WPR 2

behaviorism

position that psychology should concern itself only with that people and other animals do and the circumstances in which they do it

classical conditioning

process by which an organism learns a new association between 2 stimuli - a neutral stimulus and one that already evokes a reflexive response also known as Pavlovian conditioning

unconditioned stimulus

an event that automatically elicits an unconditioned response

unconditioned response

the action that the unconditioned stimulus elicits

stimulus generalization

extension of a conditioned response from the training stimulus to similar stimuli

stimulus discrimination

respond differently to stimuli that predict different outcomes

extinction

to extinguish a classically conditioned response, repeatedly present the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus

spontaneous recovery

temporary return of an extinguished response after a delay

systematic desensitization

method of gradually exposing people to the object of their fear, fear is replaced by relaxation
UCS - relaxation technique

UCR - calmness

CS - feared object or situation

CR - calmness instead of fear

learning

certain behaviors are strengthened at the expense of others

reinforcement

process of increasing the future probability of a response that is followed by a positive consequence

law of effect

responses accompanied by satisfaction will be more firmly connected to the situation so that it will be more likely to reoccur —> therefore you are more likely to repeat behaviors that led to favorable consequences

operant conditioning

subject operates on the environment to produce an outcome, process of changing behavior by providing a reinforcer or punishment after a response

disequlibrium principle of reinforcement

anything that prevents an activity produces disequilibrium and an opportunity to return to equilibrium is reinforcing

primary reinforcement

reinforce because of their own properties

secondary reinforcement

becomes reinforcing by association with something else

reinforcement increases behavior, punishment decreases behavior

reinforcement vs punishment

shaping

establishing a new response by reinforcing successive approximations to it

chaining

reinforcing each behavior with the opportunity to engage in the next one, ex) as a child learning to eat with a fork, then learning to put your food on the plate, then learned how to read a menu

schedule of reinforcement

rules for delivery of reinforcement

fixed-ratio

provides reinforcement only after a fixed number of correct responses

variable-ratio

reinforcement occurs after a variable number of correct responses

fixed-interval

provides reinforcement for the first response after a specific time interval

variable-interval

reinforcement is available after a variable amount of time