AP Psychology Unit 5 Terms

1. behaviorism: a psychological

approach that emphasizes the study of

observable behaviors rather than

internal mental states

2. classical conditioning: a type of

learning in which one learns to link two

more stimuli and anticipate events

3. acquisition: when a previously neutral

stimulus begins triggering a conditioned

response

4. unconditioned stimulus: a stimulus

that naturally and automatically triggers

a response

5. unconditioned response: the

unlearned, naturally occurring response

to the unconditioned stimulus

6. neutral stimulus: a stimulus that gets

a subject’s attention but otherwise does

not produce a measurable response

7. conditioned stimulus: the former

neutral stimulus after it has become

associated with the unconditioned

stimulus and now elicits a conditioned

response

8. conditioned response: the learned

response to a previously neutral

stimulus (but now conditioned) stimulus

9. extinction: the diminishing of a

conditioned response

10. spontaneous recovery: the

reappearance, after a pause, of an

extinguished conditioned response

11. higher-order conditioning: occurs

when a conditioned stimulus is paired

with a new neutral stimulus, leading the

new neutral stimulus to evoke a

conditioned response

12. contingencies: the relationship

between stimuli and responses, and the

consequences that follow those

responses

13. counterconditioning: psychological

technique used to change or replace an

undesirable response to a stimulus with

a more desirable response

14. taste aversion: when an individual

develops a strong dislike or avoidance

of a particular taste (or food) after it has

been paired with an unpleasant or

harmful experience

15. one-trial conditioning: a form of

classical conditioning in which a single

pairing of a neutral stimulus (NS) with

an unconditioned stimulus (US) is

sufficient to establish a conditioned

response (CR)

16. biological preparedness: suggests

that humans and other animals are

inherently predisposed to learn certain

associations and behaviors more easily

than others due to evolutionary factors

17. habituation: a form of learning in which

an organism gradually decreases or

ceases to respond to a repeated

stimulus

5.2 Operant Conditioning

18. operant conditioning: a type of

behavior modification that relies on

learning through consequences

19. reinforcement: stimuli that encourage

the repetition of a behavior

20. punishment: stimuli that discourage

the repetition of a behavior

21. law of effect: behaviors that are

followed by favorable consequences

are more likely to be repeated in the

future, while behaviors that are followed

by unfavorable consequences are less

likely to be repeated

22. primary reinforcement: stimuli that are

inherently satisfying or rewarding

because they directly satisfy basic

biological needs or drives

23. secondary reinforcer: stimuli that

acquire their reinforcing properties

through association with primary

reinforcers or other secondary

reinforcers

24. positive reinforcement: adding a

desirable stimulus to increase the

likelihood of a behavior being repeated

25. negative reinforcement: removing an

aversive stimulus to increase the

likelihood of a behavior being repeated

26. reinforcement discrimination: an

organism learns to respond differently

to two or more stimuli that are similar

but have different consequences

27. reinforcement generalization: where

a response that has been reinforced in

the presence of a specific stimulus also

occurs in the presence of similar stimuli

28. positive punishment: adding an

aversive stimulus to decrease the

likelihood of a behavior being repeated

29. negative punishment: removing a

desirable stimulus to decrease the

likelihood of a behavior being repeated

30. shaping: reinforcing approximations of

a desired behavior

31. instinctive drift: when animals revert

to their innate, instinctual behaviors

instead of performing the trained

operant response

32. superstitious behavior: actions or

behaviors that are performed in a

seemingly random or arbitrary manner

but are mistakenly believed to cause a

desired outcome or prevent an

undesirable one

33. aversive consequences: outcomes or

stimuli that are unpleasant or

undesirable, leading to a decrease in

the likelihood of a behavior being

repeated

34. continuous reinforcement: when a

desired behavior is reinforced each and

every time it is displayed

35. partial reinforcement: when a desired

behavior is reinforced intermittently

36. fixed-interval: a reinforcement

schedule that reinforces a response

only after a specified time has elapsed

37. fixed-ratio: a reinforcement schedule

that reinforces a response only after a

specified number of responses

38. variable-interval: a reinforcement

schedule that reinforces a response at

unpredictable time intervals

39. variable-ratio: a reinforcement

schedule that reinforces a response

after an unpredictable number of

responses

5.3: Social, Cognitive, & Neurological Factors in Learning

40. social learning theory: Bandura’s

theory that emphasizes the role of

observational learning, imitation, and

modeling in the acquisition of new

behaviors

41. vicarious conditioning: the idea that

individuals are influenced by the

consequences experienced by the

models they observe

42. modeling: imitating the behavior of

others

43. insight learning: a form of learning

characterized by sudden and

spontaneous understanding or

realization of a problem or solution,

often occurring without trial-and-error or

repeated practice

44. latent learning: a form of learning that

occurs without obvious reinforcement or

immediate behavioral changes

45. cognitive mapping: the mental

representation or internal map that

individuals create to organize and

navigate their environment