Learning Flashcards
Learning
A relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience
Classical Conditioning
A type of learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to bring about a response after it is paired with a stimulus that naturally brings about that response
neutral stimulus
A stimulus that, before conditioning, does not nautrally bring about the response of interest
unconditional stimulus (UCS)
A stimulus that is naturally brings about a particular respnse without having been learned
unconditional response (UCR)
a response that is natural and needs no training (e.g., salivation at the smell of food)
conditoned stimulus (CS)
a once neutral stimulus that has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus to bring about a response formerly caused only by the unconditoned stimulus
conditioned response (CR)
a response that, after conditioning, follows a previously neutral stimulus (e.g., salivation at the ringing of a bell)
extinction
a basic phenomenon of learning that occurs when a previously conditoned response decrease in frequency and eventually disappears
spontaneous recovery
the reemergence of an extinguished conditioned response after a period of rest and with no further conditioning
stimulus generalization
a process in which, after a stimulus has been conditioned to produce a particular response, stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus produce the same response
stimulus discrimination
the process that occurs of two stimuli are sufficiently distinct from one another that one evokes a conditoned response that the other does not; the ability to differentiate between stimuli
operant conditioning
learning in which a voluntary response is strengthened or weakened, depending on its favorable or unfavorable consequences
reinforcement
the process by which a stimulus increases the probability that a preceding behavior will be repeated
reinforcer
any stimulus that increases the probability that a preceding behavior will occur again
positive reinforcer
a stimulus added to the environment that brings about an increasement in a preceding response
negative reinforcer
an unpleasant stimulus whose removal leads to an increase in the probability that a preceding response will be repeated in the future
punishment
a stimulus that decreases the probability that a previous behavior will occur again
schedules of reinforcement
different patterns of frequency and timing of reinforcement following desired behavior
continuous reinforcement schedule
reinforcing ofa behavior every time it occurs
partial (or intermittent) reinforcement schedule
reinforcing of a behavior some but not all the time
fixed-ratio schedule
a schedule by which reinforcement is given only after a specific number of responses are made
variable-ratio schedule
a schedule by which reinforcement occurs after a varying number of responses rather than after a fixed number
fixed-interval schedule
a schedule that provides reinforcement for a response only if a fixed time period has elasped, making overall rates of response relatively low
variable-interval schedule
a schedule by which the time between reinforcements varies around some average rather than being fixed
