Introduction to Behavior Analysis, Learning Theory, and Research Methods

Flashcards covering introductory behavioral definitions, classical and operant conditioning, historical schools of thought, research methods, and elicited behaviors from class lecture notes.

How is behavior defined in introductory psychology?

An observable, measurable activity that may be internal or external.

How is learning defined?

A relatively permanent change in behavior resulting from experience.

What is classical conditioning?

A process whereby inborn behaviors are elicited in new circumstances.

What is operant conditioning?

The strengthening or weakening of a behavior as the result of its consequences.

What is observational learning?

The act of observing someone else's behavior, which facilitates the occurrence of similar behavior in others.

How did Plato view knowledge and human tendencies?

He believed knowledge is innate (a nativist / nature position) and that tendencies come from birth.

How did Aristotle view knowledge acquisition?

He believed knowledge is acquired through experience (an empiricist / nurture position) and that tendencies are learned.

What is Aristotle's Law of Similarity?

The principle that similar events, such as those with common appearance or function, are associated together (e.g., cars and trucks).

What is Aristotle's Law of Contrast?

The principle that events seen as opposite from each other are associated together (e.g., day vs. night).

What is Aristotle's Law of Contiguity?

The principle that events occurring close together in time and space are associated.

What is Aristotle's Law of Frequency?

The principle that the more frequent co-occurrence of events creates a stronger association between them (e.g., repeatedly rehearsing lines of a play to memorize them).

What is René Descartes' concept of mind-body dualism?

The view that some human behaviors are automatic reflexes produced mechanically by the body, while others are controlled by the mind through free will.

According to Descartes, how do humans and non-human animals differ regarding free will?

Only humans possess free will, whereas non-human animal behavior is entirely reflexive and mechanical.

What was Edward B. Titchener's approach to psychology and its primary research method?

Structuralism, an approach seeking to identify basic elements determining the structure of the mind through introspection.

How is introspection defined in structuralism?

A research method where participants subjectively describe their thoughts, emotions, and sensations.

What was William James' approach to psychology, and what was its focus?

Functionalism, an approach assuming the mind evolved to help us adapt to the world, focusing on adaptive processes rather than mind structure.

What is Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection?

The principle that organisms capable of adapting to environmental pressures are more likely to reproduce and pass along their characteristics to offspring.

What is behaviorism as defined by John B. Watson?

A philosophy of science governing an approach to psychology that focuses on environmental influences on observable, measurable behavior.

What is methodological behaviorism?

A school of behaviorism attributed to Watson stating that psychologists should study only directly observed behaviors and avoid internal events in analysis.

What is Clark Hull's neobehaviorism?

An S-R approach inferring the existence of intervening variables (often operationalized physiological reactions like hunger drive) between environmental cause and behavioral effect.

What is Edward Tolman's cognitive behaviorism?

An approach utilizing intervening variables, specifically hypothetical cognitive processes (like cognitive maps), to explain behavior.

What is a cognitive map?

A mental representation of one's spatial surroundings hypothesized from observed behavior.

What is Albert Bandura's social learning theory and its key concept of reciprocal determinism?

A theory emphasizing observational learning and cognitive variables, assuming environmental events, observable behavior, and thoughts/feelings mutually influence one another.

What is B.F. Skinner's radical behaviorism?

An approach emphasizing environmental influence on observable behavior and rejecting internal events as explanations for behavior, though including them in analysis where useful.

How does operant conditioning parallel natural selection according to Skinner?

Adaptive behaviors (leading to reinforcers) increase in frequency, while non-adaptive behaviors decrease; behaviors are selected by their environmental consequences.

What is the difference between Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB) and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)?

EAB is the empirical/experimental study of basic behavioral principles in lab settings, while ABA applies these principles to improve socially significant real-world problems.

What is an independent variable (IV) vs. a dependent variable (DV)?

An IV is systematically varied across experimental conditions via manipulation, while a DV is measured and allowed to vary freely to see if it is affected by changes in the IV.

What is a functional relationship in experimental research?

A relationship where changes in the independent variable result in corresponding changes in the dependent variable.

What is the difference between an appetitive stimulus and an aversive stimulus?

An appetitive stimulus is an event an organism seeks out (e.g., food), whereas an aversive stimulus is an event an organism avoids (e.g., electric shock).

What is the difference between overt behavior and covert behavior?

Overt behavior can be observed by another individual, whereas covert behavior can only be observed by the person performing it.

What are motivating operations and their two main subtypes?

Procedures altering how appetitive or aversive a stimulus is; establishing operations increase reinforcement/punishment effectiveness, while abolishing operations decrease it.

What is the difference between contiguity and contingency?

Contiguity is closeness in time or space, whereas contingency is a predictive relationship where the occurrence of one event predicts the probable occurrence of another.

How are rate of response, latency, and topography defined?

Rate of response is the number of responses in a given period; latency is the time required for a behavior to begin; topography is the physical form of the behavior.

What is the difference between interval recording and time-sample recording?

Interval recording measures whether a behavior occurs during each interval across continuous intervals; time-sample recording measures occurrence across discontinuous intervals.

What is a multiple baseline research design?

A single-subject design where treatment is instituted at different times across multiple persons, settings, or behaviors without withdrawing treatment.

What is a changing-criterion research design?

A design where the effect of a treatment is demonstrated by how closely behavior matches a criterion that is systematically altered over time.

What three neurons constitute a reflex arc?

Sensory neuron, interneuron, and motor neuron.

What is a fixed action pattern?

A fixed sequence of responses elicited by a specific stimulus, evolved to cope with consistent aspects of the environment.

What is the difference between habituation and sensitization?

Habituation is a decrease in strength of elicited behavior following repeated presentations of a stimulus; sensitization is an increase in strength.

What is dishabituation?

The reappearance of a habituated response following the presentation of a seemingly irrelevant novel stimulus.

What does the opponent-process theory of emotion propose?

That an emotional event elicits two competing processes: a primary a-process directly elicited by the event, and a secondary b-process that compensates for it.