Unit 4 AP Psych Review

Classical Conditioning - Using a neutral stimulus with no effect on someone paired with a stimulus that causes an effect to teach/show something

Ivan Pavlov - Psychologist who studied classical conditioning and used it on dogs as an experiment

Unconditioned Stimulus - Causes an effect without any previous learning on the subject (e.g. fear of falling)

Unconditioned Response - causes a response naturally without any previous conditioning on the subject (e.g. drooling when seeing a tasty snack)

Neutral Stimulus - Stimulus that does not cause a reaction, can be used to condition

Conditioned Stimulus - Neutral Stimulus that is associated with a response over and over until it becomes adopted to that response

Conditioned Response - learned response that occurs from a conditioned stimulus

Associative learning - learning that associates two or more things together

Acquisition - Starting stage of learning something

Extinction - When a learned behavior goes away

Spontaneous Recovery - Learned behavior occurs again when a stimulus appears

Stimulus Generalization - Generalized behavior (ex. Being scared of a scissor because you’re scared of using a knife)

Stimulus Discrimination - Differentiating two stimuli and having different behaviors (ex. Being scared of sharks but not whales)

Little Albert Experiment - Applying classical conditioning to humans for the first time and documenting it

Operant Conditioning - Conditioning that includes a rewards and punishments system

EL Thorndike and BF Skinner - Founders of Operant Conditioning & coined the term

EL Thorndike’s Law of Effect - Rewarded behavior is more likely to be repeated

BF Skinner’s Shaping - Successfully reinforcing behavior

Reinforcement - Strengthening behavior, usually with rewards after that behavior occurs

Primary Reinforcers - Necessary for survival (food, water, clothing, shelter)

Secondary Reinforcers - NOT necessary for survival 

Positive Reinforcement - Adding something pleasant after that behavior

Negative Reinforcement - Taking away something unpleasant after that behavior

Punishments - Reinforcement trying to stop behavior instead of promoting it

Positive Punishment - Adding something unpleasant after that behavior

Negative Punishment - Taking something pleasant away after that behavior

Continuous Reinforcement - Rewarding a behavior everytime it is done

Intermittent Reinforcement - Reinforcing a behavior after a random amount of times or a random period of time

Ratio Reinforcement - Reinforcing a behavior after x amount of times (ex. A coupon after 5 purchases)

Interval Reinforcement - Reinforcing a behavior after x period of time

Fixed Ratio Reinforcement - Reinforcing a behavior after x amount of times every time (ex. A coupon every 5 purchases)

Variable Ratio Reinforcement - Reinforcing a behavior after a random amount of times every time (ex. A coupon is given between 2-5 purchases every time)

Fixed Interval Reinforcement - Reinforcing a behavior after a specific amount of time every time (ex. Getting paid by the hour)

Variable Interval Reinforcement - Reinforcing a behavior after a random period of time every time (ex. Pop quiz every 2 to 4 days)

Cognitive Map - Making a mental map of something

Latent Learning - Learning not being “useful” until it is applied

Insight Learning - Realizing the solution to a problem

Learned Helplessness - Learning to give up when you feel lost

Instinctual Drift - Reverting back to your instinctual behavior

Premack Principle - Getting over unpleasant things to enjoy pleasant things (ex. Going first in a presentation to get it over with)

Biological Preparedness - Inherent instincts to prepare ourselves (flight v. fight, fear of falling)

Habituation - Getting used to stimuli as they repeat over and over