Psychology- Chapter 5 Learning

Learning

relatively permanent change in behavior that is brought about by experience

Classic conditioning

type of learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to bring about a response after it is paired with a stimulus that naturally brings about that response

Neutral/conditioned stimulus

stimulus that before conditioning, does not naturally bring about the response of interest, in pavlov’s experiment- was the bell

unconditioned stimulus

stimulus that naturally brings about a particular response without having been learned, in pavlov’s experiment- was the meat

Extinction

occurs when a previously learned response decreases in frequency and eventually disappears

Spontaneous recovery

reemergence of an extinguished conditioned response after a period of rest with no further conditioning

Stimulus generalization

process in which, after a stimulus has been conditioned to produce a particular response, stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus produce the same response

Stimulus discrimination

process that occurs if two stimuli are sufficiently distinct from one another that one evokes a conditioned response but the other does not

Operant conditioning

learning in which a voluntary response is strengthened or weakened, depending on its favorable or unfavorable consequences

Reinforcement

process by which a stimulus increases the probability that a preceding behavior will be repeated

Positive reinforcer

stimulus added to the environment that brings about an increase in a preceding response

Negative reinforcer

an unpleasant stimulus whose removal leads to an increase in the probability that a preceding response will be repeated in the future

Punishment

stimulus that decreases the probability that a previous behavior will occur again- different from negative reinforcement because it decreases probability for behavior to continue

Positive punishment

weakens a response by applying an unpleasant stimulus

Negative punishment

removal of something pleasant

Schedules of reinforcement

different patterns of frequency and timing of reinforcement following desired behavior

Continuous reinforcement schedule

a schedule in which behavior is reinforced every time the behavior occurs

Partial reinforcement schedule

reinforcing of a behavior some but not all of the time

Fixed-ratio schedule

schedule in which reinforcement is given only after a specific number of responses are made

Variable-ratio schedule

schedule by which reinforcement occurs after a varying number of responses rather than a fixed number

Fixed-interval schedule

schedule in which reinforcement is provided for a response only after a fixed time period has elapsed

Variable-interval schedule

•schedule by which the time between reinforcements varies around some average rather than being fixed

Stimulus control schedule

reinforcement of a behavior in the presence of a specific stimulus but not in its absence

Discriminate stimulus

signals the likelihood that reinforcement will follow a response

Shaping

process of teaching a complex behavior by rewarding closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

Behavior modification

technique whose goal is to increase the frequency of desirable behaviors and decrease the incidence of unwanted ones

Behavioral analyst

psychologist who specialized in behavior-modification techniques

Cognitive learning theory

an approach to the study of learning that focuses on the thought processes that underlie learning, focus on unseen mental processes that occur during learning

Latent learning

learning in which a new behavior is acquired but is not demonstrated until some incentive is provided for displaying it

Observational learning

learning by observing the behavior of another person or model