Educational Psychology: Behaviorism and Conditioning

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering behaviorism, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, schedules of reinforcement, and applied behavior analysis from Educational Psychology 6.

Learning

The process leading to a relatively permanent behavioral change or potential behavioral change.

Behaviorism

A theoretical approach viewing the mind as a "black box," asserting that all learning occurs through interactions with the environment, the environment shapes behavior, and learning takes place through rules of association between stimuli and responses.

Ivan Pavlov

A Russian physiologist (1849–1936) studying digestion who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine and discovered classical conditioning through associations between natural and neutral stimuli.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process in which associations are formed between a natural stimulus and a learned, neutral stimulus.

Unconditional Stimulus (UCS)

A natural stimulus that automatically and inherently triggers a response without prior conditioning (such as food presented to a dog).

Unconditional Response (UCR)

An unlearned, naturally occurring reaction to an unconditioned stimulus (such as salivation upon seeing or smelling food).

Conditional Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus (such as a bell sound) that, through repeated pairing with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.

Conditional Response (CR)

A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus (such as a dog salivating solely upon hearing a bell).

Stimulus Generalization

A phenomenon in classical conditioning where a conditioned response spreads from one specific stimulus to other stimuli that resemble the original (e.g., responding to any bell pitch, or failing a math test leading to general school anxiety).

Discrimination

The ability in classical conditioning to respond differently to distinct stimuli (e.g., responding only to one specific type of bell).

Extinction (Classical Conditioning)

The gradual fading and disappearance of a conditional response when the conditional stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditional stimulus.

Conditioned Fear

A fear response learned through classical conditioning (exemplified by Watson and the Little Albert experiment), which can cause students to pair academic experiences like math exams with anxiety and autonomic responses like sweating and elevated heart rate.

Operant Conditioning

A learning theory associated with B. F. Skinner (1904–1990) and Edward Thorndike where an individual associates a particular behavior with a consequence; responses followed by a reinforcing stimulus are more likely to occur again.

Positive Reinforcement

The presentation of favorable events or outcomes (such as praise, rewards, or money) following a desired behavior to increase the frequency of that behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

The removal of an undesired or unpleasant outcome following a desired behavior (such as leaving early to avoid traffic, or completing homework to avoid getting in trouble) in order to increase that behavior.

Punishment

A consequence implemented following a behavior with the goal of causing a decrease in that behavior.

Positive Punishment

The delivery of unfavorable events or outcomes (such as a teacher assigning extra homework or issuing a warning) following an undesired behavior to weaken and decrease that behavior.

Negative Punishment

The removal of a favorable event or outcome (such as losing recess privileges for three days or having no play at the end of class) following an undesired behavior in order to decrease that behavior.

Premack Principle

A principle stating that preferred behaviors, or behaviors with a higher level of intrinsic reinforcement, can be used as rewards or reinforcers for less preferred behaviors.

Shaping

A behavioral technique that gradually modifies existing behavior into a desired behavior by reinforcing successively closer approximations to a desired terminal behavior.

Time Out

A punishment technique that isolates students from the rest of the class by making them sit by themselves for a designated period of time.

Satiation

A classroom management technique that temporarily encourages a negative behavior by allowing a student to engage in it until they become bored, embarrassed, or realize it is not useful.

Extinction (Operant Conditioning)

The process of eliminating an undesirable behavior by removing any reinforcing rewards that maintain it, such as a teacher ignoring the behavior to withhold attention.

Token Economies

Systems that reward children for good behavior by providing tangible tokens that can later be exchanged for desired prizes or activities.

Continuous Schedule of Reinforcement

A reinforcement schedule where the target behavior is reinforced every single time it occurs; it enables faster learning but is highly vulnerable to extinction once reinforcement stops.

Partial Schedule of Reinforcement

A reinforcement schedule (such as fixed or variable ratio/interval) where behavior is reinforced only intermittently, making the behavior take longer to acquire but much more resistant to extinction.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

An applied science using principles of operant and classical conditioning devoted to developing procedures that produce observable changes in behavior, often by assessing the functional relationship between target behaviors and the environment.