ap psych learning test

law of effect

Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable (or reinforcing) consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable (or punishing) consequences become less likely.

shaping

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

discriminative stimulus

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

positive reinforcement

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

Negative reinforcement

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing an aversive stimulus. Any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response.

Conditioned reinforcers (secondary)

a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer

reinforcement schedules

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

continuous reinforcement schedule

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs.

partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedules

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.

Fixed-ratio schedules

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

Variable-ratio schedules

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

Fixed-interval schedules

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

Variable-interval schedules

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

punishment

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

learning

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

habituates

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.

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).

stimulus

any event or situation that evokes a response.

respondent behavior)

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus.

operant behaviors

behavior that operates on the environment, producing a consequence.

cognitive learning

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

classical conditioning

a type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli; as a result, to illustrate with Pavlov’s classic experiment, the first stimulus (a tone) comes to elicit behavior (drooling) in anticipation of the second stimulus (food).

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).

neutral stimuli (NS)

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

unconditioned response (UCR)

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

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally — naturally and automatically — triggers an unconditioned response UCR).

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 neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR).

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.

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.)

extinction

in classical conditioning, the diminishing of a conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus. (In operant conditioning, when a response is no longer reinforced.)

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of a weakened conditioned response.

generalization

In classical conditioning, the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses. (In operant conditioning, when responses learned in one situation occur in other, similar situations.)

discrimination

(1) in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have not been associated with a conditioned stimulus. (In operant conditioning, the ability to distinguish responses that are reinforced from similar responses that are not reinforced.) (2) in social psychology, unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members.

primary reinforcers

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

Operant conditioning

a learning process where behaviors are modified by their consequences, using reinforcement (increasing desired behaviors) and punishment (decreasing unwanted behaviors

conditioning

a type of learning where an organism's behavior is modified through associations or consequences,

Counterconditioning

conditioning someone to change their response from fear to excitement or excitement to fear

Taste aversions

a learned aversion to a specific taste or food, often occurring after experiencing nausea or illness after consuming it, serving as an evolutionary adaptation to avoid potentially harmful substances.

One-trial conditioning

a type of learning where a response is established to a stimulus with only a single pairing, rather than requiring multiple repetitions

Biological preparedness

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

positive punishment

the introduction of an unpleasant stimulus to decrease an undesirable behavior

negative punishment

a type of operant conditioning where a desirable stimulus is removed to decrease the likelihood of a behavior being repeated.

Successive approximations

a method of shaping behavior through operant conditioning, where behaviors progressively closer to the desired outcome are reinforced, gradually leading to the target behavior.

instinctive drift

the tendency of a learned behavior to gradually revert back to an innate, or instinctual, behavior, even when the learned behavior is reinforced

Observational learning

the process of acquiring new behaviors or information by observing others and imitating their actions, attitudes, or emotional responses.

modeling

observational learning, where individuals learn by watching and imitating the behaviors of others

imitation

the process of copying or replicating the behaviors, actions, or attitudes of others

Latent learning

learning that occurs but is not immediately evident in behavior until there is a reason or incentive to demonstrate it

Cognitive maps

a mental representation of spatial information, or a "map" of one's environment, used to navigate and understand locations.