Chapter 5(1)

Radical Behaviorism

A major theoretical concept that rejects mentalistic events and focuses on observable behaviors and their consequences.

Respondent Behavior

Behavior that is elicited by a known stimulus.

Operant Behavior

Behavior that is emitted by the organism without a known stimulus.

Type S Conditioning

Also known as respondent behavior; associated with classical conditioning.

Type R Conditioning

Refers to operant behavior and is not linked to a known stimulus.

Reinforcing Stimulus

Any event that increases the rate of operant behavior.

Skinner Box

A device used to study operant conditioning with animals.

Cumulative Recording

A method of recording the accumulated number of responses over time.

Shaping

A process that accelerates behavior by reinforcing successive approximations towards a target behavior.

Extinction

A process where a response is followed by no reinforcer, leading to a return to the operant level.

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of an extinguished operant response without reinforcement.

Superstitious Behavior

Behavior that occurs in response to a noncontingent reinforcer.

Discriminative Operant

A behavior affected by cues (SD indicates reinforcement availability, S ∆ indicates no reinforcement).

Secondary Reinforcer

A stimulus that has been paired with a primary reinforcer.

Generalized Reinforcer

A secondary reinforcer that is paired with multiple primary reinforcers.

Chaining

The process of linking behaviors together using primary reinforcers and secondary reinforcers.

Positive Reinforcer

A stimulus added contingent upon a response that increases operant behavior.

Negative Reinforcer

A stimulus removed contingent upon a response that increases operant behavior.

Punishment

An outcome that decreases the operant rate of behavior.

Fixed Interval Schedule

A schedule of reinforcement that provides reinforcement after a set amount of time.

Variable Ratio Schedule

A schedule of reinforcement that provides reinforcement after a variable number of responses.

Premack's Principle

The principle stating that more preferred responses can reinforce less preferred responses.

Instinctual Drift

The tendency for instinctive behavior to interfere with learned behavior.

Autoshaping

A process where instinctive patterns of behavior are elicited by stimuli.