Chapt 4- Basic Phenomena and Various Complexities

acquisition.

The process of developing and strengthening a conditioned response through repeated pairings of an NS with a US.

asymptote of conditioning.

The maximum amount of conditioning that can take place in a particular situation.

blocking.

The phenomenon whereby the presence of an established CS during conditioning interferes with conditioning of a new CS.

compound stimulus.

A complex stimulus that consists of the simultaneous presentation of two or more individual stimuli.

disinhibition.

The sudden recovery of a conditioned response during an extinction procedure when a novel stimulus is introduced.

experimental neurosis.

An experimentally produced disorder in which animals exposed to unpredictable events develop neurotic-like symptoms.

extinction.

In classical conditioning, the process whereby a CR can be weakened or eliminated when the CS is repeatedly presented in the absence of the US.

extinction procedure

the procedure whereby extinction occurs, repeatedly presenting the CS in the absence of the US.

higher-order conditioning.

The process whereby an NS that is associated with a CS (rather than a US) also becomes a CS.

latent inhibition.

The phenomenon whereby a familiar stimulus is more difficult to condition as a CS than is an unfamiliar (novel) stimulus.

occasion setting.

A procedure in which a stimulus (known as an occasion setter) signals whether a stimulus is likely to be followed by a US and thereby determines whether that stimulus will act as a CS that elicits a CR.

overshadowing.

The phenomenon whereby the more salient member of a compound stimulus is more readily conditioned as a CS and thereby interferes with conditioning of the less salient member.

semantic generalization.

The generalization of a conditioned response to verbal stimuli that are similar in meaning to the CS.

sensory preconditioning.

When one stimulus is conditioned as a CS, another stimulus with which it was previously associated can also become a CS.

spontaneous recovery.

The reappearance of a conditioned response to a CS following a rest period after extinction.

stimulus discrimination.

The tendency for a response to be elicited more by one stimulus than another.

stimulus generalization.

The tendency for a CR to occur in the presence of a stimulus that is similar to the CS.

US revaluation.

A process that involves the postconditioning presentation of the US by itself at a different level of intensity, thereby altering the strength of response to the previously conditioned CS.