Myers' AP Psych Unit 6

Acquisition

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.

Albert Bandura

the pioneering researcher of observational learning; he is known as the originator of social learning theory and is responsible for the influential Bobo doll experiment

Associative Learning

learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequence (as in operant conditioning).

B. F. Skinner

behaviorist and pioneer in operant conditioning; believed that behavior is based on an organism's reinforcement history; invented the "Skinner Box"

Behaviorism

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

Biofeedback

a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension.

Classical Conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events.

Cognitive Learning

the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language

Cognitive Map

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a ___ of it.

Conditioned Reinforcer

a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer.

Conditioned Response (CR)

in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS).

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR).

Continuous Reinforcement

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs.

Coping

alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods.

Discrimination

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

Discriminative Stimulus

in operant conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement).

Edward Thorndike

psychologist who came up with the law of effect (rewarded behavior is likely to recur)

Edward Tolman

he (along with C. H. Honzik) conducted studies on rats traveling through mazes; found that rats exploring a maze and given no obvious rewards seem to develop a cognitive map, or a mental representation of the maze

Emotion-Focused Coping

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

External Locus of Control

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

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.

Extrinsic Motivation

a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment.

Fixed-Interval Schedule

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

Fixed-Ratio Schedule

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

Generalization

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

Habituation

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

Higher-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. For example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone. (Also called second-order conditioning.)

Insight

a sudden realization of a problem's solution.

Internal Locus of Control

the perception that you control your own fate.

Intrinsic Motivation

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake.

Ivan Pavlov

Russian physiologist who is best known for his studies on classical conditioning; he showed by experimenting with dogs how the secretion of saliva can be stimulated not only by food but also by the sound of a bell associated with food

John B. Watson

based much of his work on Pavlov's earlier work; believed that the science of psychology should not focus on inner thoughts, feelings, and motives and should instead study how organisms respond to stimuli in their environments; he called this view behaviorism

John Garcia

American psychologist who was among those who challenged the prevailing idea that all associations can be learned equally well; known for his research on taste aversion

Latent Learning

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

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.

Learned Helplessness

the helplessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events.

Learning

the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors.

Mirror Neurons

frontal lobe neurons that some scientists believe fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation and empathy.

Modeling

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

increases behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock. This is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response

Neutral Stimulus

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning.

Observational Learning

learning by observing others. Also called social learning.

Operant Behavior

behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences.

Operant Chamber

in operant conditioning research, a chamber (also known as a Skinner Box) 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 or key pecking.

Operant Conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher.

Partial (intermittent) Reinforcement

reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement.

Positive Reinforcement

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

Primary Reinforcer

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need.

Problem-Focused Coping

attempting to alleviate stress directly - by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor.

Prosocial Behavior

positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior.

Punishment

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

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.

Respondent Behavior

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus.

Robert Rescorla

he (along with Allan Wagner) showed that an animal can learn the predictability of an event; the more predictable the association, the stronger the conditioned response

Self-Control

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards.

Shaping

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

Spontaneous Recovery

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

Stimulus

any event or situation that evokes a response.

Unconditioned Response (UR)

in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivation when food is in the mouth.

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally - naturally and automatically - triggers a response (UR).

Variable-Interval Schedule

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

Variable-Ratio Schedule

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