AP Psychology - Unit Three

Development & Learning

Behavioral Perspective

Focuses on observable behaviors and the ways they’re learned

Associative Learning

Learning that involves connecting certain stimuli or events that occur together in the enviornment

Habituation (Non-Associative Learning)

Decreased response to a repeated stimulus over time

Classical Conditioning

A learning process that pairs a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a reflexive response until the neutral stimulus alone elicits that response

Unconditioned Stimulus (UR)

A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response without conditioning

Unconditioned Response

The natural reaction to an unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that, after becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus, eventually comes to trigger a conditioned response

Conditioned Response (CR)

A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus that becomes conditioned

Acquisition

The initial stage in classical conditioning during which association between a neural stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus is learned

Extinction

The diminishing of a conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus no longer follows the unconditioned stimulus

Spontaneous Recovery

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

Stimulus Discrimination

Learning to respond only to the original stimulus, and not to other similar stimuli

Stimulus Generalization

The tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus

Higher-Order Conditioning

A procedure in which the continued stimulus in one conditioning experiences is paired with a new neural stimulus, creating a second (ofter weaker) conditioned stimulus

Counterconditioning

A behavior therapy procedure that uses classical conditioning to evoke new response to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors

Taste Aversion

The intense dislike and/or avoidance of particular foods that have been associated with nausea or discomfort

One-Trail Conditioning

Conditioning that occurs with only one pairing of a neutral stimulus andan unconditioned stimulus

Biological Preparedness

The propensity of living beings to learn certain associations, such as taste and nausea, with only one or few pairings due to the survival value of the learning

Operant Conditioning

A method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior

The Law of Effect

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

Reinforcement

In operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

Primary Reinforcers

Events that are inherently reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs

Secondary Reinforcers

Events that acquire reinforcing qualities through their association with primary reinforcers

Reinforcement Discrimination

Occurs when an organism learns to presence of one stimulus but not another

Reinforcement Generalization

The spread of a response to stimuli simillar to the one that was conditioned