Chapter 6: Generalization, Discrimination Learning, and Concept Formation

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from Chapter 6 on Generalization, Discrimination Learning, and Concept Formation.

Generalization

The transfer of past learning to novel events and problems.

Discrimination Learning

The process by which animals or people learn to respond differently to different stimuli.

Concept Formation

The process by which we learn about new categories of entities in the world, usually based on common features.

Generalization Gradient

A curve showing how changes in the physical properties of stimuli (plotted on the horizontal axis) correspond to changes in responding (plotted on the vertical axis).

Consequential Region

A set of stimuli in the world that share the same consequence as a stimulus whose consequence is already known.

Stimulus Representation

The form in which information about stimuli is encoded within a model or brain.

Discrete-Component Representation

A representation in which each individual stimulus (or stimulus feature) corresponds to one element (node) in the model.

Distributed Representation

A representation in which information is coded as a pattern of activation distributed across many different nodes.

Stimulus Control

The influence of cues in the world on an organism's behavior.

Interdimensional Discrimination

A discrimination paradigm in which two stimuli differ within a single dimension.

Extradimensional Discrimination

A discrimination paradigm in which animals learn to discriminate between stimuli that differ across multiple dimensions.

Errorless Discrimination Learning

A training procedure in which a difficult discrimination is learned by starting with an easy version of the task and proceeding to incrementally harder versions as the easier ones are mastered.

Sensory Preconditioning

Training in which presentation of two stimuli together as a compound results in a later tendency to generalize what is known about one of these stimuli to the other.

Acquired Equivalence

A learning and generalization paradigm in which prior training in stimulus equivalence increases the amount of generalization between two stimuli, even if those stimuli are superficially dissimilar.

Negative Patterning

A behavioral paradigm in which the appropriate response to individual cues is positive, whereas the appropriate response to their combination (pattern) is negative (no response).

Concept

An internal psychological representation of a real or abstract entity.

Category

A division or class of entities in the world.

Prototype

The central tendency or idealized version of a category.

Inductive Inference

A logical inference that is probably (but not necessarily) true and is usually based on attempts to draw a general rule from one or more specific instances or premises.

Stereotype

A set of beliefs about the attributes of the members of a group.

Confirmation Bias

The process wherein once a negative stereotype is formed about members of another group, people are more likely to pay attention to examples that confirm this stereotype.

Nucleus Basalis

A small group of neurons located in the basal forebrain that deliver acetylcholine to the cortex, enabling cortical plasticity.

Hippocampal Region

The hippocampus and associated brain regions, including the entorhinal cortex and dentate gyrus (also referred to in humans as the medial temporal lobe).

Medial Temporal Lobe

The medial (or inner) surface of the temporal lobe that contains the hippocampus, the amygdala, and other structures important for memory.

Latent Inhibition

A classical conditioning paradigm in which learning a CS–US association is slower in animals that are given prior exposure to the CS compared with animals given equivalent prior exposure to the context alone.

Schizophrenia

A severe mental disorder characterized by symptoms of hallucinations, delusions, flattened affect, and social impairment, accompanied by hippocampal shape abnormalities and reduced hippocampal activity.

Transitive Inference

A form of hippocampal-region–dependent reasoning in which learned information is used to guide later inferences.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

A lifelong neurodevelopmental condition commonly associated with poor social skills, impaired communication abilities, and altered connectivity within and between brain regions.