Chap 6 Key Terms

Question 1

acquisition

Answer 1

period of initial learning in classical conditioning in which a human or an animal begins to connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus will begin to elicit the conditioned response

Question 2

associative learning

Answer 2

form of learning that involves connecting certain stimuli or events that occur together in the environment (classical and operant conditioning)

Question 3

classical conditioning

Answer 3

learning in which the stimulus or experience occurs before the behavior and then gets paired or associated with the behavior

Question 4

conditioned response

Answer 4

the response caused by the conditioned stimulus

Question 5

conditioned stimulus

Answer 5

the stimulus that elicits a response due to its being paired with an unconditioned stimulus

Question 6

continuous reinforcement

Answer 6

rewarding a behavior every time it occurs

Question 7

extinction

Answer 7

decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the conditioned stimulus

Question 8

fixed interval reinforcement schedule

Answer 8

behavior is rewarded after a set amount of time

Question 9

fixed ratio reinforcement schedule

Answer 9

set number of responses must occur before a behavior is rewarded

Question 10

higher-order conditioning

Answer 10

(also, second-order conditioning) using a conditioned stimulus to condition a neutral stimulus

Question 11

instinct

Answer 11

unlearned knowledge, involving complex patterns of behavior; instincts are thought to be more prevalent in lower animals than in humans

Question 12

latent learning

Answer 12

learning that occurs, but it may not be evident until there is a reason to demonstrate it

Question 13

law of effect

Answer 13

behavior that is followed by consequences satisfying to the organism will be repeated and behaviors that are followed by unpleasant consequences will be discouraged

Question 14

learning

Answer 14

change in behavior or knowledge that is the result of experience

Question 15

negative punishment

Answer 15

taking away a pleasant stimulus to decrease or stop a behavior

Question 16

negative reinforcement

Answer 16

taking away an undesirable stimulus to increase a behavior

Question 17

neutral stimulus

Answer 17

the stimulus that does not initially elicit a response

Question 18

observational learning

Answer 18

type of learning that occurs by watching others

Question 19

operant conditioning

Answer 19

form of learning in which the stimulus/experience happens after the behavior is demonstrated

Question 20

partial reinforcement

Answer 20

rewarding behavior only some of the time

Question 21

positive punishment

Answer 21

adding an undesirable stimulus to stop or decrease a behavior

Question 22

positive reinforcement

Answer 22

adding a desirable stimulus to increase a behavior

Question 23

primary reinforcer

Answer 23

has innate reinforcing qualities (e.g., food, water, shelter, sex)

Question 24

punishment

Answer 24

implementation of a consequence in order to decrease a behavior

Question 25

radical behaviorism

Answer 25

staunch form of behaviorism developed by B. F. Skinner that suggested that even complex higher mental functions like human language are nothing more than stimulus-outcome associations

Question 26

reinforcement

Answer 26

implementation of a consequence in order to increase a behavior

Question 27

secondary reinforcer

Answer 27

has no inherent value unto itself and only has reinforcing qualities when linked with something else (e.g., money, gold stars, poker chips)

Question 28

shaping

Answer 28

rewarding successive approximations toward a target behavior

Question 29

spontaneous recovery

Answer 29

return of a previously extinguished conditioned response

Question 30

stimulus discrimination

Answer 30

ability to respond differently to similar stimuli

Question 31

stimulus generalization

Answer 31

demonstrating the conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus

Question 32

unconditioned response

Answer 32

natural (unlearned) behavior to a given stimulus

Question 33

unconditioned stimulus

Answer 33

stimulus that elicits a reflexive response

Question 34

variable interval reinforcement schedule

Answer 34

behavior is rewarded after unpredictable amounts of time have passed

Question 35

variable ratio reinforcement schedule

Answer 35

number of responses differ before a behavior is rewarded

Question 36

vicarious punishment

Answer 36

a process where the observer sees the model punished, making the observer less likely to imitate the model’s behavior

Question 37

vicarious reinforcement

Answer 37

a process where the observer sees the model rewarded, making the observer more likely to imitate the model’s behavior