AP Psych Unit 3 V2

64. ecological systems theory: a theory of the social environment's influence

on human development, using five nested systems (microsystem;

mesosystem;

exosystem; macrosystem; chronosystem) ranging from direct to indirect influences.

65. stranger anxiety: the fear of strangers that infants commonly display,

beginning by about 8 months of age.

66. attachment: an emotional tie with others; shown in young children by

their seeking closeness to caregivers and showing distress on separation.

67. imprinting: the process by which certain animals form strong

attachments during early life.

68. strange situation: a procedure for studying child-caregiver attachment; a

child is placed in an unfamiliar environment while their caregiver leaves and then

returns, and the child's reactions are observed.

69. secure attachment: demonstrated by infants who comfortably explore

environments in the presence of their caregiver, show only temporary distress

when the caregiver leaves, and find comfort in the caregiver's return.

70. insecure attachment: demonstrated by infants who display a clinging,

anxious attachment; an avoidant attachment that resists closeness; or a

disorganized attachment with no consistent behavior when separated from

reunited with caregivers.

71. temperament: a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.

72. basic trust: according to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable

and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences

with responsive caregivers.

73. self-concept: all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to

the question, "Who am I?"

74. identity: our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is

to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles.

75. social identity: the "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer

to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships.

76. intimacy: in Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships;

a primary developmental task in young adulthood.

77. emerging adulthood: a period from about age 18 to the mid-twenties, when

many persons in prosperous Western cultures are no longer adolescents but

have not yet achieved full independence as adults.

78. social clock: the culturally preferred timing of social events such as

marriage, parenthood, and retirement.

79. learning: the process of acquiring through experience new and relatively

enduring information or behaviors.

80. associative learning: learning that certain events occur together. The events

may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its

consequence (as in operant conditioning).

81. stimulus: any event or situation that evokes a response.

82. respondent behavior: behavior that occurs as an automatic response to

some stimulus.

83. operant behavior: behavior that operates on the environment, producing

a consequence.

84. cognitive learning: the acquisition of mental information, whether by

observing events, by watching others, or through language.

85. classical conditioning: a type of learning in which we link two or more

stimuli; as a result, to illustrate with Pavlov's classic experiment, the first stimulus

(a tone) comes to elicit behavior (drooling) in anticipation of the second stimulus

(food).

86. behaviorism: the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science

that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most

research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

87. neutral stimulus (NS): in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no

response before conditioning.

88. unconditioned response (UCR): in classical conditioning, an unlearned,

naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus

(UCS) (such as food in the mouth).

89. unconditioned stimulus (UCS): in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally - naturally and automatically - triggers an unconditioned response

(UCR).

90. conditioned response (CR): in classical conditioning, a learned response to

a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS).

91. conditioned stimulus (CS): in classical conditioning, an originally neutral

stim- ulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS), comes to

trigger a conditioned response (CR).

92. acquisition: in classical conditioning, the initial stage - when one links a

neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus

begins triggering the conditioned response. (In operant conditioning, the

strengthening of a reinforced response.)

93. higher-order conditioning: a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in

one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a

second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. For example, an animal that has

learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and

begin responding to the light alone. (Also called second-order conditioning.)

94. extinction: in classical conditioning, the diminishing of a conditioned response

when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus. (In

operant conditioning, when a response is no longer reinforced.)

95. spontaneous recovery: the reappearance, after a pause, of a weakened

conditioned response.

96. generalization: (also called stimulus generalization) in classical

conditioning, the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli

similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses. (In operant

conditioning, when responses learned in one situation occur in other, similar situations.)

97. discrimination (in classical conditioning): in classical conditioning, the

learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that

have not been associated with a conditioned stimulus. (In operant conditioning,

the ability to distinguish responses that are reinforced from similar responses that

are not reinforced.)

98. preparedness: a biological predisposition to learn associations, such as

be- tween taste and nausea, that have survival value.

99. operant conditioning: a type of learning in which a behavior becomes more

likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer or less likely to recur if followed by a

punisher.

100. law of effect: Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable

(or reinforcing) consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed

by unfavorable (or punishing) consequences become less likely.

101. operant chamber: in operant conditioning research, a chamber (also known

as a Skinner box) containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain

a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal's rate of bar

pressing or key pecking.

102. reinforcement: in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the

behavior it follows.

103. shaping: an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide

behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.

104. discriminative stimulus: in operant conditioning, a stimulus that elicits

a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli

not associated with reinforcement).

105. positive reinforcement: increasing behaviors by presenting a pleasurable

stimulus. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a

response, strengthens the response.

106. negative reinforcement: increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing an

aversive stimulus. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed

after

a response, strengthens the response. (Note: Negative reinforcement is not

punishment.)

107. primary reinforcer: an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that

satisfies a biological need.

108. conditioned reinforcer: a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through

its association with a primary reinforcer. (Also known as a secondary reinforcer.)

109. reinforcement schedule: a pattern that defines how often a desired

response will be reinforced.

110. continuous reinforcement schedule: reinforcing the desired response

every time it occurs.

111. partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule: reinforcing a response

only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater

resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement.

112. fixed-ratio schedule: in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule

that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses.

113. variable-ratio schedule: in operant conditioning, a reinforcement

schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of

responses.

114. fixed-interval schedule: in operant conditioning, a reinforcement

schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed.

115. variable-interval schedule: in operant conditioning, a reinforcement

schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals.

116. punishment: an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows.

117. instinctive drift: the tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to

bio- logically predisposed patterns.

118. cognitive map: a mental representation of the layout of one's environment.

For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive

map of it.

119. latent learning: learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is

an incentive to demonstrate it.

120. insight learning: solving problems through sudden insight; contrasts

with strategy-based solutions.

121. observational learning: learning by observing others. (Also called

social learning.)

122. modeling: the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior.

123. mirror neurons: neurons that some scientists believe fire when we perform

certain actions or observe another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's

action may enable imitation and empathy.

124. prosocial behavior: positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite

of antisocial behavior.

125. antisocial behavior: negative, destructive, harmful behavior. The opposite of prosocial behavior.