Psychology Vocabulary 5

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to a stimulus. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e pp. 271, 491)

stimulus

any event or situation that evokes a response. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 271)

respondent behavior

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 271)

operant behavior

behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 271)

cognitive learning

the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 272)

classical conditioning

a type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli; as a result, to illustrate with Pavlov's classic experiment, the first stimulus (a tone) comes to elicit behavior (drooling) in anticipation of the second stimulus (food). (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 272)

behaviorism

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2). (Myers Psychology for AP 3e pp. 10, 272)

unconditioned response (UR)

in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (US) (such as food in the mouth). (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 274)

unconditioned stimulus (US)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers an unconditioned response UR). (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 274)

conditioned response (CR)

in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS). (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 274)

conditioned stimulus (CS)

in classical conditioning, an originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR). (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 274)

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. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 275)

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. For example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone. (Also called second-order conditioning.) (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 276)

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. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 276)

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 276)

generalization

the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses. (In operant conditioning, generalization occurs when responses learned in one situation occur in other, similar situations.) (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 276)

discrimination

(1) in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus. (In operant conditioning, the ability to distinguish responses that are reinforced from similar responses that are not reinforced.) (2) in social psychology, unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e pp. 277, 792)

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which a behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer or less likely to recur if followed by a punisher. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 283)

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. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 283)

reinforcement

in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 284)

shaping

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 284)

discriminative stimulus

in operant conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement). (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 285)

positive reinforcement

increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 285)

negative reinforcement

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing aversive stimuli. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Note: Negative reinforcement is not punishment.) (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 285)

primary reinforcer

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 286)

conditioned reinforcer

a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 286)

continuous reinforcement schedule

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 287)

partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule

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. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 287)

fixed-ratio schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 288)

variable-ratio schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 288)

fixed-interval schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 288)

variable-interval schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 288)

punishment

an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 289)

biofeedback

a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 296)

preparedness

a biological predisposition to learn associations, such as between taste and nausea, that have survival value. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 300)

instinctive drift

the tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to biologically predisposed patterns. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 303)

cognitive map

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 304)

latent learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 304)

insight

a sudden realization of a problem's solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e pp. 304, 370)

intrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 305)

extrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 305)

learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or person learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 307)

external locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 309)

internal locus of control

the perception that we control our own fate. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 309)

observational learning

learning by observing others. (Also called social learning.) (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 312)

modeling

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 312)

mirror neurons

frontal lobe neurons that some scientists believe fire when we perform certain actions or observe another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation and empathy. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 313)

behavioral psychology

the scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 17)

Counterconditioning

replacing one emotion with its exact opposite such as relaxation as opposed to fear in phobias

one-trial learning

a psychological theory that states that people can learn something after a single exposure to a stimulus or information.

Taste Aversion

a psychological and physiological response to associating a taste with a negative experience. It's a type of learning that can occur in many species, including humans, and has several adaptive benefits.

Positive Punishment

adding a negative stimulus or experience after an unwanted behavior to discourage the behavior from happening again.

Negative Punishment

a type of operant conditioning technique that involves removing something to prevent an undesirable behavior from happening again.

Superstitious behavior

a psychological phenomenon that involves irrational beliefs or practices that are not based on logic or science. A behavior that is accidentally reinforced when a reinforcer occurs close in time to the behavior. This increases the likelihood that the behavior will occur again.

Vicarious conditioning

a psychological concept that describes learning by observing others' reactions to stimuli and consequences