AP Psych Unit 4: Learning

Learning

a relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience

operant conditioning

the learning of voluntary behavior through the effects of pleasant and unpleasant consequences to responses

Law of effect

reinforced behaviors are more likely to be repeated, punished behaviors are less likely to be repeated

Reinforcement

used when we want the behavior to continue- encourages behavior

Punishment

used when we want to stop a behavior- discourages behavior

Positive reinforcement

adding a positive consequence to strengthen behavior

negative reinforcement

taking away a negative consequence to strengthen behavior

positive punishment

adding a negative consequence to weaken behavior

negative punishment

taking away a positive consequence to weaken behavior

primary reinforcement

an innately reinforcing stimulus; satisfies a biological need (unlearned)

secondary reinforcement

Something that you have learned to value, like money.

Shaping

behavior learned through reinforcing success (ex. baby steps)

Instinctive drift

trained animals tendency to revert back to natural behavior

continuous reinforcement schedules

behavior is reinforced everytime it occurs

partial reinforcement

reinforcing a response only part of the time

fixed ratio

reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

fixed interval

specific amount of time before reinforcement

variable ratio

reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

variable interval

reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

selective attention

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Behaviorism

the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes.

acquisition

In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.

unconditioned stimulus

a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response.

unconditioned response

the natural behavioral reaction/response to the unconditioned stimulus

conditioned stimulus

trigger that we learned to associate with the unconditioned stimulus

conditioned response

a learned response/reaction to a conditioned stimulus

Extinction

the diminishing of a conditioned response

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance of a learned response after extinction has occurred

discrimination

learned responses only happen to one stimulus

generalization

reacting to a stimulus that is similar to the one you were conditioned to

emotional responses

specific reactions and feelings that individuals experience in response to events or stimuli

counterconditioning

A behavior therapy procedure that conditions new responses to stimuli to unlearn fear responses

taste aversions

the intense dislike and/or avoidance of particular foods that have been associated with nausea or discomfort

one-trial conditioning

learning takes place after one pairing of a stimulus & response

biological preparedness

we are predisposed to learn associations that have survival value

Habituation

When we are repeatedly exposed to a stimulus, our responsiveness to it decreases

superstitous behavior

the reinforcement of an action due to accidental timing of a reward (an action you did before something good happened, ex. knocking on wood)

learned helplessness

the tendency to fail to act to escape from a situation because of a history of repeated failures in the past

social learning theory

the theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating, and by being rewarded or punished

vicarious conditioning

cconditioning of a reflex response or emotion by watching the reaction, emotion, or attitude of another person

insight learning

The process of learning how to solve a problem or do something new by applying what is already known

latent learning

learning that remains hidden until its application becomes useful

cognitive maps

a mental image or layout of an environment

classical conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events (associate learning)

high order conditioning

A procedure where a conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus, and that second stimulus becomes another conditioned stimulus