Learning Theory, Behavioral/Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions & Memory – Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering major learning theory, behavioral/cognitive-behavioral intervention, and memory terms from the lecture notes.

In Vivo Aversion Therapy

Counterconditioning technique that pairs a real-life attractive stimulus (e.g., alcohol) with an unpleasant US (e.g., electric shock) to reduce the behavior’s attractiveness.

Covert Sensitization

Imaginal version of aversion therapy in which the CS and aversive US are paired in the client’s imagination.

In Vivo Exposure with Response Prevention

Extinction method exposing a person to real-life anxiety cues while preventing avoidance; includes flooding to the most feared stimuli for extended periods.

Latent Learning (Tolman)

Learning that occurs without reinforcement or immediate performance change; organisms form cognitive maps.

Law of Effect (Thorndike)

Behaviors followed by satisfying consequences become more likely to recur.

Learned Helplessness Model (Reformulated)

Depression results from attributing negative events to internal, stable, global causes; later revised to focus on hopelessness.

Levels-of-Processing Model

Memory quality depends on depth of processing: structural, phonemic, semantic (deepest, best retention).

Matching Law

With concurrent reinforcement schedules, response frequency matches the relative rate of reinforcement for each response.

Mnemonic Devices

Formal memory aids (method of loci, keyword method, acronyms, acrostics) that use imagery or verbal cues to enhance recall.

Multi-Component Model (Baddeley & Hitch)

Working memory = central executive + phonological loop + visuo-spatial sketchpad + episodic buffer; central executive controls attention.

Observational Learning (Bandura)

Acquisition of behavior by watching a model; requires attention, retention, production, motivation. Participant modeling + guided participation is most effective; self-efficacy drives motivation.

Operant Extinction

Eliminating a reinforced response by consistently withholding reinforcement; often produces a temporary extinction burst.

Overcorrection

Punishment procedure requiring restitution and/or positive practice of correct behaviors, sometimes with supervision or guidance.

Operant Conditioning (Skinner)

Voluntary behavior is controlled by consequences; reinforcement increases behavior, punishment decreases it; positive = stimulus added, negative = stimulus removed.

Positive Reinforcement

Adding a stimulus after a behavior to increase its frequency; start with continuous schedule then thin to intermittent to prevent satiation and enhance resistance to extinction.

Behavioral Model of Depression (Lewinsohn)

Depression stems from a low rate of response-contingent reinforcement due to few environmental rewards or skill deficits.

Biofeedback

Real-time physiological feedback to gain voluntary control (e.g., thermal biofeedback for Raynaud’s; comparable to relaxation for many disorders).

Blocking (Classical)

Prior CS-US association prevents a new neutral stimulus from becoming a CS when both are paired with the US.

Classical Conditioning

Repeated pairing of a neutral stimulus (CS) with an unconditioned stimulus (US) so the CS elicits the conditioned response (CR).

Classical Extinction

CR is eliminated by repeatedly presenting the CS without the US; CR may later reappear as spontaneous recovery.

Cognitive Therapy (Beck)

Depression maintained by dysfunctional schemas, automatic thoughts, and cognitive distortions; uses collaborative empiricism and Socratic questioning.

Differential Reinforcement

Combines reinforcement and extinction by reinforcing behaviors other than (or incompatible with) the target behavior (e.g., DRO, DRA, DRI).

EMDR

PTSD treatment combining rapid eye movements with exposure; effectiveness attributed chiefly to exposure/extinction.

Escape Conditioning

Negative reinforcement procedure where behavior ends an ongoing aversive stimulus.

Avoidance Conditioning

Classical cue signals upcoming aversive event; performing target behavior in presence of cue avoids the event (negative reinforcement).

Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA)

Analyzes antecedents, behavior, consequences to identify its function and design function-based interventions.

Higher-Order Conditioning

Established CS serves as a US to condition a response to a new neutral stimulus.

Information Processing Model

Memory consists of sensory memory, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM); elaborative rehearsal transfers info from STM to LTM.

Insight Learning (Köhler)

Sudden understanding of problem relationships—the “aha” moment—first observed in chimpanzees.

Interference Theory

Forgetting results from competition between memories; retroactive = new info interferes with old, proactive = old interferes with new.

Stimulus Discrimination (Classical)

Training to respond with CR only to the original CS; difficult discriminations can cause experimental neurosis (abnormal behaviors).

Stimulus Generalization

Responding to stimuli similar to the original CS (classical) or discriminative stimulus (operant).

Stress Inoculation

CBT technique with phases of cognitive preparation, skills acquisition/rehearsal, and application to build coping with stress.

Systematic Desensitization

Wolpe’s counterconditioning pairing relaxation with graded anxiety stimuli; research shows extinction drives its effectiveness.

Time-Out

Negative punishment removing individual from reinforcement opportunities for a set time after misbehavior.

Trace Decay Theory

Forgetting occurs as memory traces gradually fade through disuse.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Moderate arousal yields optimal performance; relationship is an inverted-U curve.

Premack Principle

Using a high-probability behavior as a reinforcer for a low-probability behavior.

Procedural Memory

Long-term memory for how to perform actions and skills ("how").

Declarative Memory

Long-term memory for facts and events; includes semantic (general knowledge) and episodic (personal events).

Prompts

Verbal/physical cues that aid new behavior acquisition; gradual removal is called fading.

Prospective Memory

Remembering to perform actions in the future ("remembering to remember").

Punishment

Application or removal of a stimulus following behavior to decrease its occurrence; weak initial punishment with gradual increase leads to habituation.

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (Ellis)

Emotions/behaviors (C) stem from beliefs (B) about events (A); therapy targets irrational beliefs to reduce neurosis.

Reciprocal Inhibition

Counterconditioning pairing anxiety-producing CS with relaxation or incompatible response to reduce anxiety.

Response Cost

Negative punishment removing a reinforcer (e.g., tokens) after undesired behavior to decrease it.

Schedules of Reinforcement

Continuous reinforcement for every response; intermittent schedules: FI, VI, FR, VR—with VR producing highest, most resistant responding.

Self-Control Therapy (Rehm)

Brief treatment targeting deficits in self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and self-reinforcement related to depression.

Self-Instructional Training

Technique teaching individuals to use covert self-statements to guide and regulate behavior, originally for impulsive children.

Serial Position Effect

Immediate recall shows better memory for beginning (primacy) and end (recency) items of a list than for middle items.

Shaping

Reinforcing successive approximations toward a target behavior.

Chaining

Establishing a sequence of responses where each response cues the next; entire chain is important.

State-Dependent Learning

Recall improves when internal emotional state during learning matches state at retrieval.

Stimulus Control

Behavior occurs in presence of discriminative stimuli: positive signals reinforcement available, negative (S-delta) signals none.