AP Psychology: Unit 6

Learning

learning

a relatively permanent change in behavior resulting from experience

associative learning

learning that certain events occur together

stimulus

any event or situation that evokes a response

response

the behavior that follows the stimulus

classical conditioning

the type of learning in which a response naturally elicited by one stimulus becomes elicited by a different formally neutral stimulus (person learns something IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN)

habituation

an organism’s decreasing response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it

Ivan Pavlov

Russian psychologist known primarily for his work in classical conditioning

behaviorism

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

unconditioned response (UCR)

a response that takes place in an organism whenever an unconditioned stimulus occurs

unconditioned stimulus (US)

a stimulus that invariably causes an organism to respond in a specific way

conditioned response (CR)

after conditioning, the response an organism produces when only a conditioned stimulus is presented

conditioned stimulus (CS)

an originally neutral stimulus that is paired with an unconditioned stimulus and eventually produces the desired response in an organism when presented alone

neutral stimulus (NS)

a stimulus that does not naturally cause a response in the organism

acquisition

refers to the period of time when the stimulus comes to evoke the conditioned response (the first stages of learning when a response is established)

John Watson

this psychologist is the founder of behaviorism and is famous for his Little Albert experiment

Rosalie Rayner

worked on the Little Albert experiment with her husband, John Watson

Baby Albert

a baby used in an experiment that proved fear can be learned through classical conditioning

John Garcia

an American psychologist famous for studying taste aversion

extinction

a decrease in the strength or frequency of a learned response because of no longer pairing the unconditioned stimulus (US) and conditioned stimulus (CS)

spontaneous recovery

reappearance of an extinguished response after the passage of time, without further conditioning

stimulus generalization

the transfer of a learned response to different but similar stimulus

stimulus discrimination

learning to respond to only one stimulus and to inhibit the response to all other stimuli

pairing

presenting the organism with the conditioned stimulus (CS) and then the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) multiple times

taste aversion

associating the taste of a certain food with symptoms of nausea or vomiting

learned helplessness

a behavior where a person or animal is repeatedly forced to endure a painful stimulus to the point that they become unwilling to avoid the painful stimuli even when it is escapable

higher-order conditioning (second-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

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which behaviors are influenced by a desire to earn rewards or to avoid punishments

B.F. Skinner

a psychologist who developed the theory of operant conditioning and an advocate of behaviorism

Edward Thorndike

a psychologist known for proposing the Law of Effect

puzzle box

a laboratory device invented by Edward Thorndike used to study animal learning, specifically trial-and-error learning and the Law of Effect

respondent behavior

in classical conditioning, an automatic response to a stimulus

operant behavior

in operant conditioning, a behavior designed to gain something desired or avoid something unpleasant

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

in operant conditioning research, a chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal’s rate of bar pressing of key pecking

shaping

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

reinforcer

in operant conditioning, any stimulus or event that follows a behavior and makes that behavior more likely to occur again

positive reinforcement

increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers

negative reinforcement

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli

punishment

an aversive event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows

positive punishment

administer an aversive stimulus

negative punishment

withdraw a rewarding stimulus

punisher

in operant conditioning, a stimulus or event that follows a behavior and makes that behavior less likely to occur again

immediate reinforcer

a reinforcer that occurs instantly after a behavior

delayed reinforcer

a reinforcer that is delayed for a certain behavior

primary reinforcer

an innately reinforcing stimulus (one that satisfies a biological need: food/drink)

conditioned/secondary reinforcer

a learned reinforcer that gets its reinforcing power through association with the primary reinforcer

continuous reinforcement

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

partial/intermittent reinforcement

reinforcing a response only part of the time. Though this results in slower acquisition in the beginning, it shows greater resistance to extinction later on

fixed-ratio schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

variable-ratio schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

fixed-interval schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

variable-interval schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

ratio

having to do with numbers of the behavior

interval

having to do with the passage of time

Overjustification Effect

a phenomenon where you lose intrinsic motivation to complete a task after repeatedly being given a reward for it

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

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

Albert Bandura

a psychologist known for Social Learning Theory and his Bobo Doll experiment

observational learning

learning by observing others

modeling

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

mirror neurons

frontal lobe neurons that some scientists believe fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so

prosocial behavior

positive, constructive, helpful behavior

antisocial behavior

actions which are considered to violate the rights of or otherwise harm others by committing crime or nuisance

cognitive learning

learning that depends on mental activity that is not directly observable (attention, expectation, thinking, memory)

insight

learning seems to occur in a sudden “flash” as elements of a situation come together

learning sets

increasing effectiveness at problem solving through experience (organisms “learn how to learn”)

vicarious learning

the acquisition of knowledge happens via observation and imitation of the behavior rather than direct personal experience

vicarious reinforcement/punishment

affects the willingness of people to perform behaviors they learned by watching others