| A | B |
|---|
| Acquisition | in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when we link a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. |
| Classical conditioning | a type of learning in which we learn to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events |
| Conditioned response | response in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS). |
| Discrimination | in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other irrelevant stimuli. (In operant conditioning, the ability to distinguish responses that are reinforced from those that are not.) |
| Extinction | in classical conditioning, the weakening of a conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus. (In operant conditioning, the weakening of a response when it is no longer reinforced.) |
| Generalization | in classical conditioning, the tendency, after conditioning, to respond similarly to stimuli that resemble the conditioned stimulus. (In operant conditioning, generalization occurs when our responses to similar stimuli are also reinforced.) |
| Learning | the process of acquiring, through experience, new and relatively enduring information or behaviors |
| Negative reinforcement | increases behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock. A negative reinforcer is anything that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. |
| Neutral stimulus | in classical conditioning, a stimulus that evokes no response before conditioning. |
| Observational learning | learning by observing others |
| Operant conditioning | a type of learning in which a behavior becomes more probable if followed by a reinforcer or is diminished if followed by a punisher. |
| Positive reinforcement | increases behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food. A positive reinforcer is anything that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response |
| Punishment | an event that decreases the behavior it follows |
| Reinforcement | in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows. |
| Respondent behavior | behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus. |
| Shaping | an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide actions closer and closer toward a desired behavior |
| Spontaneous recovery | the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response. |
| Stimulus | any event or situation that evokes a response |
| Unconditiontioned response | in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (US) (such as food in the mouth). |
| Unconditiontioned stimulus | in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response (UR). |
