Relationships And Behavior Flashcards
Classical conditioning
A test subject develops a response to a previously neutral stimulus by associating the stimulus with another stimulus that already elicited that response. Ex: Pavlov’s dogs
Acquisition
The stage of learning over which a conditioned response to a new stimulus is established.
Spontaneous recovery
The reappearance of the conditioned response after a period of lessened response.
Extinction
Disappearance of the conditioned response.
Stimulus generalization
The tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus.
Stimulus discrimination
The learned lack of response to a stimulus similar to the conditioned stimulus.
Neutral stimulus
A stimulus eliciting no response.
Operant conditioning
Type of associative learning in which an individual becomes more or less likely to carry out a certain behavior based on its consequences. Ex: BF Skinner and rats; stepping on lever=food; electrifying floor.
Reinforcement
A consequence that increases the likelihood of a behavior (such as the delivery of food). Positive = introduction of a reinforcing stimulus in response to a desired behavior. Negative = removal of an unpleasant stimulus in response to a desired behavior.
Punishment
A stimulus that decreases the likelihood of a behavior (such as the delivery of a shock).
Primary reinforcer/punisher
Those that relate to a physiological need and the drive for survival.
Secondary reinforcers/punishers
Require learning and social context to affect behavioral decisions. Ex: money/fines, praise/scolding, prestige/ostracism, good/bad grades.
Escape conditioning
Learned behavior that allows the subject to escape the unpleasant stimulus.
Avoidance conditioning
Learned behavior that allows the subject to avoid the unpleasant stimulus altogether by employing a specific response.
Reinforcement schedule
Describes how often and under what conditions a behavior is reinforced.
Continuous reinforcement
Rewards provided after every desired response. Usually the most rapid way to first establish a response.
Partial (intermittent) reinforcement
Fixed-ratio: rewards provided after a specified number of responses.
Variable-ratio: rewards provided after an unpredictable number of responses.
Fixed-interval: rewards to a response are provided after a specified time interval has passed.
Variable-interval: rewards to a response are provided after an unpredictable time interval has passed.
Once learned, behaviors established with a partial reinforcement schedule are much more resistant to extinction.
Shaping
Type of operant conditioning that shapes behavior toward a certain response by reinforcing successive approximations toward the desired behavior.
Observational learning
Based on modeling, which consists of witnessing another person’s actions, retaining information on that person’s behavior, and later re-enacting what was learned through that observation in one’s own behavior.
Mirror neurons
Specialized nerve cells that fire both when a person is completing an action and when the person observes someone else completing the same action.
Vicarious emotions
Feeling the emotions of others as though they are one’s own.
Associative learning or conditioning
Learning that involves associations between certain stimuli and specific responses.
Behavior
the sum coordinated responses of organisms to the internal and external stimuli that they experience.
Partially influenced by the biology of the organism.
Nonverbal communication
consists of all communication between people that does not involve words. It includes body language, touch, appearance, and facial expressions.
