Studied by 1 personlearning
a relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience
associate learning
learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli [classical conditioning] or a response and its consequence [operant conditioning]
behaviorism
the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes
classical conditioning
a type of learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli. A neutral stimulus that signals an UCS begins to produce a response that anticipates and prepares for the unconditioned stimulus; Pavlovian conditioning
unconditioned response [UCR]
the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the UCS
unconditioned stimulus [UCS]
a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response
conditioned response [CR]
the learned response to a previously neutral conditioned stimulus [CS]
conditioned stimulus [CS]
an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an UCS, comes to trigger a conditioned response
acquisition
initial stage in classical conditioning; the phase associating NS with an UCS so that the NS comes to elicit a CR; in operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response
extinction
the diminishing of a CR; occurs in classical conditioning when an UCS doesn’t follow a CS; occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced
spontaneous recovery
the reappearance, after a rest period, of an extinguished conditioned response
generalization
the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the CS to elicit similar responses
discrimination
in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a CS and other stimuli that don’t signal an UCS
operant conditioning
a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment
respondent behavior
behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus; Skinner’s term for behavior learned through classical conditioning
operant behavior
behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences
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 [Skinner box]
a chamber 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. Used in operant conditioning research
shaping
an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of a desired goal
reinforcer
in OC, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows
primary reinforcer
an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need
conditioned reinforcer [secondary reinforcer]
a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power though its association with a primary reinforcer
continuous reinforcement
reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs
partial [intermittent'] 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
fixed-ratio schedule
a schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses
variable-ratio schedule
a schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses
fixed-interval schedule
a schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed
variable-interval schedule
a schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals
punishment
an event that decreases he behavior that it follows
cognitive map
a mental representation of the layout of one’s environment
latent learning
learning that occurs but isn’t apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it
overjustification effect
the effect of promising a reward for doing what one already likes to do. The person may now see the reward as the motivation for performing the task
observational learning
learning by observing others
modeling
the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior
prosocial behavior
positive, constructive, helpful behavior; the opposite of antisocial behavior
memory
the persistence of learning over time through storage and retrieval of info
flashbulb memory
a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event
encoding
the processing of info into the memory system
storage
the retention of encoded info over time
retrieval
the process of getting info out of memory storage
sensory memory
the immediate, initial recording of sensory info in the memory system
short-term memory
activated memory that holds a few items briefly before the info is stored or forgotten; phone number
long-term memory
the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system
automatic processing
unconscious encoding of incidental info and of well-learned info
effortful processing
encoding that requires attention and conscious effort
rehearsal
the conscious repetition of info
spacing effect
the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice
serial position effect
our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list
semantic encoding
the encoding of meaning
acoustic encoding
the encoding of sound
visual encoding
the encoding of picture images
imagery
mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding
mnemonics
memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
chunking
organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically
iconic memory
a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic memory lasting for a few tenths of a second
echoic memory
momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli
long-term potentiation
an increase in a synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory
amnesia
the loss of memory
implicit memory
retention without conscious recollection of skills and dispositions; procedural memory
explicit memory
memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare; declarative memory
hippocampus
a neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage
recall
a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve info learned earlier; fill-in-the-blank test
recognition
a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned; multiple-choice test
relearning
a memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time
priming
the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory
deja vu
the eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before;” cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience
mood-congruent memory
the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood
proactive interference
the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new info
retroactive interference
the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old info
repression
in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banished anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness
misinformation effect
incorporating misleading info into one’s memory of an event
source amnesia
attributing to the wrong source an event that we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined; source misattribution; at the heart of many false memories
cognition
the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, and remembering
concept
a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people
prototype
a mental image or best example of a category
algorithm
a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem
heuristic
a rule-of-thumb strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms
`insight
a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem; it contrasts with strategy-based solutions
confirmation bias
a tendency to search for info that confirms one’s preconceptions
fixation
the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an impediment to problem solving
mental set
a tendency to approach a problem in a particular way whether helpful or not to the new problem
functional fixedness
the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving
representativeness heuristic
a rule of thumb for judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead one to ignore other relevant info
availability heuristic
estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind, we presume such events are common
overconfidence
the tendency to be more confident than correct; to overestimate the accuracy of one’s beliefs and judgements
framing
the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgements
belief bias
the tendency of one’s preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning, sometimes by making invalid conclusions seem valid, or valid conclusions seem invalid
belief perseverance
clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited
artificial intelligence [AI]
the science of designing and programming computer systems to do intelligent things and to simulate human thought processes
computer neural networks
computer circuits that mimic the brain’s interconnected neural cells, performing tasks such as learning to recognize visual patterns and smells
language
our spoken, written, or gestured words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning
phoneme
in a spoken language, the smallest distinctive sound unit
morpheme
in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or part of a word
grammar
a system of rules in a language that enables us to communicate with and understand others
semantics
the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning
syntax
the rules of combining words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given language
babbling stage
beginning 3 to 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language
one-word stage
the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words
two-word stage
beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements
telegraphic speech
early speech stage in which the child speaks like a telegram using mostly nouns and verbs and omitting auxiliary words
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