Psychology 2e: Chapter 6 Learning

These flashcards cover key concepts related to learning in psychology from Chapter 6 of Psychology 2e.

Learning

A relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge that results from experience.

Unlearned Behaviors

Innate behaviors that organisms are born with, such as instincts and reflexes.

Instincts

Behaviors triggered by a broad range of events, involving complex movements of the organism.

Reflexes

Motor/neural reactions to a specific stimulus, simpler than instincts.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process in which an organism learns to associate stimuli and anticipate events.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

Stimulus that elicits a reflexive response, such as food.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Stimulus that elicits a response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Response (CR)

The learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.

Acquisition

The initial period of learning when an organism learns to connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus.

Extinction

Decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer presented with the conditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous Recovery

The return of a previously extinguished conditioned response following a rest period.

Stimulus Discrimination

The ability to distinguish between different stimuli and respond appropriately.

Stimulus Generalization

The tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus.

Higher-Order Conditioning

When a conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus, leading the new stimulus to elicit the conditioned response.

Operant Conditioning

A learning process where organisms learn to associate behaviors with their consequences.

Reinforcement

A consequence that increases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated.

Positive Reinforcement

Adding a stimulus to increase a behavior's likelihood.

Negative Reinforcement

Removing a stimulus to increase a behavior's likelihood.

Punishment

A consequence that decreases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated.

Shaping

Reinforcing successive approximations of a target behavior to teach complex behaviors.

Primary Reinforcers

Reinforcers that have innate reinforcing qualities, such as food and water.

Secondary Reinforcers

Reinforcers that gain value through association with primary reinforcers.

Observational Learning

Learning that occurs by watching others and imitating their behavior.

Cognitive Map

A mental representation of the layout of an environment.

Latent Learning

Learning that occurs without reinforcement and is not immediately reflected in behavior.

Social Learning Theory

A theory that emphasizes the role of observational learning and internal mental states.

Vicarious Reinforcement

The process where observing a model rewarded increases the likelihood of imitating the behavior.

Vicarious Punishment

The process where observing a model punished decreases the likelihood of imitating the behavior.

Bobo Doll Experiment

A study by Bandura that demonstrated children's observational learning of aggression from adult models.