Learning and Conditioning Vocab

Question 1

the process of acquiring through experience new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

ex: knowing not to do a behavior after being negatively punished

Answer 1

learning

Question 2

decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to a stimulus

ex: a squirt of water causes a sea slug to withdraw its gills; if the water repeatedly squirts, eventually the slug will not withdraw its gills (it gets used to it)

Answer 2

habituation

Question 3

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)

ex: the sea slug associates the squirt with an impending shock (if it is shocked after the squirt of water, its response grows stronger)

Answer 3

associative learning

Question 4

any event or situation that evokes a response

ex: we learn a flash of lightning signals an impending crack of thunder

Answer 4

stimulus

Question 5

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus

ex: when lightning flashes, we start to brace ourselves

Answer 5

respondent behavior

Question 6

behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences

ex: a child uses good manners and gets rewarded, therefore they become a well-mannered adult

Answer 6

operant behavior

Question 7

the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language

ex: chimpanzees learn behaviors by watching others perform

Answer 7

cognitive learning

Question 8

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)

ex: dog associates a tone with food

Answer 8

classical conditioning

Question 9

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)

ex: Watson hated mentalistic concepts and thought that all references to inner thoughts, feelings, and motives should be discarded when it comes to psychology

Answer 9

behaviorism

Question 10

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning

ex: when the tone is first presented to the dog it means nothing; eventually it makes the link between it and food

Answer 10

neutral stimulus (NS)

Question 11

in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (US) (such as food in the mouth)

Answer 11

unconditioned response (UR)

Question 12

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally-naturally and automatically-triggers an unconditioned response (UR)

ex: food to dog

Answer 12

unconditioned stimulus (US)

Question 13

in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)

ex: dog eventually associates tone with food

Answer 13

conditioned response (CR)

Question 14

in classical conditioning, an originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR)

ex: previously meaningless tone that now triggers salivation

Answer 14

conditioned stimulus (CS)

Question 15

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

ex: research where repeatedly presenting a female quail and turning a red light on causes a male quail to become turned on just from the light (increasing reproduction)

Answer 15

acquisition

Question 16

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

ex: an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone

Answer 16

higher-order conditioning (also called second-order conditioning)

Question 17

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced

ex: researchers stop playing the tone when presenting food

Answer 17

extinction

Question 18

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

ex: after a few hours, the researchers play tone again when presenting the food

Answer 18

spontaneous recovery

Question 19

the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses; (in operant conditioning, this occurs when responses learned in one situation occur in other, similar situations)

ex: a slightly different tone is played to dogs when presenting food, they still give the conditioned response (drool); a toddler learns to fear moving cars, so they also fear trucks and motorcycles

Answer 19

generalization

Question 20

in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus; (in operant conditioning, the ability to distinguish responses that are reinforced from similar responses that are not reinforced)

ex: occasionally, a dog might distinguish the original tone from the slightly different tone

Answer 20

discrimination

Question 21

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

ex: a parent gives their child a time out after the child was throwing tantrums

Answer 21

operant conditioning

Question 22

Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

ex: if you work hard and receive a promotion, you will be more likely to continue putting in more effort

Answer 22

law of effect

Question 23

in operant conditioning research, a chamber (also known as a Skinner box) containing a bar or a 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

Answer 23

operant chamber

Question 24

in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

ex: praise, attention, a paycheck

Answer 24

reinforcement

Question 25

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior ex: when a baby is learning to walk step by step

Answer 25

shaping

Question 26

in operant conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement) ex: pigeon's learn to recognize human faces, the face is an example

Answer 26

discriminative stimulus

Question 27

increasing behaviors by presenting these; this is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response ex: a child does their homework on time therefore they get a piece of candy

Answer 27

positive reinforcement

Question 28

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing aversive stimuli; this is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response (this is not the same as punishment) ex: a child portrays good behavior, therefore they get a night off of doing homework

Answer 28

negative reinforcement

Question 29

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need ex: water, shelter, food, sex, touch

Answer 29

primary reinforcer

Question 30

a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer ex: tone that is associated with food

Answer 30

conditioned reinforcer (or secondary reinforcer)

Question 31

a pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced ex: when we stop playing the tone when delivering food to the dog and when it starts again, etc

Answer 31

reinforcement schedule

Question 32

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs ex: giving a treat to an animal every time it displays good behavior

Answer 32

continuous reinforcement

Question 33

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 ex: a fisherman waits by the shore for certain amount of time, and he most likely catches same number of fishes every day, but the interval between catches isn't same

Answer 33

partial (intermittent) reinforcement

Question 34

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses ex: a coffee shop giving a free drink after every 10 purchased

Answer 34

fixed-ratio schedule

Question 35

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses ex: slot-machine players/gamblers experience this

Answer 35

variable-ratio schedule

Question 36

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed ex: people check more frequently for the mail as the delivery time approaches

Answer 36

fixed-interval schedule

Question 37

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals ex: when the longed-for-message that finally rewards persistence in checking our phone (there is no knowing when the waiting will be over)

Answer 37

variable-interval schedule

Question 38

an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows ex: discourages behavior rather than encourages it

Answer 38

punishment

Question 39

a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension ex: mirror the results of a person's own efforts; a person uses this system to record their physiological state while meditating

Answer 39

biofeedback

Question 40

a biological predisposition to learn associations, such as between taste and nausea, that have survival value ex: being afraid of things such as snakes, heights, or death with no previous knowledge/experience (biological)

Answer 40

preparedness

Question 41

the tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to biologically predisposed patterns ex: pigs trained to pick up wooden dollars and deposit them in a piggy bank began to drift back to their natural ways (dropping the coin, pushing it, wandering, etc)

Answer 41

instinctive drift

Question 42

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment ex: after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned it

Answer 42

cognitive map

Question 43

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it ex: as a boy, Billy watched his dad work with tools all the time, yet never picked one up; in adulthood, he is asked to perform a task with tools which he does easily with no instruction

Answer 43

latent learning

Question 44

a sudden realization of a problem's solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions ex: Sally is taking a math test and she has been stuck on the same problem for ten minutes; she can't think of a solution when suddenly it just comes to her

Answer 44

insight

Question 45

a desire to perform a behaviors effectively for its own sake ex: Bailey reads books all the time for fun just because she loves it

Answer 45

intrinsic motivation

Question 46

a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment ex: Bailey's teachers begin making her read a certain amount of pages every night for homework; this unmotivates her to the point where she doesn't even want to read anymore

Answer 46

extrinsic motivation

Question 47

attempting to alleviate stress directly-by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor ex: if our impatience leads to a family fight, we may go directly to that family member to work things out

Answer 47

problem-focused coping

Question 48

attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to our stress reaction ex: if, despite our best efforts, we cannot get along with that family member, we may relieve stress by reaching out to friends for support and comfort (can also be harmful, ex: eating comforting but fattening foods or burying emotions)

Answer 48

emotion-focused coping

Question 49

our sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless ex: choosing to control how we react rather than how others react

Answer 49

personal control

Question 50

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or person learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events ex: a dog was strapped in a harness and given shocks with no way to avoid them; later on when the harness removed, the dogs didn't try to avoid them and gave up hope

Answer 50

learned helplessness

Question 51

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate ex: a student believes that they are failing due to random luck, fate, bias, etc

Answer 51

external locus of control

Question 52

the perception that we control our own fate ex: a student believes they are failing because of their own lack of studying and knows they can do better next time

Answer 52

internal locus of control

Question 53

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards ex: going to bed early so that you'll be well rested in the morning even though you want to stay up later

Answer 53

self-control

Question 54

learning by observing others ex: a child who sees his sister burn her fingers on a hot stove learns not to touch it

Answer 54

observational learning (also called social learning)

Question 55

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior ex: a child mimics her mother brushing her hair

Answer 55

modeling

Question 56

frontal lobe 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 ex: when you see someone smile, these neurons for smiling fire up too, creating a sensation in your own mind of the feeling associated with smiling

Answer 56

mirror neurons

Question 57

positive, constructive, helpful behavior; the opposite of antisocial behavior ex: volunteer work, donating money

Answer 57

prosocial behavior

Question 58

created classical conditioning

Answer 58

Pavlov

Question 59

conditioning and behaviorism; Little Albert experiment; operant chamber

Answer 59

Watson and Skinner

Question 60

contributed to conditioning and behaviorism; created law of effect

Answer 60

Thorndike

Question 61

research on taste aversion

Answer 61

Garcia

Question 62

specialized in the involvement of cognitive processes in classical conditioning focusing on animal learning and behavior

Answer 62

Rescorla

Question 63

created concept of cognitive map

Answer 63

Tolman

Question 64

suggests that observation and modeling play a primary role in how and why people learn; bobo doll experiment

Answer 64

Bandura