Psych Unit 4 terms

Pavlov’s experiment

1. Presented a Neutral Stimulus (bell) just before an Unconditioned Stimulus

2. The Neutral Stimulus then became a Conditioned Stimulus.

Classical conditioning theory

Neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, triggering an automatic, learned response

Conditioning

NS: neutral stimulus

US: unconditioned stimulus

UR: unconditioned response

CS: conditioned stimulus

CR: conditioned response

Generalization

tendency for similar stimuli to illicit similar responses once a response has been conditioned

discrimination

the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that don’t signal an unconditioned response

extinction

diminishing of a conditioned response

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response.

Watson rat experiment

Mary Cover Jones rabbit experiment

Difference between operant and classical conditioning

Operant conditioning theory

Type of learning where behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

positive reinforcement

presenting positive stimuli, such as good, after a response, strengthening the response

negative reinforcement

Increase behaviors by stopping/reducing negative stimuli. Any stimulus that, when removed, strengthens the response

primary reinforcer

an innately reinforcing stimulus, satisfying biological needs `

secondary reinforcer

a stimulus that gains its reinforcing powers through its association with a primary reinforcer

four schedules of reinforcement

shaping

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

chaining

behavior techniques that breaks complex behaviors into smaller, teachable steps (links) to form a sequence

difference between negative reinforcement and punishment

Negative reinforcement: taking away something undesirable when you do the right thing (Beeping stops when you put your seatbelt on)

Punishment: punishing a bad behavior to get you to stop (timeout for hitting someone)

Practical applications of operant conditioning