Classical Conditioning

Neutral Stimulus

A stimulus that initially does not produce the target response

Unconditioned Stimulus

A stimulus that naturally/automatically causes a response

Unconditioned Response

The natural, automatic response to the unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned Stimulus

A previously neutral stimulus that produces a response after being associated with the unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned Response

The learned response to the conditioned stimulus

Acquisition

The period when the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are repeatedly paired and the association is learned

Extinction

The conditioned response weakens when the conditioned stimulus repeatedly occurs without the unconditioned stimulus

Spontaneous Recovery

an extinguished conditioned response suddenly returns after a rest period

Stimulus Generalization

Stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus also produce the conditioned response

Stimulus Discrimination

Learning to respond to the specific conditioned stimulus but not similar stimuli

Higher-order conditioning

an existing conditioned stimulus is used to condition another neutral stimulus