Psychology Terms 3

Learning- The process of gaining, through experience, relatively permanent information and behaviors. 

classical conditioning- A type of learning in which a stimulus gains the power to cause a response.

Stimulus- Anything in the environment that one can respond to

Response- Any behavior or action.

unconditioned stimulus (US)- A stimulus that triggers a response reflexively and automatically.

unconditioned response (UR)- An automatic response to the unconditioned stimulus. 

conditioned stimulus (CS)- A previously neutral stimulus that, through learning, gains the power to cause a response.

conditioned response (CR)- The response to the conditioned stimulus.

Acquisition- The process of developing a learned response.

Extinction- In classical conditioning, the diminishing of a learned response after repeated presentation of the conditioned stimulus alone.

Generalization- Producing the same response to two similar stimuli.

Discrimination- In social relations, taking action against a group of people because of stereotyped beliefs and feelings of prejudice.

Behaviorism- The theory that psychology should only study observable behaviors, not mental processes.

Cognition- All mental processes associated with thinking, knowing, and remembering.

Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936)- Russian physiologist and learning theorist famous for the discovery of classical conditioning, in which learning occurs through association.

John B. Watson (1878–1958)- Founder of behaviorism, the theory that psychology should restrict its efforts to studying observable behaviors, not mental processes.

Robert Rescorla (1940–)- Developed, along with colleague Allan Wagner, a theory that emphasized the importance of cognitive processes in classical conditioning.

John Garcia (1917–2012)- Raised in poverty, Garcia was unable to attend school regularly as a child. He was in his late twenties before starting junior college, and he didn’t receive his Ph.D. until he was almost 50. Despite these obstacles, Garcia was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and received the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award for his work in conditioning.