learning and conditioning

Biological Preparedness

An innate tendency to form associations between certain stimuli and responses (e.g., fear of snakes or taste aversions).

Habituation

A decrease in response to a repeated, harmless stimulus over time.

Classical Conditioning

Learning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, triggering a conditioned response.

Insight Learning

Sudden realization of a solution without trial-and-error learning.

Continuous Reinforcement

Reinforcing a behavior every single time it occurs.

Instinctive Drift

The return of innate behaviors interfering with conditioned responses.

Counterconditioning

Replacing an unwanted emotional response to a stimulus with a more desirable one.

Latent Learning

Learning that occurs without immediate expression and becomes evident when there’s motivation.

Extinction

The weakening or disappearance of a learned response when reinforcement is stopped.

Learned Helplessness

When repeated failures lead to the belief that one has no control, resulting in passivity.

Fixed-Interval Schedule

Reinforcement is given after a set amount of time (e.g., every 10 minutes).

Negative Punishment

Removing something desirable to decrease a behavior (e.g., taking away a toy).

Fixed-Ratio Schedule

Reinforcement is provided after a set number of responses (e.g., every 5th time).

Negative Reinforcement

Removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase a behavior (e.g., turning off a loud alarm).

Observational Learning

Learning by watching others and imitating their actions (e.g., modeling).

One-Trial Conditioning

Learning that happens after a single exposure to a stimulus (common in taste aversion).

Operant Conditioning

A type of learning where behavior is controlled by consequences (rewards or punishments).

Positive Punishment

Adding an unpleasant stimulus to decrease a behavior (e.g., extra chores).

Positive Reinforcement

Adding a pleasant stimulus to increase a behavior (e.g., giving a treat).

Shaping

Reinforcing successive steps toward a desired behavior.

Spontaneous Recovery

The sudden return of a previously extinguished behavior after a rest period.

Stimulus Discrimination

Learning to respond only to a specific stimulus and not similar ones.

Stimulus Generalization

Responding similarly to stimuli that resemble the conditioned stimulus.

Taste Aversion

A learned avoidance of a food after just one negative experience, often involving nausea.

Variable-Interval Schedule

Reinforcement is given after unpredictable time intervals.

Variable-Ratio Schedule

Reinforcement is given after an unpredictable number of responses (e.g., gambling).