AP Psychology: Unit 3 - Conditioning

behavioral perspective

explains behavior through conditioning

classical conditioning

form of conditioning where a NS elicits a response after being associated with a stimulus that already elicits that response

aquisition

the moment when a response is established based on conditioning

associative learning

learning that certain events occur together

unconditioned stimulus

something that has a natural response and can be used to create certain behaviors through classical conditioning

unconditioned response

the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus

conditioned stimulus

formerly NS that comes to produce a conditioned response after being associated with an US

conditioned response

learned responses acquired through classical conditioning

extinction

gradual weakening of a CR that results in the behavior decreasing or disappearing

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance of a CR that has been extinguished

stimulus discrimination

the ability to distinguish between one stimulus and similar stimuli

stimulus generalization

occurs when an individual responds to stimuli similar to the original CS

higher-order conditioning

when a NS becomes linked to a CS

counterconditioning

technique developed by psychologists that is intended to change how we perceive certain stimuli

taste aversion

learned association between the taste of a certain food and illness, such that the food is considered to be the cause of the illness

one-trial conditioning

theory that learning takes place in a single pairing of a response and stimulus and is not strengthened over time by repeated exposure to stimulus

biological predaredness

idea that people and animals are inherently inclined to form associations between certain stimuli and responses

habituation

process of becoming desensitized to a repeated or continuous stimulus, resulting in a decreased response over time

operant conditioning

method of learning that uses rewards and punishment to modify behavior

reinforcement

process that increases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated in the future

punishment

consequence reducing the likelihood of a targeted and undesirable behavior from happening again

law of effect

responses that produce a satisfying effect after a particular stimulus are likely to occur again

positive reinforcement

desirable stimulus is introduced to encourage certain behavior

negative reinforcement

something that is unwanted is taken away to increase the likelihood of a behavior

positive punishment

giving an undesirable consequence after an unwanted behavior to make it less appealing

negative punishment

removing a pleasant stimulus to decrease a behavior

primary reinforcer

things that motivate behavior because they satiate an individual’s basic survival needs

secondary reinforcer

stimulus that reinforces a behavior after it has been associated with a primary reinforcer

reinforcement discrimination

when an individual learns to respond only to specific cues or signals that indicate when a behavior will be reinforced

reinforcement generalization

when a response that has been reinforced in the presence of one stimulus also occurs in the presence of a similar stimuli

shaping

the process of training a learned behavior that would not normally occur

instinctive drift

tendency of a trained animal to revert back to instinctual behaviors

superstitious behavior

a behavior linked to a particular outcome based on the belief in cause and effect, despite there being no logical or scientific connection between them

learned helplessness

when an individual feels powerless to change their situation due to repeated failures or negative outcomes in the past

continuous reinforcement

when a reinforcer or reward is given every time a desired behavior is exhibited

partial reinforcement

when a reinforcer or reward is given only a portion of the time, rather than every time it occurs

fixed interval schedule

set amount of time between occurrences of a reward or reinforcer

variable interval schedule

where a response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passed

fixed ratio schedule

schedule of reinforcement that reinforced a response only after a specified number of responses

variable ratio schedule

a schedule of reinforcement where a behavior is reinforced after a random number of responses

graphing of schedules of reinforcement

scalloped graph

occurs when responses start slowly but then increase in speed as the time that reinforcement is used nears

social learning

learning that takes place through an observational process of other humans (models)

vicarious conditioning

learning through observing other people’s responses to an environmental stimulus that is most noticeable to the observer

modeling

process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

insight learning

occurs when one suddenly realizes how to solve a problem

cognitive map

mental picture of image or the layout of the physical environment

latent learning

knowledge that only becomes clear when a person has an incentive to display it