Untitled Flashcards Set

Learning

A relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge that results from experience.

Habituation

A decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations, leading to reduced attention to that stimulus.

Associative learning

A type of learning in which an association is formed between two stimuli or between a behavior and a stimulus.

Stimulus

Any event or object that evokes a response from an organism.

Respondent behavior

Automatic responses to stimuli, often seen in classical conditioning.

Operant behavior

Behaviors that are influenced by the consequences that follow them, central to operant conditioning.

Cognitive learning

A form of learning that involves mental processes and may occur without direct experience, such as observation or imitation.

Classical conditioning

A learning process in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, eliciting a conditioned response.

Behaviorism (behavioral perspective)

A psychological approach that focuses on observable behaviors and the ways they are learned, often dismissing internal mental states.

Neutral stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that initially produces no specific response but can become a conditioned stimulus through association.

Unconditioned response (UCR)

An automatic, natural reaction to an unconditioned stimulus.

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response without prior learning.

Conditioned response (CR)

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

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that, after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus, eventually elicits a conditioned response.

Acquisition

The initial stage of learning in which a response is established and gradually strengthened.

Higher-order conditioning

A process in which a conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus, leading the new stimulus to elicit the conditioned response.

Extinction

The gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of a conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous recovery

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

Generalization

The tendency for a conditioned response to be elicited by stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus.

Counterconditioning

A behavioral technique that replaces an undesirable response to a stimulus with a more desirable response, often through conditioning.

(Biological) preparedness

The concept that organisms are predisposed to learn certain associations more readily than others, based on evolutionary history.

One-trial conditioning

A form of learning in which a single pairing of a stimulus and response is sufficient to produce a conditioned response.