Vocab Ch 6

Question 1

Learning

Answer 1

A relatively enduring change in behavior, resulting from experience

Question 2

Nonassociative learning

Answer 2

Responding after repeated exposure to a single stimulus, or event.

Question 3

Associative learning

Answer 3

Linking two stimuli, or events, that occur together

Question 4

Observational learning

Answer 4

Acquiring or changing a behavior after exposure to another individual performing that behavior

Question 5

Habituation

Answer 5

A decrease in behavioral response after repeated exposure to a stimulus.

Question 6

Sensitization

Answer 6

An increase in behavioral response after exposure to a stimulus.

Question 7

Unconditioned response (UR)

Answer 7

A response that does not have to be learned, such as a reflex.

Question 8

Unconditioned stimulus (US)

Answer 8

A stimulus that elicits a response, such as a reflex, without any prior learning

Question 9

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

Answer 9

A stimulus that elicits a response only after learning has taken place.

Question 10

Conditioned response (CR)

Answer 10

A response to a conditioned stimulus; a response that has been learned.

Question 11

Acquisition

Answer 11

The gradual formation of an association between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli.

Question 12

Stimulus generalization

Answer 12

Learning that occurs when stimuli that are similar but not identical to the conditioned stimulus produce a conditioned response.

Question 13

Stimulus discrimination

Answer 13

A differentiation between two similar stimuli when only one of them is consistently associated with the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 14

Extinction

Answer 14

A process in which the conditioned response is weakened when the conditioned stimulus is repeated without the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 15

Spontaneous recovery

Answer 15

A process in which a previously extinguished conditioned response re-emerges after the presentation of the conditioned stimulus.

Question 16

Rescoria-Wagner model

Answer 16

A cognitive model of classical conditioning; it holds that learning is determined by the extent to which a Unconditioned Stimulus is unexpected or surprising.

Question 17

Phobia

Answer 17

An acquired fear that is out of proportion to the real threat of an object or a situation.

Question 18

Fear conditioning

Answer 18

A type of classical conditioning that turns neutral stimuli into feared stimuli.

Question 19

Operant conditioning (instrumental conditioning)

Answer 19

A learning process in which the consequences of and action determine the likelihood that it will be performed in the future.

Question 20

Law of effect

Answer 20

Thorndike’s general theory of learning: Any behavior that leads to a “satisfying state of affairs” is likely to occur again, and any behavior that leads to an “annoying state of affairs” is less likely to occur again.

Question 21

Reinforcer

Answer 21

A stimulus that follows a response and increases the likelihood that the response will be repeated.

Question 22

Shaping

Answer 22

A process of operant conditioning; it involves reinforcing behaviors that are increasingly similar to the desired behavior.

Question 23

Positive reinforcement

Answer 23

The administration of a stimulus to increase the probability of a behavior’s being repeated.

Question 24

Negative reinforcement

Answer 24

The removal of an unpleasant stimulus to increase the probability of a behavior’s being repeated.

Question 25

Continuous reinforcement

Answer 25

A type of learning in which a behavior is reinforced each time it occurs.

Question 26

Partial reenforcement

Answer 26

A type of learning in which behavior is reenforced intermittently.

Question 27

Partial-reenforcement extinction effect

Answer 27

The greater persistence of behavior under partial reenforcement than under continuous reenforcement.

Question 28

Positive punishment

Answer 28

The administration of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior’s recurring.

Question 29

Negative punishment

Answer 29

The removal of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior’s recurring.

Question 30

Behavior modification

Answer 30

The use of operant-conditioning techniques to eliminate unwanted behaviors and replace them with desirable ones.

Question 31

Cognitive map

Answer 31

A visual/spatial mental representation of an environment

Question 32

Latent learning

Answer 32

Learning that takes place in the absence of reenforcement

Question 33

Modeling

Answer 33

The imitation of observed behavior

Question 34

Vicarious learning

Answer 34

Learning the consequences of an action by watching others be rewarded or punished for performing the action.

Question 35

Mirror neurons

Answer 35

Neurons in the brain that are activated when one observed another individual engage in an action and when one performs a similar action.

Question 36

Classical conditioning (Pavlovian conditioning)

Answer 36

A type of associative learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response when it is associated with a stimulus that already produces that response.