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Natural Selection
The process by which living organisms adapt to their environment over time by preferred traits being passed on through reproduction.
Evolved Behavior
Innate and adaptive forms of behavior that contribute to the survival of a species.
Reflexes
Relationship between a specific event and a simple response, present in all members of a species.
Modal Action Patterns
Series of related acts found in all members of a species, contributing to survival.
General Behavior Traits
General behavior tendencies strongly influenced by genes, present in various situations.
Limits of Natural Selection
Slow process occurring over generations, not always beneficial to individual survival.
Learning
Change in behavior due to changes in the environment, involving stimuli and responses.
Habituation
Reduction in response tendency with repeated exposure to a stimulus.
Sensitization
Increase in response intensity or probability with repeated exposure to a stimulus.
Pavlovian Conditioning
A form of classical conditioning involving the pairing of stimuli to elicit a conditioned response.
Blocking
A phenomenon where one conditioned stimulus uses up more learning, leaving less available for another conditioned stimulus.
Classical Conditioning
A type of learning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response.
Operant Conditioning
A learning process where behavior is strengthened or weakened by its consequences.
Reinforcement
The process of increasing the strength of a behavior, making it more likely to occur in the future.
Law of Effect
States that behavior is a function of its consequences, emphasizing the relationship between behavior and its consequences.
Positive Reinforcement
Adding a preferred stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring in the future.
Negative Reinforcement
Removing a non-preferred stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring in the future.
Primary Reinforcers
Innately effective reinforcers such as food, water, or social interaction.
Secondary Reinforcers
Conditioned reinforcers learned through experiences, relying on the effectiveness of primary reinforcers.
Schedules of Reinforcement
Rules describing the relationship between behavior and reinforcement, affecting the rate and pattern of behavior.
Fixed Time Schedule
Reinforcer delivered after a set time, regardless of behavior, used to reduce desire for a reinforcer.
Variable Time Schedule
Reinforcer delivered at irregular intervals, regardless of behavior, also used to reduce desire for a reinforcer.
Progressive Schedules
Changing contingencies systematically to describe reinforcer availability, can be applied to all simple schedules.
Break Point
Point in a progressive schedule where a desired behavior dramatically stops or declines.
Compound Schedules of Reinforcement
Combining multiple simple schedules, like multiple, mixed, chain, and tandem schedules.
Concurrent Schedules
Two or more different simple schedules available at the same time, offering a choice between behaviors.
Matching Law
Distribution in choice between behaviors matches availability of reinforcement, influencing decision-making.
Two Process Theory
Theory of punishment including classical and operant conditioning, not always supported by evidence.
One Process Theory
Operant learning theory of punishment, supported by research, focusing on behavior effects.
Response Prevention
Strategy to prevent undesirable behavior instead of punishing it, like limiting access or modifying the environment.
Characteristics that increase learning
Language, learning history, age, and gender influence imitation behaviors.
Characteristics that may limit learning
Developmental/intellectual disabilities like Autism can hinder learning.
Consequences of observed acts
Imitation increases with reinforcement and decreases with punishment of the model's behavior.
Theories of Observational Learning
Albert Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory includes attentional, retentional, motor reproductive, and motivational processes.
Generalization
The tendency for learning effects to spread across people, time, behaviors, and situations.
Discrimination
Behavior occurring in certain situations but not in others, opposite of generalization.
Stimulus Control
Behavior influenced by discriminative stimuli.
Forgetting
Deterioration in performance of learned behavior due to lack of practice or learning.
Critical Periods
Developmental stages when individuals are more receptive to learning specific behaviors.
Preparedness and Learning
Animals are genetically predisposed to learn certain behaviors more easily than others.
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