Mods 26-27

Question 1

learning

Answer 1

the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors.

Question 2

habituation

Answer 2

decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to a stimulus

Question 3

Ivan Pavlov

Answer 3

Pavlov spent two decades studying dogs’ digestive system and earned the Nobel Prize. His experiments on learning produced the phenomenon we call classical conditioning.

Question 4

stimulus

Answer 4

any event or situation that evokes a response.

Question 5

respondent behavior

Answer 5

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus.

Question 6

John B. Watson

Answer 6

founding father of the behavioral perspective.

Question 7

classical conditioning

Answer 7

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 (the tone) comes to elicit behavior (drooling) in anticipation of the second stimulus (food).

Question 8

behaviorism

Answer 8

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).

Question 9

neutral stimulus

Answer 9

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

Question 10

unconditioned response

Answer 10

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

Question 11

unconditioned stimulus

Answer 11

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally– naturally and automatically– triggers a response.

Question 12

conditioned response

Answer 12

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

Question 13

conditioned stimulus

Answer 13

in classical conditioning, an originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.

Question 14

acquisition

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

extinction

Answer 15

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

Question 16

spontaneous recovery

Answer 16

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

Question 17

generalization

Answer 17

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

Question 18

discrimination

Answer 18

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).

Question 19

operant conditioning

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

B.F. Skinner

Answer 20

Skinner was behaviorism’s most influential and controversial figure. He’s most famous for his work with the operant chamber and establishing schedules of reinforcement.

Question 21

Skinner was behaviorism’s most influential and controversial figure. He’s most famous for his work with the operant chamber and establishing schedules of reinforcement.

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Edward Thorndike

Answer 22

an early behaviorist who conducted experiments with cats and a puzzle box. He identified the Law of Effect.

Question 23

operant chamber

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

reinforcement

Answer 24

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

Question 25

shaping

Answer 25

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.

Question 26

discriminative stimulus

Answer 26

in operant conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement).

Question 27

positive reinforcement

Answer 27

increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.

Question 28

negative reinforcement

Answer 28

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing aversive stimuli. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Note: negative reinforcement is not punishment.)