3.7a AP Psych Vocab

adaptability

our capacity to learn new behaviors that help us cope with a changing world

learning

the process of gaining experience through repeated information and behaviors

classical conditioning

associating two stimuli to anticipate events

operant conditioning

learning to repeat acts that bring rewards and stop repeating acts that bring punishment

cognitive learning

learning things through the experience or wisdom of others, even things that we have never experienced

association

our minds connecting things that happen to us in sequence

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with increased exposure to a stimulus

associative learning

learning that certain events occur together

stimulus

any event or situation that evokes a response

respondent behavior

behavior that occurs automatically in response to a stimulus

operant behavior

behavior that operates on the environment to produce a stimulus

observational learning

learning in which we learn from others’ experiences

behaviorism

the belief that psychology should be based on observable responses of organisms to stimuli, not on internal thoughts and beliefs

neutral stimuli

in classical conditioning, a stimuli that elicits no response before conditioning

unconditioned response

in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus

unconditioned stimulus

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally, naturally, and automatically triggers an unconditioned response

acquisition

the initial learning of an association

higher-order conditioning

when a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a previously conditioned stimulus

extinction

in classical conditioning, the diminishing of a conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance (after a pause) of a weakened conditioned response

generalization

in classical conditioning, the tendency to respond to similar stimuli to the conditioned stimulus

discrimination

in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between one stimulus and other, irrelevant stimuli