psych unit2

learning/conditioning

relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior or knowledge due to experience. Conditioning is a process of learning associations between environmental events and behavioral responses

association/ associative learning

process of learning that certain events, stimuli, or behaviors occur together

habituation

a basic form of non-associative learning where your brain learns to decrease or stop its response to a constant or repeated stimulus after realizing it is harmless

behavioral perspective (review)

explains behavior as learned from the environment through conditioning, focusing strictly on observable and measurable actions rather than internal mental processes

classical conditioning

a type of learning where an organism comes to associate two or more stimuli, allowing a neutral stimulus to trigger an automatic, reflexive response

neutral stimulus (NS)

something that does not naturally produce a specific or automatic response before learning takes place

unconditioned stimulus (UCS/US)

any event or thing that naturally and automatically triggers a reflexive reaction without any prior learning or training

unconditioned response (UCR/UR)

an unlearned, natural, and automatic reaction to an unconditioned stimulus

conditioned stimulus (CS)

a previously neutral stimulus that, after being repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus, triggers a learned response on its own

conditioned response (CR)

the learned, automatic reaction to a previously neutral stimulus after it has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus

acquisition

the initial stage of learning when a new behavior or association is first established

extinction

the gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of a learned behavior when reinforcement or the unconditioned stimulus is withheld

spontaneous recovery

sudden reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a rest period

stimulus discrimination

The ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that do not signal a conditioned response.

stimulus generalization

Tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the CS

biological preparedness/predispositions

an innate, evolution-shaped tendency to learn certain survival-relevant associations faster and more strongly than others

Taste aversion

develop a strong dislike and avoid a specific food after pairing its taste or smell with getting sick

counterconditioning

Replaces an unwanted, negative conditioned response with a new, positive or adaptive response by pairing the conditioned stimulus with a different, incompatible stimulus