Social and Cognitive Factors in Learning 4.4

preparedness

a biological predisposition to learn associations, such as between taste and nausea, that have survival value

instinctive drift

tendency for animals to return to innate behaviors following repeated reinforcement

cognitive map

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment

latent learning

learning that remains hidden until its application becomes useful

genetic predisposition

can stop learning from occurring

observational learning

learning by observing others

external locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate.

internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate

problem-focused coping

a type of coping in which people take direct steps to confront or minimize a stressor

emotion-focused coping

attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to one's stress reaction

biofeedback

the use of an external monitoring device to obtain information about a bodily function and possibly gain control over that function