 | Term | Definition |
| |
classical conditioning |
a types of learning through which an organism learns to associate one stimulus with another |
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stimulus |
any event or object in the environment to which an organism responds; plural is stimuli |
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reflex |
an involuntary response to a particular stimulus, such as the eyeblink reponse to a puff of air or salivation when food is placed in the month |
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conditioned reflex |
a learned involuntary response |
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unconditional response |
a response that is elicited by an unconditioned stimulus without prior learning |
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unconditioned stimulus |
a stimulus that elicits a specific unconditioned response without prior learning |
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conditioned stimulus |
a neutral stimulus that, after repeated pairing with an unconditioned stimulus, becomes associated with it and elicits a conditioned repsonse |
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conditioned response |
the learned response that comes to be elicited by a conditioned stimulus as a result of its repeated pairing with an unconditioned stimulus |
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higher-order conditioning |
conditioning that occurs when conditioned stimuli are linked together to form a series of signals |
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spontaneous recovery |
the reappearance of an extinguished response (in a weaker form) when an organism is exposed to the original conditioned stimulus following a rest period |
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generalization |
in classical conditioning, the tendency to make a conditioned response to a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus |
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discrimination |
the learned ability to distinguish between similar stimuli so that the conditioned response occurs only to the original conditioned stimulus but not to similar stimuli |
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taste aversion |
the intense dislike and/or avoidance of a particular food that has been associated with nausea or discomfort |
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trial and error learning |
learning that occurs when a response is associated with a successful solution to a problem after a number of unsuccessful responses |
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law of effect |
one of thorndike's laws of learning, which states that the consequence, or effect of a response will determine whether the tendency to respond in the same way in the future will be strengthened or weakened |
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operant conditioning |
a type of learning in which the frequency of a voluntary behavior changes because of the consequences that the behavior produces |
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reinforcer |
anything that follows a response and strengthens it or increases the probability that it will occur |
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shaping |
an operant conditioning technique that consists of gradually molding a desired behavior (response) by reinforcing any movement in the direction of the desired response, thereby gradually guiding the responses toward the ultimate goal |
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skinner box |
a soundproof chamber with a device for delivering food to an animal subject used in operant conditioning experiments |
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successive approximations |
a series of gradual steps, each of which is more similar to to the final desired response |
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extinction |
in operant conditioning, the weakening and eventual disappearance of the conditioned response as a result of the withholding of reinforcement |
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generalization |
in operant conditioning, the tendency to make the learned response to a stimulus similar to that for which the response was originally reinforced |
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discriminative stimulus |
a stimulus that signals whether a certain response or behavior is likely to be rewarded, ignored, or punished |
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reinforcement |
an increase in the frequency of a behavior that occurs as the result of the consequence that the behavior produces |
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positive reinforcement |
an increase in a behavior that occurs as a result of an added consequence |
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negative reinforcement |
an increase in behavior that occurs because increasing the behavior results in the termination of an unpleasant condition or stimulus |
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primary reinforcer |
a reinforcer that fulfills a basic physical need for survival and does not depend on learning |
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secondary reinforcer |
a reinforcer that is acquired or learned through association with other reinforcers |
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cognitive processes |
mental processes such as thinking, knowingm problem solving, remembering, and forming mental representations |
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insight |
the sudden realization of the relationship between elements in a problem situation, which makes the solution apparent |
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latent learning |
learning that occurs without apparent reinforcement and is not demonstrated until the organism is motivated to do so |
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cognitive map |
a mental representation of a spatial arrangement such as a maze |
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observational learning |
learning by observing the behavior of others and the consequences of that behavior; learning by imitation |
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modeling |
another name for observational learning |
