|
 behaviorism | perspective in psychology that emphasizes how subjects learn OBSERVABLE behaviors |
| learning | relatively permanent change in organism's behavior due to experience |
| classical conditioning | type of associative learning in which the subject learns to respond to a previously neutral stimulus after it is repeatedly paired with an important one; described by Pavlov |
| operant conditioning | type of associative learning in which the subject learns a relationship between its behavior and a subsequent reward or punishment; described by B.F. Skinner |
| observational learning | type of learning in which the subject imitates behavior demonstrated by a model; Albert Bandura showed its role in creating aggressive behaviors in children |
| associative learning | learning that two events occur together; the events may be two stimuli (classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (operant conditioning) |
| John Watson | founder of behaviorist perspective; conducted "Little Albert" experiments involving fear conditioning |
| Ivan Pavlov | Russian physiologist who described classical conditioning after landmark study with dogs |
| unconditioned stimulus (UCS) | in classical conditioning, an event that elicits a certain predictable response without previous training |
| unconditioned response (UCR) | in classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), such as salivation when food is in the mouth. |
| conditioned stimulus (CS) | in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response |
| conditioned response (CR) | in classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS) |
| acquisition | initial learning of associative relationship; in classical conditioning, when the CS is paired with UCS to produce the CR; in operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response |
| extinction | the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when the UCS does not follow a CS and in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced |
| spontaneous recovery | reappearance, after rest period, of a previously extinguished conditioned response |
| generalization | tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the CS; for example, Pavlov's dogs would drooling in response to a variety of tones |
| higher order learning | when CS regularly creates CR, it can be paired with another stimulus for additional conditioning |
| John Garcia | he found that rats learn to avoid the taste of sweetened water when it preceded sickness, even though the sickness was caused by exposure to radiation |
| Robert Rescorla | his work emphasized the importance of cognition in classical conditioning; subjects learn the predictive value of the CS |
| avoidance conditioning | use of classical conditioning procedures to get subjects to avoid a particular stimulus (e.g. use of nauseating chemicals to get coyotes to avoid sheep) |
| Edward Thorndike | studied cats in "puzzle boxes" and known for his "Law of Effect" |
| Skinner box | also known as an operant chamber; used to systematically administer rewards and punishments to small animal subjects |
| Law of Effect | Thorndike's assertion that "rewarded behavior is likely to recur" |
| shaping | operant conditioning technique in which subjects are gradually reinforced for closer and closer approximations of a desired behavior |
| chaining | procedure in operant conditioning where, using operant conditioning to teach a complex response by linking together less complex skills |
| reinforcer | any stimulus, administered after a behavior, that increases the preceding behavior |
| positive reinforcement | strengthens a response by presenting a pleasurable stimulus after a desired behavior (e.g. getting paid for doing the dishes) |
| negative reinforcement | strengthens a response by removing an aversive stimulus afer a desired behavior (e.g. not having to do the dishes if you eat your vegetables) |
| primary reinforcer | reward that is naturally satisfying (unlearned); for example, tasty food |
| secondary reinforcer | conditioned reinforcer; its pleasantness is learned through association with primary reinforcers (e.g. money) |
| continuous reinforcement | reinforcement schedule in which a subject's correct behavior is reinforced every time it occurs |
| partial reinforcement schedule | reinforcement schedule in which correct behaviors are reinforced sometimes (but not always) |
| fixed ratio schedule | reinforcement schedule in which a subject is rewarded after a set number of correct responses |
| variable ratio schedule | reinforcement schedule in which a subject is rewarded after an unpredictable/random number of correct responses |
| fixed interval schedule | reinforcement schedule in which a subject is rewarded for the first correct response after a predetermined time period (e.g. 10 minutes) |
| variable interval schedule | reinforcement schedule in which a subject is rewarded for the first correct response after varying time periods have elapsed (e.g. 3 minutes, then 25 minutes, then 15 minutes...) |
| punishment | an event that decreases the behavior that it follows; opposite of reinforcement |
| B.F. Skinner | psychologist known for describing and researching operant conditioning |
| latent learning | learning that only becomes apparent when the subject is later given an opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge |
| cognitive map | mental representation of a location; Edward Tolman demonstrated rats' use of these in running mazes |
| Edward Tolman | His research on cognitive maps in rats is an example of latent learning |
| overjustification | a paradoxical situation in which rewarding a person's efforts on a task done for primarily intrinsic reasons tends to lead to lower, not higher, performance |
| Albert Bandura | psychologist who's "Bobo doll experiment" demonstrated that aggressive behavior can be learned through observation |
| mirror neurons | neurons which fire both during completion of a behavior and during observation of another subject completing the behavior; believed to enable observational learning |
| prosocial behavior | positive, constructive, helpful behavior (opposite of antisocial behavior); can be learned through modeling |
| 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 punishments |
| respondant behavior | behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus; Skinner's term for behavior learned through classical conditioning (as opposed to "operant behavior") |
| operant behavior | behavior that "operates" on the environment to produce rewarding or punishing behavior |