Psych Ch. 7-9

Learning

the process of acquiring through experience new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

Associative Learning

learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning)

Respondent Behavior

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus

Operant Behavior

behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences

Cognitive Learning

the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language

Classical Conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

Behaviorism

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2)

Acquisition

in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response

Extinction

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced

Operant Conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

Law of Effect

Throndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

Reinforcement

in operant conditioning, any event that *strengthens* the behavior it follows

Punishment

an event that tends to *decrease* the behavior that it follows

Observational Learning

learning by observing others

Latent Learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

Cognitive Map

a mental representation of the layout of one’s environment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it

Modeling

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

Memory

the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information

Recall

a measure of memory in which the person must receive information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test

Recognition

a measure of memory in which the person identifies items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

Relearning

a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again

Storage

the process of retaining encoded information over time

Retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

Mnemonics

memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

Hippocampus

a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage

Flashbulb Memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Serial position effect

our tendency to recall best the last (*recency effect*) and first (*primary effect*) items in a list

Retrograde Amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one’s past

Anterograde Amnesia

an inability to form new memories

Proactive Inteference

the forward-acting disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

Retroactive Interference

the backward-acting disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information