Chapter_5_-_Learning__Part_1

Learning

A relatively permanent change in behavior acquired through experience.

Experience

An event that is actually lived through, as opposed to one that is imagined or thought about.

Conditioning

The process by which certain kinds of experience make particular actions more or less likely.

Classical Conditioning

The process of learning by which a previously neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response that was originally elicited by another stimulus due to their pairing.

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that before conditioning does not produce a particular response.

Unconditioned Response (UR)

An unlearned response to a stimulus.

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

A stimulus that elicits an unlearned response.

Conditioned Response (CR)

An acquired or learned response to a conditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a conditioned response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Extinction

The gradual decrease and eventual stopping of a conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of a conditioned response after a pause following extinction.

Reconditioning

The process of relearning a conditioned response after extinction has occurred.

Stimulus Generalization

The tendency of similar stimuli to elicit a conditioned response after conditioning has occurred.

Stimulus Discrimination

The tendency to differentiate among stimuli so that stimuli that are related to the conditioned stimulus, but not identical, do not elicit a conditioned response.

Phobia

A persistent and irrational fear of a specific situation, object, or activity.

Phobic Avoidance

The active evasion of feared objects or situations by individuals with phobias.

Exposure Therapy

A form of behavior therapy that involves systematic confrontation with a feared stimulus to reduce anxiety.

Habituation

The diminished effectiveness of a stimulus in eliciting a response following repeated exposure.

Operant Conditioning

The process of learning in which the consequences of a response determine the probability that the response will be repeated.

Law of Effect

The principle stating that responses that have satisfying effects are more likely to recur, while those with unpleasant effects are less likely.

Reinforcement

A process that increases the frequency or probability of a response through a dependent relationship with a stimulus.

Contingency

Something that might possibly happen in the future, often causing problems.

Reinforcer

A stimulus or circumstance that produces reinforcement in a dependent relationship with a response.

Punishment

The process that results in a response becoming less probable due to its relationship with some stimulus.

Shaping

The production of new forms of operant behavior by reinforcing successive approximations to the desired behavior.

Positive Reinforcement

The strengthening of a response through the introduction of a stimulus after the response occurs.

Negative Reinforcement

The strengthening of a response through the removal of a stimulus after the response occurs, which is viewed as wanted.