AP Psychology - Unit 4 (Learning)

learning

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

habituation

a decrease in response to a stimulus after being repeatedly exposed to it

associative learning

learning that certain events occur together.

stimulus

any event or situation that evokes a response

classical conditioning

a type of learning that happens unconsciously when an automatic conditioned response is paired with a specific stimulus (Pavlov)

neutral stimulus (NS)

environmental factor that doesn't elicit a conditioned response (CR) until it is repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus (US) (bell in Pavlov experiment)

unconditioned response (UR)

the unlearned, naturally occurring reaction to unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivation when food is in the mouth

unconditioned stimulus (US)

a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a reaction (like food)

conditioned response (CR)

the learned reaction to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus

conditioned stimulus (CS)

an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned reaction

acquisition

the "learned" behavior or response

higher-order conditioning

a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus (CS) in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus (NS), creating a second (often weaker) CS.

extinction

the diminishing of a conditioned response (CR); when a response is no longer reinforced

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response (CR)

generalization

the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus (CS) to elicit responses

stimulus discrimination

the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus (CS) and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus (US) - (like a bell vs. a whistle)

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished followed by a punisher

shaping

reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

positive reinforcement

increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food.

negative reinforcement

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock.

primary reinforcer

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need (hunger, thirst, touch)

reinforcement schedule

the frequency and regularity with which rewards are offered; they can be based on a number of target behaviors (ratio) or on a time interval (interval); types include: fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, and variable-interval

continuous vs. partial (intermittent) reinforcement

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs vs. reinforcing only part of the time (results in slower acquisition but greater resistance to extinction than continuous)

positive punishment

adding an undesirable stimulus to stop or decrease a behavior

negative punishment

taking away a pleasant stimulus to decrease or stop a behavior

overjustification effect

a paradoxical situation in which rewarding a person's efforts on a task done for primarily intrinsic reasons tends to lead to lower, not higher, performance

biofeedback

a technique that trains people to improve their health by controlling certain bodily processes that normally happen involuntarily, such as heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and skin temperature.

insight

a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem

latent learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it LATER

cognitive map

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment. (For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it)

token economy

type of behavior modification in which desired behavior is rewarded with tokens that can be exchanged for rewards

aversion therapy

a behavioral therapy in which an undesirable behavior is paired with an aversive stimulus to reduce the frequency of the behavior

superstitious behavior

a behavior repeated because it seems to produce reinforcement, even though it is actually unnecessary

learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

problem-focused coping

alleviating stress by taking direct steps to confront or minimize a stressor

emotion-focused coping

attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to one's stress reaction

observational learning

learning by observing others; also called social learning

mirror neurons

frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's actions may enable imitation and empath

prosocial behavior

positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior

Albert Bandura

researcher famous for work in observational or social learning including the famous Bobo doll experiment

John Garcia

Researched taste aversion. Showed that when rats ate a novel substance before being nauseated by a drug or radiation, they developed a conditioned taste aversion for the substance.

Ivan Pavlov

discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell

B.F. Skinner

he is famous for use of his operant conditioning aparatus which he used to study schedules of reinforcement on pidgeons and rats.

Edward Thorndike

behaviorist; developed the Law of Effect principle (behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, while those followed by unfavorterm-46able become less likely)

John Watson

behaviorist; famous for Little Albert study in which a baby was taught to fear a white rat