Chapter 7 Flashcards
The acquisition, from experience, of new knowledge, skills, or responses that results in a relatively permanent change in the state of the learner
Learning
A general process in which repeated or prolonged exposure to a stimulus results in a gradual reduction in responding
Habituation
Presentation of a stimulus leads to an increased response to a later stimulus
Sensitization
The psychologist that kick-started the behaviourist movement to never use the terms “consciousness”, “mental states”, “mind”, “content”, “introspectively verifiable”, “imagery”, etc.
John B. Watson
Was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology for his work on the salivation of dogs
Ivan Pavlov
When a neutral stimulus produces a response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally produces a response
Classical Conditioning
Basic Elements of Classical Conditioning
Unconditioned Stimulus (US) Unconditioned Response (UR) Acquisition Conditioned Stimulus (CS) Conditioned Response (CR)
Something that reliably produces a naturally occurring reaction in an organism
Unconditioned Stimulus
A reflexive reaction that is reliably produced by an unconditioned stimulus
Unconditioned Response
The phase of classical conditioning when the CS and the US are presented together
Acquisition
A previously neutral stimulus that produces a reliable response in an organism after being paired with a US
Conditioned Stimulus
A reaction that resembles an unconditioned response but is produced by a conditioned stimulus
Conditioned Response
A type of learning where a CS is paired with a stimulus that became associated with the US in an earlier procedure
Second-order Conditioning
The gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when the CS is repeatedly presented without the US
Extinction
The tendency of a learned behaviour to recover from extinction after a rest period
Spontaneous Recovery
The CR is observed even though the CS is slightly different from the CS used during acquisition
Generalization
The capacity to distinguish between similar but distinct stimuli
Discrimination
What were the following in the Little Albert Study?:
- Unconditioned Stimulus
- Conditioned Stimulus
- Conditioned Response
US - the loud sound
CS - the presence of the rat
CR - a fearful reaction
Properties of Evolutionary Mechanisms in Classical Conditioning
- rapid learning should occur in one or two trials
- conditioning should be able to take place over long intervals (several hours)
- organism should develop the aversion to the smell or taste of the food rather than its ingestion
- learned aversions should occur more often with novel foods than familiar ones
A tendency of learning particular kinds of associations over others
Biological Preparedness
A type of learning in which the consequences of an organism’s behaviour determine whether it will repeat that behaviour in the future
Operant Conditioning
A principle that behaviours that are followed by a “satisfying state of affairs” tend to be repeated, and those that produce an “unpleasant state of affairs” are less likely to be repeated; developed by Edward Thorndike
Law of Effect
A term coined by B.F. Skinner that referred to behaviour that an organism performs that has some impact on the environment
Operant Behaviour
A way to study operant behaviour scientifically; allows a researcher to study the behaviour of small organisms in a controlled environment
Operant Conditioning Chamber
OR
Skinner Box
