Psychology: Learning (OpenStax)

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering Chapter 6 (Learning) from OpenStax Psychology 2e, including classical conditioning, operant conditioning, cognitive and latent learning, and observational learning.

Reflexes

Motor or neural reactions to a specific stimulus that are simpler than instincts, involve the activity of specific body parts, and engage primitive centers of the central nervous system such as the spinal cord and medulla.

Instincts

Innate behaviors triggered by a broader range of events (such as aging or the change of seasons) that are more complex, involve movement of the organism as a whole, and engage higher brain centers.

Learning

A relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge that results from experience, involving both conscious and unconscious processes.

Associative Learning

A form of learning that occurs when an organism makes connections between stimuli or events that occur together in the environment.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process discovered by Ivan Pavlov in which an organism learns to associate stimuli and, consequently, to anticipate events.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that elicits a natural, reflexive response in an organism without any prior learning, such as food causing salivation.

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

A natural, unlearned reaction or reflex to a given unconditioned stimulus, such as salivation when food is presented.

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that does not naturally elicit a response prior to conditioning, such as the sound of a bell before it is paired with food.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that elicits a response after being repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Response (CR)

The learned behavior or reaction elicited by a conditioned stimulus after conditioning has taken place.

Higher-Order Conditioning

A conditioning procedure in which an established conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus (a second-order stimulus), so that the new stimulus eventually elicits the conditioned response without the original conditioned stimulus being presented.

Acquisition

The initial period of learning in classical conditioning during which an organism learns to connect a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus.

Extinction

The decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer presented together with the conditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous Recovery

The return of a previously extinguished conditioned response following a rest period or break from conditioning.

Stimulus Discrimination

The ability of an organism to demonstrate the conditioned response only to the conditioned stimulus and respond differently to other similar stimuli.

Stimulus Generalization

The tendency of an organism to demonstrate the conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus.

Habituation

A simple form of learning in which an organism learns not to respond to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly without change.

Behaviorism

A psychological approach championed by John B. Watson asserting that all behavior can be studied as a stimulus-response reaction and that human emotions can be classically conditioned.

Little Albert Experiment

A famous study conducted by John B. Watson in which an infant was conditioned to fear a white rat by pairing it with a loud sound, subsequently generalizing that fear to other furry objects like rabbits and a Santa Claus mask.

Operant Conditioning

A learning theory proposed by B.F. Skinner in which organisms learn to associate a behavior with its consequences (reinforcement or punishment).

Law of Effect

The foundational principle of operant conditioning stating that behaviors followed by pleasant consequences or desired results are more likely to occur again, whereas behaviors followed by unpleasant consequences are less likely to occur again.

Skinner Box

An operant conditioning chamber created by B.F. Skinner containing a lever or mechanism that an animal can press to receive a food reward or avoid a shock, used to study operant conditioning principles.

Positive Reinforcement

An operant conditioning procedure where a desirable stimulus is added to increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring again.

Negative Reinforcement

An operant conditioning procedure where an unpleasant stimulus is removed to increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring again.

Positive Punishment

An operant conditioning procedure where an unpleasant stimulus is added to decrease the likelihood of a behavior.

Negative Punishment

An operant conditioning procedure where a pleasant stimulus is removed to decrease the likelihood of a behavior.

Shaping

An operant conditioning method that involves rewarding successive approximations of a target behavior by breaking the behavior down into achievable steps until only the desired behavior is reinforced.

Primary Reinforcers

Reinforcers that possess innate reinforcing qualities that do not need to be learned, such as food, water, sleep, sex, and pleasure.

Secondary Reinforcers

Stimuli that have no inherent value on their own and only acquire reinforcing power through learned association with primary reinforcers (e.g., praise, money, tokens).

Continuous Reinforcement

A reinforcement schedule where an organism receives a reinforcer every single time it displays the target behavior, representing the quickest way to teach a new behavior.

Partial Reinforcement

A reinforcement schedule in which an organism does not receive a reinforcer every time the desired behavior is displayed, but is instead reinforced intermittently.

Fixed Interval Schedule

A partial reinforcement schedule where reinforcement is delivered at predictable time intervals, producing a characteristic scallop-shaped response pattern with significant pauses immediately following reinforcement.

Variable Interval Schedule

A partial reinforcement schedule where reinforcement is delivered at unpredictable time intervals, producing a moderate and steady response rate.

Fixed Ratio Schedule

A partial reinforcement schedule where reinforcement is delivered after a predictable number of responses, resulting in a high response rate with a short pause after reinforcement.

Variable Ratio Schedule

A partial reinforcement schedule where reinforcement is delivered after an unpredictable number of responses, yielding high and steady response rates with little to no pause.

Cognitive Map

A mental picture or internal representation of the layout of one's physical environment, as demonstrated in Edward C. Tolman's maze experiments with rats.

Latent Learning

Learning that occurs without immediate reinforcement and is not observable in behavior until there is an incentive or reason to demonstrate it.

Observational Learning

A type of learning that occurs by watching others and subsequently imitating their behaviors.

Model

The individual who performs a behavior that is observed, remembered, and imitated by another organism.

Social Learning Theory

A theory developed by Albert Bandura proposing that observational learning involves internal cognitive processes and mental states, comprising attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation.

Vicarious Reinforcement

An observational learning process in which an observer witnesses a model being rewarded for a behavior, increasing the likelihood that the observer will imitate that behavior.

Vicarious Punishment

An observational learning process in which an observer witnesses a model being punished for a behavior, decreasing the likelihood that the observer will imitate that behavior.

Bobo Doll Experiment

A landmark study conducted by Albert Bandura demonstrating that children imitate aggressive adult behavior toward an inflatable doll, especially when the adult model is praised or ignored rather than punished.