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Psych 100H
exam 2
49
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
05/10/2010

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Term
learning
Definition
any process through which experience at one time can alter an individual's behavior at a future time
Term
classical conditioning
Definition
a training procedure or learning experience in which a neutral stimulus (the conditioning stimulus) comes to elicit a reflexive response through its being paired with another stimulus (usually an unconditioned stimulus) that already elicits that reflexive response
Term
generalization (classical conditioning)
Definition
the phenomenon by which a stimulus that resembles a conditioned stimulus will elicit the conditioned response even though it has never been paired with the unconditioned stimulus
Term
generalization (operant conditioning)
Definition
stimulus resembles a discriminative stimulus that will increase the rate at which the animal produces the operant response, even though the response has never been reinforced in the presence of that stimulus
Term
discrimination training
Definition
procedure by which generalization between two stimuli is diminished or abolished by reinforcing the response to one stimulus and extinguishing the response to another
Term
law of effect
Definition
Thorndike's principle that responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation become more likely to recur in that situation, and responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to recur in that situation
Term
operant conditioning (instrumental conditioning)
Definition
a training or learning process by which the consequence of a behavioral response affects the likelihood that the individual will produce that response again
Term
negative reinforcement
Definition
in operant conditioning, the condition in which a response results in removal of a negative reinforcer (stimulus)
Term
negative punishment
Definition
in operant conditioning, the type of punishment in which the removal of a stimulus (such as taking food or money) when a response occurs decreases the likelihood that the response will recur
Term
imprinting
Definition
ethologists' term for a relatively sudden and irreversible form of learning that can occur only during some critical period of the individual's development
Term
chunking
Definition
a strategy for improving the ability to remember a set of items by grouping them mentally to form fewer items
Term
hippocampus
Definition
a structure in the limbic system if the brain that is essential for encoding explicit memories for long-term storage
Term
deductive reasoning
Definition
logical reasoning from the general to the specific; the reasoner begins by accepting the truth of one or more general premises and uses them to assert whether a specific conclusion is true, false or indeterminant
Term
IQ (intelligence quotient)
Definition
average score for the population is 100 and the distribution of scores around that average matches a normal distribution
Term
morphemes
Definition
the smallest meaningful units of a verbal language; words, prefixes, or suffixes that have discrete meanings
Term
phonemes
Definition
the various vowel and consonant sounds that provide the basis for a spoken language
Term
short term memory (working memory)
Definition
the memory store that is considered to be the main workplace of the mind; among other things, it is the seat of conscious thought and reasoning
Term
long term memory
Definition
information that is retained in the mind for long periods (often throughout life)
Term
shaping
Definition
an operant-conditioning procedure in which successively closer approximations to the desired response are reinforced until the response finally occurs
Term
habituation
Definition
decline in the magnitude of a reflexive response when the stimulus is repeated several times in succession
Term
extinction
Definition
part of Pavlovian conditioning: stimulus elicits less and less response and eventually none at all
Term
spontaneous recovery
Definition
part of Pavlovian conditioning: conditioned reflex can be partially renewed after extinction
Term
inter-stimulus interval (ISI)
Definition
time between the offset of one stimulus and the onset of another stimulus
Term
insight learning
Definition
uses reason to solve problems rather than personal experience
Term
social learning
Definition
people learn new behavior through reinforcement or punishment
Term
sensory memory
Definition
ability to retain impressions of sensory information after the original stimulus has ceased
Term
anterograde amnesia
Definition
loss of the ability to create memories after the event that caused amnesia, leading to a partial or complete inability to recall the past
Term
retrograde amnesia
Definition
someone is unable to recall the events that occurred before the development of amnesia
Term
inductive reasoning
Definition
involves moving from a set of specific facts to a general conclusion
Term
availability bias
Definition
occurs when we overweigh evidence that comes to mind easily
Term
confirmation bias
Definition
tendency for people to prefer information that confirms their hypotheses, independently of whether or not they are true 
Term
syllogism
Definition
logical argument in which one proposition (the conclusion) is inferred from two others (the premises) of a certain form
Term
algorithm
Definition
effective method for solving a problem expressed as a finite sequence of instructions
Term
nature v. nuture
Definition
debates an individual's innate qualities vs. personal experience in determining or causing individual differences in physical and behavioral traits
Term
object permanence
Definition
understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched (one of infant's most important accomplishments)
Term
Yerkish
Definition
artificial language developed for use by non-human primates using a keyboard to punch in lexigrams (symbols corresponding to objects or ideas)
Term
animism
Definition
idea that spirits exist not only in humans but also in animals, plants and other natural objects
Term
egocentrism
Definition
implies that children do not have the ability to understand that other people may have different opinions and beliefs than they do
Term
conditioned taste aversion
Definition
when a subject associates a taste of a certain food with symptoms caused by a toxic or spoiled substance
Term
trial and error learning
Definition
subject comes to associate particular behaviors with the consequences they produce
Term
cognitive map
Definition
method used to construct and accumulate spatial knowledge, allowing the "mind's eye" to visualize images in order to reduce cognitive load and enhance recall and learning of information
Term
blocking
Definition
conditioning to a stimulus can be stopped if the stimulus were reinforced in compound with a previously conditioned stimulus
Term
forgetting curve
Definition
illustrates the decline of memory retention in time
Term
acquisition
Definition
stage in which some response is being associated with some stimulus
Term
learning curve
Definition
represents the initial difficulty of learning something, and to an extent, how much there is to learn after initial familiarity
Term
temporal lobe
Definition
part of brain where amnesia could occur
Term
predictable-world bias
Definition
predisposed to find order in our world, so that we are inclined to see or anticipate order when it doesn't exist
Term
heritability
Definition
the degree to which variation in a particular trait, within a particular population of individuals, stems from genetic differences among those individuals as opposed to environmental differences
Term
language acquisition device
Definition
set of innate mental mechanisms that enable a child to acquire language quickly and efficiently
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