| Term | Definition |
|---|
| operant conditioning | a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher. |
| respondent behavior | behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus; Skinner's term for behavior learned through classical conditioning. |
| 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 | 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, with attached devices to record the animal's rate of bar pressing or key pecking. Used in operant conditioning research. |
| shaping | an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior. |
| reinforcer | in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows. |
| positive reinforcement | increasing behaviors by presenting positive 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 negative stimuli, such as shock. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Note, this is not the same thing as 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 secondary reinforcer. |
| continuous reinforcement | reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs. |
| partial 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. |
| 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. |
| intrinsic motivation | a desire to perform a behavior for its own sake. |
| extrinsic motivation | a desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishment. |
Combine with other sets
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