AP Psychology Unit 3 Learning 2025

learning

the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.

associative learning

learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning).

classical conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

Ivan Pavlov

discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

cognitive learning theory

an approach to the study of learning that focuses on the thought processes that underlie learning

Little Albert Experiment

A study in which a white rat was paired with a loud sudden noise in order to condition a fear response in an infant.

acquisition

In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.

higher-order conditioning

a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus

extinction

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

generalization

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

discrimination

in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus

law of effect

Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

operant chamber

A chamber also known as a Skinner box, containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer, with attached devices to record the animal's rate of bar pressing or key pecking

shaping

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

positive reinforcement

the reinforcement of a response by the addition or experiencing of a pleasurable stimulus

negative reinforcement

increasing the strength of a given response by removing or preventing a painful stimulus when the response occurs

primary reinforcer

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need

secondary reinforcer

any reinforcer that becomes reinforcing after being paired with a primary reinforcer, such as praise, tokens, or gold stars

punishment

an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows

continuous reinforcement

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

partial reinforcement

reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement

Garcia effect

taste aversion, when nausea and a food are paired, the food will be averted in the future

instinctive drift

tendency for animals to return to innate behaviors following repeated reinforcement

cognitive map

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment

latent learning

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

insight

a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem

intrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

extrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment

overjustification effect

The effect of promising a reward for doing what one already likes to do. The person may now see the reward, rather than intrinsic interest, as the motivation for performing the task.

learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

observational learning

learning by observing others; also called social learning

Bobo doll experiment

children observed an adult play aggressively (yelling & hitting) with an inflatable clown; when children were later allowed to play with the doll, those children performed the same aggressive actions

mirror neurons

Frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so.

prosocial behavior

socially desirable behavior that benefits others