This section features a lot of khan academy videos that will help you understand the concepts and terminologies. I recommend you watch them 😁

• Learning - a change in behavior, resulting in an experience

Habituation vs Sensitization

Two types of Non-associative learning (pertaining to senses and the external world)

1. Habituation - behavioral response to stimulus decreases

2. Sensitization - behavioral response to stimulus increases

Classical Conditioning

• Classical Conditioning - a subsection under associative learning (how to or more stimuli relate) that focuses on when you learn that two stimuli go together.

  • Unconditioned Stimulus - not learned stimulus that instinctively causes a reaction

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  • Unconditioned Response - not learned response to a stimulus

  • Conditioned Stimulus - stimulus only prompts reaction after learning

The conditioned stimulus is previously known as the neutral stimulus because you won’t get a reaction from it alone. It only becomes the conditioned stimulus when a neutral stimulus is presented and then shortly after the unconditioned stimulus is presented. Once someone learns the association between the two, the neutral stimulus will become conditioned. It can now cause the same response as the unconditioned stimulus.

• Conditioned Response - response only occurs after responding before.

Classical conditioning: Neutral, conditioned, and unconditioned stimuli and responses (video)

• Extinction - a process in which the conditioned response is weakened when the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus

• Spontaneous Recovery - a process in which a previously extinguished response comes back when the conditioned stimulus is present again

• Generalization - learning occurs when stimuli that are different but similar produce the same reaction

• Discrimination - being able to recognize and respond to differences between stimuli when only one of them is always associated with the unconditioned stimulus

Classical conditioning: Extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, discrimination (video)

Operant vs Reinforcer

1. Operant - action performed in an environment that has consequences

2. Reinforcer - a consequence of an action that affects how likely the action will occur in the future.

Thorndike’s Law of Effect

• Law of Effect - if a response to a stimulus is followed by a satisfying event, the association between the stimulus and response is strengthened and is likely to occur again. If it is followed by an annoying event, the stimulus to reaction association is weakened.

Operant Conditioning

• Operant Conditioning - a learning process in which an action’s consequences determine the likelihood of that action being repeated in the future.

  1. Shaping - reinforcing behavior until you get the desired behavior

Operant conditioning: Positive-and-negative reinforcement and punishment (video)

The 4 types of Reinforcement Schedules -

Operant conditioning: Schedules of reinforcement (video)

• Behavior Modification - use of operant conditioning techniques to eliminate unwanted behaviors & replace them with desirable ones

Observational Learning -

• Observation - when we learn or change behavior after watching someone engage in that behavior

  • Modeling - displaying behavior that imitates one that was previously observed

  • Vicarious Conditioning - learning to or not to engage in behavior after seeing others being rewarded or punished for performing the action.