AP PSYCH - Learning Vocab

Learning

The process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors through experience.

Example: A child learns to ride a bike through repeated practice.

Habituation

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to the same stimulation.

Example: Not noticing the sound of a ticking clock after being in the room for a while.

Associative learning

Learning that two or more events occur together.

Example: A dog learns to associate the sound of a bell with receiving food.

Stimulus

Any event or situation that evokes a response.

Example: Pulling your hand away quickly after touching something hot.

Respondent behavior

Behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus.

Example: A child receives praise for doing their homework, encouraging them to do it again.

Operant behavior

Behavior that operates on the environment, producing a consequence.

Cognitive learning

The acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, watching others, or through language.

Example: Studying for a test by organizing information into categories, solving a puzzle by recognizing patterns, or understanding language through context rather than just mimicry.

Classical conditioning

A type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli.

Example: Pavlov’s dogs learned to associate a bell with food, leading to salivation.

Behaviorism

The view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes.

Example: Behaviorists might focus on observable behaviors like running rather than thoughts or feelings.

Acquisition

In classical conditioning, the initial stage when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus.

Example: A dog starts salivating when it hears a bell after being repeatedly shown food with the bell sound.

Neutral stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning.

Example: A bell before it's associated with food does not make a dog salivate.

Unconditioned response (UCR)

An unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus (UCS).

Example: Salivating when food is in the mouth.

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers an unconditioned response.

Example: Food that naturally causes salivation.

Conditioned response (CR)

A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus that has become conditioned.

Example: Salivating when hearing a bell that has been paired with food.

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

An originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.

Example: The bell that causes a dog to salivate after it has been associated with food.

Higher-order conditioning

A procedure in which a conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus.

Example: Adding a light with the bell so the light alone eventually causes salivation.

Extinction

The diminishing of a conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus no longer follows a conditioned stimulus.

Example: A dog stops salivating to the bell if food no longer follows it.

Spontaneous recovery

The reappearance, after a pause, of a previously extinguished conditioned response.

Example: A dog briefly salivates to the bell after a period without it being paired with food.

Generalization

The tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses.

Example: A dog salivates to bells of different pitches after being conditioned to one specific bell.

Discrimination

The learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other similar stimuli.

Example: A dog only salivates to a specific bell sound, not to other similar sounds.

Preparedness

A biological predisposition to learn associations that have survival value.

Example: Learning to avoid foods that have previously made us sick.

Operant conditioning

A type of learning in which a behavior becomes more likely if followed by a reinforcer or less likely if followed by a punisher.

Example: A rat learns to press a lever to get food.

Law of effect

Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, while those followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely.

Example:

If doing something leads to a reward, you’re more likely to do it again.

If doing something leads to a punishment or bad result, you’re less likely to do it again.

Operant chamber

A chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a reinforcer.

Example: Skinner’s box, where rats learn to press a lever for food.

Reinforcement

Any event that strengthens the behavior it follows.

Example: Giving a dog a treat for sitting increases the chance it will sit again.

Shaping

An operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer approximations of the desired behavior.

Example: Rewarding a dog for each step closer to rolling over.

Discriminative stimulus

A stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement.

Example: A dog learns to bark only when it sees a certain toy if it's reinforced for barking in that situation.

Positive reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by presenting a pleasurable stimulus.

Example: Giving a student candy for completing homework.

Negative reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing an aversive stimulus.

Example: A student studies to avoid feeling anxious about a test.

Punishment

An event that decreases the behavior it follows.

Example: Losing privileges for missing curfew.

Reinforcement schedule

A pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced.

Example: Rewarding behavior every third time it occurs.

Continuous reinforcement schedule

Reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs.

Example: Giving a treat each time a dog sits.

Partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule

Reinforcing a response only part of the time.

Example: Only occasionally giving a child candy for cleaning up.

Fixed-ratio schedule

A reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses.

Example: A factory worker is paid for every ten items made.

Variable-ratio schedule

A reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses.

Example: Slot machines pay out after an unpredictable number of plays.

Fixed-interval schedule

A reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed.

Example: Receiving a paycheck every two weeks.

Variable-interval schedule

A reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals.

Example: Receiving an email response at varying times after sending a message.

Instinctive drift

The tendency of learned behavior to revert to biologically predisposed patterns.

Example: A trained raccoon begins to wash coins instead of putting them in a piggy bank.

Primary reinforcer

An innately reinforcing stimulus that satisfies a biological need.

Example: Food for a hungry animal.

Conditioned reinforcer

A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer.

Example: Money, as it can be used to buy food.

Insight learning

Solving problems through sudden insight.

Example: Realizing the solution to a puzzle all at once after struggling with it.

Observational learning

Learning by observing others (also called social learning).

Example: Learning how to cook by watching a parent.

Modeling

The process of observing and imitating a specific behavior.

Example: A child imitates their older sibling’s behavior.

Mirror neurons

Neurons that fire when we perform certain actions or observe another doing so.

Example: Feeling the urge to yawn when we see someone else yawn.

Prosocial behavior

Positive, constructive, helpful behavior.

Example: Volunteering at a local food bank.

Antisocial behavior

Negative, destructive, harmful behavior.

Example: Aggressive actions after watching violent behavior.

Cognitive map

A mental representation of the layout of one's environment.

Example: Remembering the layout of a new city after visiting several times.

Latent learning

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

Example: Knowing how to navigate a route but only demonstrating it when asked.