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unit 3 part 3
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| learning | the process of acquiring through experience new and relatively enduring information or behaviors. |
| associative learning | learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequence (as in operant conditioning). |
| stimulus | any event or situation that evokes a response. |
| respondent behavior | behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus. |
| operant behavior | behavior that operates on the environment, producing a consequence. |
| cognitive learning | the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language. |
| classical conditioning | a type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli; as a result, to illustrate with Pavlov’s classic experiment, the first stimulus (a tone) comes to elicit behavior (drooling) in anticipation of the second stimulus (food). |
| behaviorism | the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2). |
| neutral stimulus (NS) | in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning. |
| unconditioned response (UCR) | in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) (such as food in the mouth). |
| unconditioned stimulus (UCS) | in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally — naturally and automatically — triggers an unconditioned response (UCR). |
| conditioned response (CR) | n classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS). |
| conditioned stimulus (CS) | in classical conditioning, an originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR). |
| 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. (In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.) |
| higher-order conditioning | a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. |
| extinction | in classical conditioning, the diminishing of a conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus. (In operant conditioning, when a response is no longer reinforced.) |
| generalization | in classical conditioning, the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses. |
| spontaneous recovery | the reappearance, after a pause, of a weakened conditioned response. |
| discrimination (in classical conditioning) | in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have not been associated with a conditioned stimulus. |
| preparedness | a biological predisposition to learn associations, such as between taste and nausea, that have survival value. |
| operant conditioning | a type of learning in which a behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer or less likely to recur if followed by a punisher. |
| law of effect | Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable (or reinforcing) consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable (or punishing) consequences become less likely. |
| operant chamber | in operant conditioning research, a chamber (also known as a Skinner box) containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal’s rate of bar pressing or key pecking. |
| reinforcement | in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows. |
| shaping | an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior. |
| discriminative stimulus | in operant conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement). |
| positive reinforcement | increasing behaviors by presenting a pleasurable stimulus. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response. |
| negative reinforcement | increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing an aversive stimulus. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Note: Negative reinforcement is not punishment.) |
| negative reinforcement | an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need. |
| conditioned reinforcer | a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer. (Also known as a secondary reinforcer.) |
| reinforcement schedule | a pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced. |
| continuous reinforcement schedule | reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs. |
| partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule | reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement. |
| fixed-ratio schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses. |
| variable-ratio schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses. |
| fixed-interval schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed. |
| variable-interval schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals. |
| punishment | an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows. |
| instinctive drift | the tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to biologically predisposed patterns. |
| cognitive map | a mental representation of the layout of one’s environment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it. |
| latent learning | learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it. |
| insight learning | solving problems through sudden insight; contrasts with strategy-based solutions. |
| observational learning | learning by observing others. (Also called social learning.) |
| modeling | the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior. |
| mirror neurons | neurons that some scientists believe fire when we perform certain actions or observe another doing so. The brain’s mirroring of another’s action may enable imitation and empathy. |
| prosocial behavior | positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior. |
| antisocial behavior | negative, destructive, harmful behavior. The opposite of prosocialbehavior. |