| A | B |
|---|
| learning | a relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience |
| habituation | an organism’s decreasing response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it |
| associative learning | learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning). |
| classical conditioning | a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events. |
| behaviorism | the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies response to stimuli without reference to mental processes. |
| unconditioned response (UR) | in classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring reaction to the unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivation when food is in the mouth. |
| conditioned response (CR) | in classical conditioning, the learned reaction to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS). |
| unconditioned stimulus (US) | in classical conditioning, a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers an involuntary response. |
| conditioned stimulus (CS) | in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response. |
| acquisition | in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response. |
| higher-order conditioning | a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. For example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone. |
| extinction | the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced |
| spontaneous recovery | the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response. |
| generalization | the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses. |
| discrimination | in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus. |
| learned helplessness | the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events. |
| respondent behavior | behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus. |
| operant conditioning | a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher. |
| operant behavior | behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences. |
| law of effect | Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely. |
| operant chamber | in operant conditioning research, a chamber (also known as a Skinner box) containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal’s rate of bar pressing or key pecking. |
| shaping | an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior |
| discriminative stimulus | in operant conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement). |
| reinforcer | in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows |
| positive reinforcement | increasing behaviors by presenting pleasant stimuli, such as food. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response. |
| negative reinforcement | increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing unpleasant stimuli, such as shock. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Note: negative reinforcement is not punishment.) |
| primary reinforcer | an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need. |
| conditioned reinforcer | a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer. |
| continuous reinforcement | reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs. |
| partial (intermittent) reinforcement | reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement. |
| punishment | an event that decreases the behavior that it follows. |
| fixed-ratio schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses. |
| variable-ratio schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses. |
| fixed-interval schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed. |
| variable-interval schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals. |
| cognitive map | a mental representation of the layout of one’s environment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it. |
| latent learning | learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it. |
| insight | a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem; it contrasts with strategy-based solutions. |
| intrinsic motivation | a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake. |
| extrinsic motivation | a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment. |
| biofeedback | a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and providing information to monitor a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension. |
| observational learning | learning by watdhing others. Also called social learning. |
| modeling | the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior. |
| mirror neurons | frontal lobe nerve cells that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain’s mirroring of another’s action may enable imitation and empathy. |
| prosocial behavior | positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior. |
