Classical Conditioning

Acquisition

The process of learning a contingency; most learning occurs during the earliest trials

Causation

The demonstration that one variable directly causes a change in another; cannot be proven by correlation alone

Classical Conditioning

A form of associative learning where an organism learns that one stimulus predicts another

Compensatory Responses

Physiological responses that counteract expected changes to the body to maintain homeostasis

Conditioned Response (CR)

The learned response triggered by a formerly neutral stimulus

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that, after association with a US, triggers a conditioned response

Contingencies

Relationships formed when one signaling event reliably predicts another event

Correlation

A measure of the relationship or association between two variables

Correlation Coefficient ($r$)

A value from $-1

0$ to $+1

0$ indicating the strength and direction of a relationship

Descriptive Statistics

Techniques used to summarize and organize a dataset

Drug Tolerance

Increased tolerance occurring in familiar environments due to environment-cued compensatory responses

Extinction

The loss of a conditioned response when the CS is no longer paired with the US

Frequency Distribution

A summary showing how often specific outcomes occur in a data set

Generalization Gradient

A graph showing that the CR strength decreases as a stimulus becomes less similar to the original CS

Histogram

A graph reporting the frequency of groups of values in a dataset

Homeostasis

The process of maintaining a stable internal environment

Implosive Therapy

A phobia treatment involving sudden, intense exposure to the feared stimulus

Inferential Statistics

Methods used to make generalizations about a population based on a sample

Mean

The mathematical average of a data set

Measures of Variability

Statistics like standard deviation that describe how spread out data is

Median

The middle value in a numerically arranged data set; it is robust to outliers

Mode

The value that appears most frequently in a dataset

Normal Distribution

A symmetrical, bell-shaped distribution curve

Observational Research

Studies observing variables without manipulation, often for ethical reasons

Outliers

Extreme values that can skew the mean of a data set

Spontaneous Recovery

The sudden reappearance of a CR after extinction and a rest period

Statistical Significance

When a result is unlikely to have occurred by chance (typically $p < 0

05$)

Stimulus Discrimination

The ability to distinguish between a CS and other similar stimuli

Stimulus Generalization

When stimuli similar to the CS elicit the same conditioned response

Systematic Desensitization

A phobia treatment involving gradual exposure to the feared stimulus

T-test

A statistical test used to determine if differences between groups are due to chance

Taste Aversion

A contingency where a single trial of pairing food with sickness leads to avoidance

Type 1 Error

A "false alarm" where you conclude an effect exists when it does not

Type 2 Error

A "miss" where you conclude no effect exists when one actually does

Unconditioned Response (UR)

A natural, reflexive response to an unconditioned stimulus

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

A stimulus that automatically triggers a response without prior learning