Unit 3b Learning

Question 1

What is the behavioral perspective?

Answer 1

A psychological approach that emphasizes observable behaviors and the ways they’re learned.

Question 2

Define classical conditioning.

Answer 2

A learning process that occurs through associations between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus.

Question 3

What is acquisition in classical conditioning?

Answer 3

The initial stage of learning when a response is first established and gradually strengthened.

Question 4

What does UCS stand for?

Answer 4

Unconditioned Stimulus

Question 5

What is the Unconditioned Response (UCR)?

Answer 5

The natural reaction to an unconditioned stimulus.

Question 6

Define Conditioned Stimulus (CS).

Answer 6

A previously neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.

Question 7

What is a Conditioned Response (CR)?

Answer 7

The learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.

Question 8

What is extinction in classical conditioning?

Answer 8

The diminishing of a conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus no longer follows a conditioned stimulus.

Question 9

What is spontaneous recovery?

Answer 9

The re-emergence of a conditioned response after a pause or period of extinction.

Question 10

Define stimulus generalization.

Answer 10

The tendency for the conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses after the response has been conditioned.

Question 11

What is stimulus discrimination?

Answer 11

The ability to distinguish between different stimuli and respond differently.

Question 12

What is higher order conditioning?

Answer 12

A form of learning where a conditioned stimulus is paired with a new stimulus, creating a second conditioned stimulus.

Question 13

How is classical conditioning used in therapy?

Answer 13

Through techniques like counterconditioning to change unwanted behaviors.

Question 14

What are taste aversions?

Answer 14

A learned avoidance of a particular food that occurs after a negative experience.

Question 15

What is biological preparedness?

Answer 15

The inherent inclination of certain animals to form associations between specific stimuli and responses.

Question 16

Define habituation.

Answer 16

A decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations.

Question 17

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 17

A method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior.

Question 18

What does the Law of Effect state?

Answer 18

Behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, while behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely.

Question 19

Differentiate between reinforcement and punishment.

Answer 19

Reinforcement increases behavior, while punishment decreases behavior.

Question 20

What is positive reinforcement?

Answer 20

Introducing a pleasant stimulus to increase a behavior.

Question 21

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 21

Removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase a behavior.

Question 22

Define positive punishment.

Answer 22

Introducing an unpleasant stimulus to decrease a behavior.

Question 23

What is negative punishment?

Answer 23

Removing a pleasant stimulus to decrease a behavior.

Question 24

What are primary reinforcers?

Answer 24

Innately satisfying reinforcers, such as food or water.

Question 25

What are secondary reinforcers?

Answer 25

Learned reinforcers that acquire value through association with primary reinforcers.

Question 26

What is reinforcement discrimination?

Answer 26

Differentiating between stimuli that signal the presence or absence of reinforcement.

Question 27

What is reinforcement generalization?

Answer 27

The tendency to respond similarly to different but similar stimuli.

Question 28

Define shaping.

Answer 28

The process of reinforcing successive approximations to a desired behavior.

Question 29

What is instinctive drift?

Answer 29

The tendency for animals to revert to instinctive behaviors that interfere with conditioned responses.

Question 30

What are superstitious behaviors?

Answer 30

Behaviors that are believed to lead to a desired outcome based on coincidental reinforcement.

Question 31

What is learned helplessness?

Answer 31

A condition in which a person feels unable to control or change a situation, leading to passive behavior.

Question 32

What are the schedules of reinforcement?

Answer 32

Rules that determine how and when reinforcement is delivered.

Question 33

Differentiate between continuous and partial reinforcement.

Answer 33

Continuous reinforcement provides reinforcement after every response; partial reinforcement provides it intermittently.

Question 34

What is a fixed ratio schedule?

Answer 34

A reinforcement schedule that delivers reinforcement after a set number of responses.

Question 35

What is a variable ratio schedule?

Answer 35

A reinforcement schedule that delivers reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses.

Question 36

What is a fixed interval schedule?

Answer 36

A reinforcement schedule that delivers reinforcement after a fixed amount of time.

Question 37

What is a variable interval schedule?

Answer 37

A reinforcement schedule that delivers reinforcement after varying amounts of time.

Question 38

What pattern of responses does a fixed interval schedule produce?

Answer 38

A scalloped graph pattern.

Question 39

What is social learning theory?

Answer 39

A theory that posits that people learn from one another through observation, imitation, and modeling.

Question 40

Define observational learning.

Answer 40

Learning that occurs through observing the behavior of others.

Question 41

What is vicarious conditioning?

Answer 41

Learning that occurs by observing the consequences of another's behavior.

Question 42

What is modeling in the context of learning?

Answer 42

The process of learning behaviors by observing and imitating others.

Question 43

What is insight learning?

Answer 43

A type of learning that involves a sudden realization of a problem's solution.

Question 44

What is latent learning?

Answer 44

Learning that occurs without reinforcement and is not immediately reflected in behavior.

Question 45

What are cognitive maps?

Answer 45

Mental representations of physical locations.