Unit 3 - Classical and Operant Conditioning Flashcards
Learning
Relatively permanent change in organism’s behavior due to experience.
Classical Conditioning
(Ivan Pavlov) Organisms can come to associate two different stimuli together
Neutral Stimulus
Stimulus which initially produces no specific response other than focusing attention.
Unconditioned Stimulus
Stimulus that unconditionally (automatically) and naturally triggers a response.
Unconditioned Response
Unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned Stimulus
After association with an unconditioned stimulus, it comes to trigger a conditioned response.
Conditioned Response
Learned response to a previously neutral conditioned stimulus.
Acquisition
Neutral stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned response; an organism learns a behavior
Higher Order Conditioning
The conditioned stimulus (CS) is one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus.
Extinction
The diminishing of a conditioned response.
Spontaneous Recovery
After a rest period, an extinguished conditioned response (CR) such salivation, spontaneously recovers.
Generalization
Tendency to respond to stimuli that is similar to the conditioned stimulus (CS)
Discrimination
A learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli.
John Garcia
Studied taste aversion in rats; led to knowledge that sickness and taste preferences can be conditioned
Taste Aversion
Associates the taste of a certain food with symptoms caused by a toxic, spoiled, or poisonous substance.
John B. Watson
Believed in objective science/ behaviorism.
Behaviorism
The study of behavior without reference to unobservable mental processes.
Little Albert Experiment
Conditioned fear into an infant; Albert generalized his fears to other furry objects.
Robert Rescorla
The consistency of the pairing between two stimuli influences the strength of the connection between two stimuli.
E.L. Thorndike Law of Effect/ Puzzle Box
The probability of an action being repeated is strengthened when followed by a pleasant or satisfying consequence.
Operant Conditioning
Behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment.
Operant Chamber
(B.F. Skinner) Bar or key that an animal manipulates to obtain a reinforcer.
Shaping
Procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior towards the desired target behavior through successive approximations.
Discriminative Stimulus
Stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement.
