Behavioral Psychology: Conditioning, Reinforcement, and Learning Principles

Behavioral Perspective

Views behavior as learned through environmental interactions, focusing on observable actions shaped by conditioning.

Operant conditioning

A type of learning in which a behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer or less likely to recur if followed by a punisher.

Negative reinforcement

An altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death (such as cardiac arrest); often similar to drug-induced hallucinations.

Habituation

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to a stimulus.

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.

Reinforcement generalization

Occurs when a behavior that has been reinforced in one situation elicits similar behaviors in different, but related situations.

Acquisition

In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.

Reinforcement

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

Reinforcement schedule

A pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced.

Punishment

An event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows.

Continuous reinforcement

Reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs.

Extinction

The diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.

Spontaneous recovery

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

Reinforcement discrimination

The ability to distinguish between situations in which a behavior will be reinforced and those in which it will not.

Latent learning

Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.

Stimulus generalization

The tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses.

Positive reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.

Cognitive map

A mental representation of the layout of one's environment.

Stimulus discrimination

In classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus

Higher-order conditioning

Procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus.

Counterconditioning

Behavior therapy procedures that use classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors.

Shaping

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

Learned helplessness

The hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or person learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events.

Modeling

The process of observing and imitating a specific behavior.

associate learning

the core process where we learn to connect or link two different stimuli or events that occur together