| A | B |
|---|
| Learning | a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience |
| Behaviorism | an approach to psychology that emphasizes the study of observable behavior and the role of the environment as a determinant of behavior |
| Conditioning | a basic kind of learning that involves associations between environmental stimuli and the organism’s responses |
| Unconditioned stimulus (US) | the classical-conditioning term for a stimulus that elicits a reflexive response in the absence of learning |
| Unconditioned response (UR) | the classical-conditioning term for a reflexive response elicited by a stimulus in the absence of learning |
| Conditioned stimulus (CS) | the classical-conditioning term for an initially neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a conditioned response after being associated with an unconditioned stimulus |
| Conditioned response (CR) | the classical-conditioning term for a response that is elicited by a conditioned stimulus; it occurs after the conditioned stimulus is associated with and unconditioned stimulus |
| Classical conditioning | the process by which a previously neutral stimulus acquires the capacity to elicit a response through association with a stimulus that already elicits a similar or related response |
| Extinction | the weakening and eventual disappearance of a learned response; in classical conditioning, it occurs when the CS is no longer paired with the US |
| Spontaneous recovery | the reappearance of a learned response after its apparent extinction |
| Higher-order conditioning | in classical conditioning, a procedure in which a neutral stimulus becomes a CS through association with an already established CS |
| Stimulus generalization | after conditioning, the tendency to respond to a stimulus that resembles one involved in the original conditioning; in classical conditioning, it occurs when a stimulus that resembles the CS elicits the CR |
| Stimulus discrimination | the tendency to respond differently to two or more similar stimuli; in classical conditioning, it occurs when a stimulus similar to the CS fails to evoke the CR |
| Phobia | a fear of an object or situation becomes irrational and interferes with normal activities |
| Counterconditioning | in classical conditioning, the process of pairing a conditioned stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a response that is incompatible with an unwanted conditioned response |
| Operant conditioning | the process by which a response becomes more likely to occur or less so, depending on its consequences |
| Reinforcement | the process by which a stimulus or event strengthens or increases the probability of the response that it follows |
| Punishment | the process by which a stimulus or event weakens or reduces the probability of the response that it follows |
| Secondary reinforcers | a stimulus that has acquired reinforcing/punishing properties through association with other reinforcers |
| Positive reinforcement | a reinforcement procedure in which a response is followed by the presentation of, or increase in intensity of, a reinforcing stimulus; as a result, the response becomes stronger or more likely to occur |
| Negative reinforcement | a reinforcement procedure in which a response is followed by the removal, delay, or decrease in intensity of an unpleasant stimulus; as a result, the response becomes stronger or more likely to occur |
| Skinner box | experiment in which rats and pigeons were trained through operant-conditioning. A box that contains a lever that when pressed, produced certain reinforcers |
| Discriminative stimulus | a stimulus that signals when a particular response is likely to be followed by a certain type of consequences |
| Continuous reinforcement | a reinforcement schedule in which a particular response is always reinforced |
| Intermittent reinforcement | a reinforcement schedule in which a particular response is sometimes but not always reinforced |
| Fixed-ratio schedule | an intermittent schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement occurs only after a fixed number of responses |
| Variable-ratio schedule | an intermittent schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement occurs after a variable number of responses |
| Fixed-interval schedule | an intermittent schedule of reinforcement in which a reinforcer is delivered for the first response made after a fixed period of time has elapsed since the last reinforcer |
| Variable-interval schedule | an intermittent schedule of reinforcement in which a reinforcer is delivered for a response made after a variable period of time has elapsed since the last reinforcer |
| Shaping | an operant-conditioning procedure in which successive approximations of a desired response are enforced |
| Successive approximations | in the operant-conditioning procedure of shaping, behaviors that are ordered in terms of increasing similarity or closeness to the desired response |
| Instinctive drift | during operant learning, the tendency for an organism to revert to instinctive behavior |
| Behavior modification | the application of conditioning techniques to teach new responses or to reduce or eliminate maladaptive or problematic behavior |
| Extrinsic/intrinsic reinforcers | reinforcers that are not/are inherently related to the activity being reinforced |
| Latent learning | occurs when knowledge is acquired at a certain date by a human being or other organism, but is not demonstrated until a later date, when the knowledge is needed |
| Observational learning | learning that occurs as a function of observing, retaining and replicating behaviour observed in others |
| Premack principle | unlikely behavior can be reinforced by using more likely behavior as a reinforcer |
