Chapters 6 & 14 – Learning and Stress (Psychology 2e)

A comprehensive set of 73 question-and-answer flashcards covering key concepts in learning, conditioning, reinforcement, observational learning, stress, coping, and classic psychology experiments for exam review.

What is learning?

A relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge resulting from experience.

Who is associated with classical conditioning?

Ivan Pavlov (dog salivation experiment) and John Watson (Little Albert).

Who is associated with operant conditioning?

B. F. Skinner (Skinner Box experiments).

Who is associated with observational learning?

Albert Bandura (Bobo Doll experiment).

Who proposed the concept of learned helplessness?

Martin Seligman (dog shock experiments).

What is an unconditioned stimulus (UCS)?

A stimulus that naturally triggers a response (e.g., food).

What is an unconditioned response (UCR)?

The natural reaction to the UCS (e.g., salivation).

What is a conditioned stimulus (CS)?

A previously neutral stimulus that now triggers a conditioned response.

What is a conditioned response (CR)?

A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.

What is acquisition in classical conditioning?

The process of forming the association between CS and UCS.

What is extinction in classical conditioning?

The weakening of the CR when the CS is no longer paired with the UCS.

What is spontaneous recovery?

The reappearance of a weakened CR after a pause.

What is stimulus generalization?

The tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the CS.

What is stimulus discrimination?

The learned ability to distinguish between a CS and other stimuli.

What is higher-order conditioning?

A process where a new CS is paired with an existing CS, creating a weaker CR.

What is positive reinforcement?

Adding a pleasant stimulus to increase behavior (e.g., praise, paycheck).

What is negative reinforcement?

Removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase behavior (e.g., stopping nagging).

What is positive punishment?

Adding an unpleasant stimulus to decrease behavior (e.g., extra chores).

What is negative punishment?

Removing a pleasant stimulus to decrease behavior (e.g., taking away a phone).

What is shaping?

Reinforcing successive approximations toward a target behavior.

What is escape-avoidance learning?

Learning to perform a behavior to terminate or prevent an aversive stimulus.

What is the Premack Principle?

Using a preferred activity to reinforce a less preferred one.

What is an extinction burst?

An initial increase in the undesired behavior when reinforcement stops.

What is a primary reinforcer?

A naturally rewarding stimulus (food, water, touch).

What is a secondary reinforcer?

A stimulus that gains value through association (money, praise).

What is a primary punisher?

A stimulus that is naturally aversive (pain, electric shock).

What is a secondary punisher?

A cue signaling that a primary punisher is coming (e.g., warning).

What is a fixed interval (FI) schedule?

Reinforcement after a set period of time (e.g., biweekly paycheck).

What is a variable interval (VI) schedule?

Reinforcement after an unpredictable average time (e.g., pop quiz).

What is a fixed ratio (FR) schedule?

Reinforcement after a set number of responses (e.g., piecework pay).

What is a variable ratio (VR) schedule?

Reinforcement after a varying number of responses (e.g., gambling).

Which reinforcement schedule is most resistant to extinction?

Variable Ratio.

What are the four processes of observational learning?

Attention, Retention, Reproduction, Motivation.

What is vicarious reinforcement?

Learning by observing others being rewarded or punished.

What factors make a model more likely to be imitated?

Prestige, similarity, attractiveness, and expertise.

What is latent learning?

Learning without reinforcement, revealed later (Tolman’s rat maze).

What is insight learning?

Sudden understanding to solve a problem (Köhler’s chimpanzee studies).

What is stress?

The process of perceiving and responding to events appraised as threatening or overwhelming.

What is a stressor?

Any event or context that triggers stress (physical or psychological).

What is anxiety in terms of stress?

Tension accompanied by physiological arousal such as increased heart rate.

What is the appraisal response?

The evaluation of whether an event is a threat and whether coping is possible.

What is eustress?

Positive stress that motivates (e.g., preparing for a performance).

What is distress?

Negative stress that harms health and functioning.

What is the fight-or-flight response?

Walter Cannon’s concept where the body prepares to deal with threats.

What is Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)?

Three stages: Alarm, Resistance, Exhaustion.

What is the HPA axis?

The Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal system that releases cortisol under stress.

Who developed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale?

Holmes & Rahe (measuring life-event stress).

What are life events?

Major occurrences requiring significant adjustment (e.g., death, marriage).

What are daily hassles?

Minor everyday irritations that accumulate (e.g., traffic, bills).

What are daily uplifts?

Positive experiences that buffer stress (e.g., compliments, success).

What is burnout?

Emotional and physical exhaustion with low motivation, often linked to overwork and technology.

What is learned helplessness (stress context)?

A state in which repeated exposure to unavoidable stress leads to giving up.

What is the first dimension of stressors?

Internal vs. External cause.

What is the second dimension of stressors?

Availability of social support.

What is the third dimension of stressors?

Sudden vs. Gradual onset.

What is the fourth dimension of stressors?

Level of intensity.

What is the fifth dimension of stressors?

Temporary vs. Chronic nature.

What is the sixth dimension of stressors?

Random vs. Expected occurrence.

What is the seventh dimension of stressors?

Natural vs. Human-made origin.

What is the eighth dimension of stressors?

Too much vs. Too little of something.

What is the ninth dimension of stressors?

Controllability or manageability.

What is the tenth dimension of stressors?

Availability of cultural, legal, or community solutions.

Who pioneered positive psychology?

Martin Seligman.

Who introduced the concept of flow?

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

What is problem-focused coping?

Directly addressing the stressor to alleviate it.

What is emotion-focused coping?

Managing one’s emotional reactions to stress.

How does social support affect stress?

It buffers stress and improves coping outcomes.

What was Pavlov’s experiment?

Pavlov paired a neutral stimulus (bell) with food, causing dogs to salivate to the bell alone, demonstrating classical conditioning.

What was Watson’s Little Albert experiment?

John Watson conditioned a baby to fear a white rat by pairing it with a loud noise, showing emotional responses can be classically conditioned.

What was Bandura’s Bobo Doll experiment?

Children who observed adults behaving aggressively toward a Bobo doll later imitated the behavior, demonstrating observational learning.

What was Seligman’s learned helplessness experiment?

Dogs exposed to unavoidable shocks stopped trying to escape even when escape became possible, showing learned helplessness.

What was Tolman’s rat maze experiment?

Rats formed a cognitive map of a maze without reinforcement, demonstrating latent learning.

What was Köhler’s chimpanzee experiment?

Chimpanzees solved problems by sudden insight, such as stacking boxes to reach bananas, demonstrating insight learning.