AP Psych Chapter 6 Vocab

Behavioral Perspective

A psychological approach focusing on observable behaviors and the ways they're learned.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process that occurs through associations between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus.

Associative Learning

A type of learning in which an association is formed between two stimuli or a behavior and a stimulus.

Acquisition

The phase in classical conditioning when the CS (conditioned stimulus) is paired with the US (unconditioned stimulus).

Extinction

The diminishing of a conditioned response when the CS is no longer paired with the US.

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of a conditioned response after a rest period following extinction.

Stimulus Discrimination

The ability to differentiate between similar stimuli and respond differently.

Stimulus Generalization

The tendency for the conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses after the response has been conditioned.

Higher-order Conditioning

A form of conditioning where a conditioned stimulus is paired with a new stimulus, allowing the new stimulus to elicit a similar response.

Counterconditioning

A behavioral therapy technique that replaces an undesirable response to a stimulus with a more desirable one.

Taste Aversion

A learned avoidance of a particular food or drink, often due to a negative reaction.

One-trial Learning

A form of conditioning where a single exposure to a stimulus leads to a strong learned response.

Biological Preparedness

The innate readiness to learn certain associations more easily than others.

Habituation

A decreased response to a stimulus after repeated presentations.

Operant Conditioning

A learning process through which the strength of a behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment.

Law of Effect

The principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences are more likely to occur in the future.

Positive Reinforcement

A stimulus that increases the likelihood of a behavior by being presented after the behavior occurs.

Negative Reinforcement

The removal of an unfavorable event or outcome after the display of a behavior, which increases the likelihood of that behavior.

Positive Punishment

The addition of an aversive stimulus to decrease a behavior.

Negative Punishment

The removal of a pleasant stimulus to decrease a behavior.

Primary Reinforcer

A stimulus that is inherently reinforcing, such as food or water.

Secondary Reinforcer

A stimulus that has acquired reinforcement value through association with a primary reinforcer.

Shaping

The process of reinforcing small steps toward a desired behavior.

Instinctive Drift

The tendency for an animal to revert to instinctive behaviors that interfere with the performance of conditioned responses.

Superstitious Behavior

Behavior that is repeated because it appears to be rewarded, even if it is not necessarily related to the reward.

Learned Helplessness

A condition resulting from the perception that one has no control over their environment, leading to a lack of effort to change the situation.

Fixed-Ratio

A schedule of reinforcement where a response is reinforced only after a specified number of responses.

Variable-Ratio

A reinforcement schedule where a response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses.

Fixed-Interval

A schedule of reinforcement where the first response is rewarded only after a specified amount of time has elapsed.

Variable-Interval

A reinforcement schedule where a response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passed.

Social Learning Theory

The theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating others.

Vicarious Conditioning

Learning to respond emotionally to a stimulus by observing another's emotional reactions.

Modeling

The process of learning behaviors by watching and imitating others.

Insight Learning

A type of learning that occurs when an organism suddenly realizes how to solve a problem.

Latent Learning

Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.

Cognitive Map

A mental representation of one's physical environment.