Psychology Unit 4: Learning

Habituation

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to a stimulus

Biofeedback

A system for electronically recording information regarding a subtle physiological state

Cognitive Map

A mental representation of the layout of one’s environment

Latent Learning

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

Primary Reinforcer

A stimulus that has innate reinforcing qualities; not learned

Secondary (Conditioned) Reinforcer

a stimulus that reinforces a behavior after it has been associated with a primary reinforcer

Intrinsic Motivation

A desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

Extrinsic Motivation

A desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment

Learned Helplessness

The hopelessness that an animal/ person learns when unable to avoid repeated stressful situations

External Locus of Control

The perception that outside forces or changes beyond our control determine our fate

Internal Locus of Control

the perception that we control our own fate

Mirror Neurons

frontal lobe neurons; they fire when we perform or observe another person doing so

Edward Tolman’s Theory of Learning

States that individuals do more than merely respond to stimuli they act on beliefs, attitudes, and changing conditions

Classical Conditioning

A type of learning in which we associate a stimulus with a response that is not naturally paired

Operant Conditioning

Learning through the consequences of your behavior

Law of Effect

Rewarded behavior will continue

Reinforcement

anything that causes a behavior to strengthen

Shaping

the continued reinforcement of behavior to guide an animal toward the desired behavior

Fixed-Ration Schedule

Reinforcement comes after a set number of responses

Variable-Ratio Schedule

Reinforcement is provided after an unknown amount of responses

Fixed-Interval Schedule

Reinforcement comes after a fixed amount of time has passed

Variable-Interval

Reinforcement comes after an unknown amount of time

Positive Reinforcement

Any reward that follows a behavior

Negative Reinforcement

Anything that strengthens a response by eliminating or reducing an aversive (negative) stimulus

Social Learning

Sometimes we learn simply through observation and imitation

Modeling

We tend to model many types of behavior, not just negative behavior