Key Concepts in Classical and Operant Conditioning

Classical conditioning

Learning by associating two things together, like a sound and food, causing a response.

Operant conditioning

Learning by using rewards or punishments to increase or decrease a behavior.

Habituation

Where an organism becomes less responsive to a stimulus after repeated exposure.

Extinction

When a learned behavior fades because the conditioned stimulus is no longer followed by the unconditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous Recovery

When a behavior that disappeared comes back after some time, without being relearned.

Stimulus Generalization

Reacting to similar stimuli the same way.

Stimulus Discrimination

Ability to tell the difference between stimuli.

Higher Order Conditioning

When a new stimulus gets the same response as an old one by being paired with it.

Exposure Therapy

A treatment where a person is gradually exposed to a feared object or situation to reduce their anxiety over time.

Aversive Conditioning

When a person is trained to associate an unwanted behavior with something unpleasant.

One-trial learning

Occurs when the association is acquired through one pairing of the stimulus and response and is not strengthened by further pairings.

Biological preparedness

Refers to how animals are biologically predisposed to learning certain stimulus-response pairings more quickly than others.

Delayed conditioning

When a sound or light (neutral stimulus) happens first, and then something like food (unconditioned stimulus) follows shortly after.

Trace conditioning

In trace conditioning, the neutral stimulus (like a sound) happens first, then stops, and after a short pause, the unconditioned stimulus (like food) is given.

Backward conditioning

A type of classical conditioning where the unconditioned stimulus (US) is presented before the neutral stimulus (NS), usually resulting in weak or no learning.

Positive Reinforcement

Giving something to encourage behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

Taking away something to encourage behavior.

Positive Punishment

Adding something bad to stop a behavior.

Negative Punishment

Taking away something good to stop a behavior.

Schedules of Reinforcement

Partial reinforcement methods that influence behavior.

Ratio

The reinforcement happened after a certain number of instances that the behavior is performed.

Interval

Based on the passage of time.

Fixed

Reinforcement of the behavior follows a consistent, predictable pattern; the organism knows when reinforcement will occur.

Variable

Occurs after an unpredictable amount of responses or amount of time; the organism doesn't know when the reinforcement will happen.

Continuous reinforcement

Deliver reinforcement each and every correct behavior. Example: Getting a snack from a vending machine after inserting money.

Partial Reinforcement

Reinforcement occurs on some of the occasions; takes longer to acquire but is more resistant to extinction. Example: A slot machine pays out occasionally but not on every pull.

Variable Ratio (VR) schedule

Promotes the most consistent long-term behavior; since reinforcement is unpredictable, individuals keep responding at a steady rate.

Primary Reinforcers

Naturally satisfying and do not require learning (e.g., food, water, warmth, sleep).

Secondary Reinforcers

Gain value through association with primary reinforcers (e.g., money, praise, tokens).

Token Economy

A reward system where people earn tokens for good behavior and exchange them for rewards; for example, students earning stickers for completing homework and trading them for extra recess.

Shaping

Positively reinforcing an organism as they get closer and closer to the desired outcome.

Algorithms

A step-by-step procedure that guarantees solving a problem by attempting multiple solutions.

Heuristics

A rule of thumb strategy that allows us to make judgments and solve problems quickly.

Representative Heuristics

A rule of thumb for judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they match our stereotype.

Availability Heuristics

Used to judge the likelihood or frequency of an event/occurrence based on how readily available instances are in memory.

Mental Set

When an individual uses a solution that worked in the past on a current problem.

Social Learning Theory

Learning to do something by watching others and mimicking their behavior.

Vicarious Reinforcement

When an individual observes another person who is reinforced for doing a behavior; consequently, the original individual imitates that behavior expecting a similar outcome.

Expectancy

The belief that one's behavior will bring about a desired outcome based on previous learning.

Instinctive Drift

Tendency for animals to revert to innate biologically predisposed behaviors, even after learning a conditioned response.

Superstitions

Behaviors that occur when consequences reinforce unrelated behavior.

Learned Helplessness

When someone stops trying to change a bad situation because past attempts failed.

Sunk Cost Fallacy

The phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it.