Tags & Description
Learning
Any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by change or practice.
Behaviorists
Believed psychology should be the scientific study of observable behaviors and that all learning occurs through interaction with the enviornment
Classical Conditioning
Forming an association between two stimuli resulting in a learned response.
Neutral Stimulus
Produce no effect until paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
Unconditioned Stimulus
Naturally and automatically trigger an unconditioned response or reflex.
Unconditioned Response
An unlearned response that occurs naturally in response to the unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned Stimulus
Previously neutral stimulus that, after associated with unconditioned stimulus, triggers a conditioned response.
Conditioned Response
Learned response to the previously neutral stimulus(conditioned stimulus).
Acquisition
First stage of learning when a response is first established and gradually strengthened.
Higher-Order Conditioning(Second-Order)
A procedure in which the conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second conditioned stimulus.
Extinction
Occurrences of a conditioned response decrease and disappear when no longer paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
Spontaneous Recovery
Return of a previously extinguished conditioned response following a rest period.
Stimulus Generalization
Tendency for the conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses after the response has been conditioned.
Stimulus Discrimination
Ability to differentiate between conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that haven't been paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
Taste Aversion
Avoidance of a certain food following a period of illness after consuming that food.
Biological Preparedness
Some associations form more readily because they aid in survival.
Law of Effect
Thorndike's principle that actions that follow desirable consequences are more likely to be repeated than those following undesirable outcomes.
Operant Conditioning
Method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior.
Shaping
Reinforcers gradually guide an animal's actions toward a desired behavior.
Chaining
Breaks tasks down into small steps and teaches those steps within the sequence itself.
Reinforcing Stimulus
Any event that strengthens the behavior it follows.
Positive Reinforcement
Adding something good to increase a behavior.
Negative Reinforcement
Removing something bad to increase a behavior.
Primary Reinforcement
Occurs naturally and doesn't require learning. Evolutionary basis: food, air, sleep, water, and sex.
Secondary (Conditioned) Reinforcers
Stimuli that have become rewarding by being paired with another reinforcing stimulus. Ex: money
Token Reinforcer
Symbols or tokens that can be exchanged for other reinforcers. Ex: arcade tickets
Punishment
Adverse event or outcome that causes a decrease in the behavior it follows.
Positive Punishment
Adding something bad to decrease a behavior.
Negative Punishment
Removing something good to decrease a behavior.
Overjustification Effect
Being rewarded for doing something diminishes intrinsic motivation.
Schedules of Reinforcement
A pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced.
Continuous Reinforcement
Desired behavior is reinforced each and every time it occurs.
Partial Reinforcement
The response is reinforced only part of the time, less quick to learn, but sticks longer.
Fixed-Ratio Schedule
Reinforced only after a specific number of responses.
Variable-Ratio Schedule
Response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses.
Fixed-Interval Schedule
First response is rewarded only after a specific amount of time has gone by.
Variable-Interval Schedule
A response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passed.
Observational Learning
L:earning through watching others. "Monkey see, monkey do"
Mirror Neurons
Nervous system cells that fire both when an organism itself is doing a behavior and also when observing another doing the behavior.
Latent Learning
One can learn something right away but not show it right away.
Insight Learning
A sudden realization of the problem's solution. "Light Bulb"
The Premack Principle
A person will perform less desirable tasks in order to perform more desirable ones as a consequence.
Learned Helplessness
A mental state in which an organism continues to experience a painful or unpleasant stimulus because it has learned that it has no ability to change the outcome.
External Locus of Control
The perception that a chance or outside forces beyond our control determine out fate.
Cognitive Learning
Learning mental information by observing events, watchign others, ir through language.
Intrinsic Motivation
A desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake, for internal reward.