AP PSYCH - Learning Vocab

Learning - The process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors through experience.
Example: A child learns to ride a bike through repeated practice.

Habituation - Decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to the same stimulation.
Example: Not noticing the sound of a ticking clock after being in the room for a while.

Associative learning - Learning that two or more events occur together.
Example: A dog learns to associate the sound of a bell with receiving food.

Stimulus - Any event or situation that evokes a response.
Example: The smell of food can make someone feel hungry.

Respondent behavior - Behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus.
Example: Pulling your hand away quickly after touching something hot.

Operant behavior - Behavior that operates on the environment, producing a consequence.
Example: A child receives praise for doing their homework, encouraging them to do it again.

Cognitive learning - The acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, watching others, or through language.
Example: Learning how to play a game by watching someone else play it first.

Classical conditioning - A type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli.
Example: Pavlov’s dogs learned to associate a bell with food, leading to salivation.

Behaviorism - The view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes.
Example: Behaviorists might focus on observable behaviors like running rather than thoughts or feelings.

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.
Example: A dog starts salivating when it hears a bell after being repeatedly shown food with the bell sound.

Neutral stimulus (NS) - In classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning.
Example: A bell before it's associated with food does not make a dog salivate.

Unconditioned response (UCR) - An unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus (UCS).
Example: Salivating when food is in the mouth.

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) - A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers an unconditioned response.
Example: Food that naturally causes salivation.

Conditioned response (CR) - A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus that has become conditioned.
Example: Salivating when hearing a bell that has been paired with food.

Conditioned stimulus (CS) - An originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.
Example: The bell that causes a dog to salivate after it has been associated with food.

Higher-order conditioning - A procedure in which a conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second, weaker conditioned stimulus.
Example: Adding a light with the bell so the light alone eventually causes salivation.

Extinction - The diminishing of a conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus no longer follows a conditioned stimulus.
Example: A dog stops salivating to the bell if food no longer follows it.

Spontaneous recovery - The reappearance, after a pause, of a previously extinguished conditioned response.
Example: A dog briefly salivates to the bell after a period without it being paired with food.

Generalization - The tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses.
Example: A dog salivates to bells of different pitches after being conditioned to one specific bell.

Discrimination - The learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other similar stimuli.
Example: A dog only salivates to a specific bell sound, not to other similar sounds.

Preparedness - A biological predisposition to learn associations that have survival value.
Example: Learning to avoid foods that have previously made us sick.

Operant conditioning - A type of learning in which a behavior becomes more likely if followed by a reinforcer or less likely if followed by a punisher.
Example: A rat learns to press a lever to get food.

Law of effect - Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, while those followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely.
Example: A child is more likely to do homework if praised afterward.

Operant chamber - A chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a reinforcer, used in operant conditioning research.
Example: Skinner’s box, where rats learn to press a lever for food.

Reinforcement - Any event that strengthens the behavior it follows.
Example: Giving a dog a treat for sitting increases the chance it will sit again.

Shaping - An operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer approximations of the desired behavior.
Example: Rewarding a dog for each step closer to rolling over.

Discriminative stimulus - A stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement.
Example: A dog learns to bark only when it sees a certain toy if it's reinforced for barking in that situation.

Positive reinforcement - Increasing behaviors by presenting a pleasurable stimulus.
Example: Giving a student candy for completing homework.

Negative reinforcement - Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing an aversive stimulus.
Example: A student studies to avoid feeling anxious about a test.

Punishment - An event that decreases the behavior it follows.
Example: Losing privileges for missing curfew.

Reinforcement schedule - A pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced.
Example: Rewarding behavior every third time it occurs.

Continuous reinforcement schedule - Reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs.
Example: Giving a treat each time a dog sits.

Partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule - Reinforcing a response only part of the time.
Example: Only occasionally giving a child candy for cleaning up.

Fixed-ratio schedule - A reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses.
Example: A factory worker is paid for every ten items made.

Variable-ratio schedule - A reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses.
Example: Slot machines pay out after an unpredictable number of plays.

Fixed-interval schedule - A reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed.
Example: Receiving a paycheck every two weeks.

Variable-interval schedule - A reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals.
Example: Receiving an email response at varying times after sending a message.

Instinctive drift - The tendency of learned behavior to revert to biologically predisposed patterns.
Example: A trained raccoon begins to wash coins instead of putting them in a piggy bank.

Primary reinforcer - An innately reinforcing stimulus that satisfies a biological need.
Example: Food for a hungry animal.

Conditioned reinforcer - A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer.
Example: Money, as it can be used to buy food.

Insight learning - Solving problems through sudden insight.
Example: Realizing the solution to a puzzle all at once after struggling with it.

Observational learning - Learning by observing others (also called social learning).
Example: Learning how to cook by watching a parent.

Modeling - The process of observing and imitating a specific behavior.
Example: A child imitates their older sibling’s behavior.

Mirror neurons - Neurons that fire when we perform certain actions or observe another doing so, possibly aiding in empathy and learning.
Example: Feeling the urge to yawn when we see someone else yawn.

Prosocial behavior - Positive, constructive, helpful behavior.
Example: Volunteering at a local food bank.

Antisocial behavior - Negative, destructive, harmful behavior.
Example: Aggressive actions after watching violent behavior.

Cognitive map - A mental representation of the layout of one's environment.
Example: Remembering the layout of a new city after visiting several times.

Latent learning - Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.
Example: Knowing how to navigate a route but only demonstrating it when asked.