning that can be reached.

Extinction

The weakening of a CR when the CS is repeatedly presented without the US.

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a period of rest.

Why does spontaneous recovery matter?

It suggests extinction suppresses the learned association rather than completely erasing it.

Extinction vs. Forgetting

Extinction results from CS-without-US trials; forgetting results from the passage of time.

Stimulus Generalization

Responding to stimuli that are similar to the original conditioned stimulus.

Stimulus Discrimination

Learning to respond to one specific stimulus but not to similar stimuli.

Generalization vs. Discrimination

Generalization = responding similarly; discrimination = distinguishing between stimuli.

Semantic Generalization

A conditioned response generalizes to words or stimuli with similar meanings.

Semantic Generalization Example

A response conditioned to "car" may generalize to a similar word such as "automobile."

Introversion vs. Extroversion in Conditioning

Introverts tend to condition more readily; extroverts generally require stronger stimulation.

Higher-Order Conditioning

A conditioned stimulus is used to condition another neutral stimulus without the original US.

Higher-Order Conditioning Example

Food → bell; then bell → light; eventually the light can produce the conditioned response.

Overshadowing

When two stimuli occur together, the more noticeable stimulus becomes more strongly associated with the US.

Overshadowing Example

A bright light and quiet tone predict food, but the brighter light gains most of the conditioning.

Blocking

Prior conditioning to one CS prevents a new stimulus from becoming strongly associated with the US.

Blocking Example

A tone already predicts food; adding a light with the tone can prevent conditioning to the light.

Overshadowing vs. Blocking

Overshadowing involves stimulus salience; blocking occurs because another stimulus already predicts the US.

Compensatory Response Model

Drug-related cues can produce conditioned responses that oppose the drug's effects.

Compensatory Response and Tolerance

Repeated drug use in the same setting can make environmental cues trigger compensatory responses.

Behavioral View of Phobias

Phobias can develop through conditioning when a stimulus becomes associated with fear.

Little Albert Study

Watson and Rayner conditioned fear of a white rat by pairing it with a frightening loud noise.

What did Little Albert demonstrate?

Fear can be learned through classical conditioning and generalize to similar stimuli.

Biological Preparedness

An inherited tendency to learn certain associations more easily because they aided survival.

Biological Preparedness Example

Fear associations involving threats such as snakes can be learned more readily than many harmless stimuli.

Factors Affecting Acquisition of Phobias

Biological preparedness, conditioning, observation, information, and individual differences.

Reciprocal Inhibition

Two incompatible responses, such as relaxation and intense anxiety, cannot occur strongly at the same time.

Reciprocal Preparedness

Some associations are biologically easier to learn, while others are relatively difficult to condition.

Flooding

Prolonged exposure to a feared stimulus without allowing avoidance or escape.

How does flooding reduce fear?

Safe, prolonged exposure allows the conditioned fear response to decrease.

Systematic Desensitization

Gradual exposure to feared stimuli while practicing relaxation.

Three Parts of Systematic Desensitization

Relaxation training, a fear hierarchy, and gradual exposure from least to most feared.

Flooding vs. Systematic Desensitization

Flooding uses intense exposure; systematic desensitization uses gradual exposure with relaxation.

Hybrid Approach

A treatment approach combining elements of different behavioral techniques.

Aversion Therapy

A behavior or stimulus is paired with something unpleasant to reduce the unwanted behavior.

Goal of Aversion Therapy

To create an unpleasant conditioned response to a previously desirable stimulus or behavior.