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Intro to General Psychology
Chapter 5: Learning
43
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
02/17/2006

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Term
learning
Definition
a process that produces a relatively enduring change in behavior or knowledge as a result of past experience.
Term
conditioning
Definition
the process of learning associations between environmental events and behavioral responses.
Term
classical conditioning
Definition
the basic learning process that involves repeatedly pairing a neutral stimulus with a response-producing stimulus until the neutral stimulus elicits the same response. also called respondent conditioning or Pavlovian conditioning.
Term
unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
Definition
the natural stimulus that reflexively elicits a response without the need for prior learning.
Term
unconditioned response (UCR)
Definition
the unlearned, reflexive response that is elicited by the unconditioned stimulus.
Term
conditioned stimulus (CS)
Definition
a formerly neutral stimulus that requires the capacity to elicit a reflexive response.
Term
conditioned response (CR)
Definition
the learned, reflexive response to a conditioned stimulus.
Term
stimulus generalization
Definition
the occurrence of a learned response not only to the original stimulus, but to other, similar stimuli as well.
Term
stimulus discrimination
Definition
the occurrence of a learned response to a specific stimulus, but not to other similar stimuli.
Term
extinction (in classical conditioning)
Definition
the gradual weakening and apparent disappearance of conditioned behavior. in classical conditioning, extinction occurs when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus.
Term
spontaneous recovery
Definition
the reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a period of time without exposure to the conditioned stimulus.
Term
placebo response
Definition
an individual's psychological and physiological response to what is actually a fake treatment or drug; also called placebo effect.
Term
taste aversion
Definition
a classically conditioned dislike for and avoidance of a particular food that develops when an organism becomes ill after eating the food.
Term
biological preparedness
Definition
in learning theory, the idea that an organism is innately predisposed to form associations between certain stimuli and responses.
Term
law of effect
Definition
learning principle proposed by Thorndike that responses followed by a satisfying effect become strengthened and are more likely to recur in a particular situation, while responses followed by a dissatisfying effect are weakened and less likely to recur in a particular situation.
Term
operant
Definition
Skinner's term for an actively emitted (or voluntary) behavior that operates on the environment to produce consequence.
Term
operant conditioning
Definition
the basic learning process that involves changing the probability that a response will be repeated by manipulating the consequences of that response; also called Skinnerian conditioning.
Term
reinforcement
Definition
the occurrence of a stimulus or event following a response that increases the likelihood of that response being repeated.
Term
positive reinforcement
Definition
a situation in which a response is followed by the addition of a reinforcing stimulus, increasing the likelihood that response will be repeated in similar situations.
Term
negative reinforcement
Definition
a situation in which a response results in the removal of, avoidance of, or escape from a punishing stimulus, increasing the likelihood that the response will be repeated in similar situations.
Term
primary reinforcer
Definition
a stimulus or event that is naturally or inherently reinforcing for a given species, such as food, water, or other biological necessities.
Term
conditioned reinforcer
Definition
a stimulus or event that has acquired reinforcing value by being associated with a primary reinforcer; also called a secondary reinforcer.
Term
punishment
Definition
the presentation of a stimulus or event following a behavior that acts to decrease the likelihood of the behavior's being repeated.
Term
punishment by application
Definition
a situation in which an operant is followed by the presentation or addition of an aversive stimulus, also called positive punishment.
Term
punishment by removal
Definition
a situation in which an operant is followed by the removal or subtraction of a reinforcing stimulus, also called negative punishment.
Term
discriminative stimulus
Definition
a specific stimulus in the presence of which a particular response is more likely to be reinforced, and in the absence of which a particular response is not reinforced.
Term
shaping
Definition
the operant conditioning of selectively reinforcing successively closer approximation of a goal behavior until the goal behavior is displayed.
Term
continuous reinforcement
Definition
a schedule of reinforcement in which every occurrence of a particular response is reinforced.
Term
partial reinforcement
Definition
a situation in which the occurrence of a particular response is only sometimes followed by a reinforcer.
Term
extinction (in operant conditioning)
Definition
the gradual weakening and disappearance of conditioned behavior. in operant conditioning, extinction occurs when an emitted behavior is no longer followed by a reinforcer.
Term
partial reinforcement effect
Definition
the phenomenon in which behaviors that are conditioned using partial reinforcement are more resistant to extinction than behaviors that are conditioned using continuous reinforcement.
Term
schedule of reinforcement
Definition
the delivery of a reinforcer according to a present pattern based on the number of responses or the time interval between responses.
Term
fixed-ratio (FR) schedule
Definition
a reinforcement schedule in which a reinforcer is delivered after a fixed number of responses has occurred.
Term
variable-ratio (VR) schedule
Definition
a reinforcement schedule in which a reinforcer is delivered after an average number of responses, which varies unpredictably from trial to trial.
Term
fixed-interval (FI) schedule
Definition
a reinforcement schedule in which a reinforcer is delivered for the first response that occurs after a present time interval has elapsed.
Term
variable-interval (VI) schedule
Definition
a reinforcement schedule in which a reinforcer is delivered for the first response that occurs after an average time interval, which varies unpredictably from trial to trial.
Term
behavior modification
Definition
the application of learning principles to help people develop more effective or adaptive behaviors.
Term
cognitive map
Definition
Tolman's term for the mental representation of the layout of a familiar environment.
Term
latent learning
Definition
Tolman's term for learning that occurs in the absence of reinforcement but is not behaviorally demonstrated until a reinforcer becomes available.
Term
learned helplessness
Definition
a phenomenon in which exposure to inescapable and uncontrollable aversive events produces passive behavior.
Term
instinctive drift
Definition
the tendency of an animal to revert to instinctive behaviors that can interfere with the performance of an operantly conditioned response.
Term
observational learning
Definition
learning that occurs through observing the actions of others.
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