Psych 111 Chapter 6

Front 1

Learning

Back 1

Some experience that results in a relatively permanent change in the state of the learner

Front 2

Habituation

Back 2

A general process in which repeated or prolonged exposure to a stimulus results in a gradual reduction in responding

Front 3

Classical Conditioning

Back 3

When a neutral stimulus evokes a response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally evokes a response

Front 4

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

Back 4

Something that reliably produces a naturally occurring reaction in an organism

Front 5

Unconditioned Response (UR)

Back 5

A reflexive reaction that is reliably elicited by an unconditioned stimulus

Front 6

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Back 6

A stimulus that is initially neutral and produces no reliable response in an organism

Front 7

Conditioned Response (CR)

Back 7

A reaction that resembles an unconditioned response but is produced by a conditioned stimulus

Front 8

Acquisition

Back 8

The phase of classical conditioning when the CS and the US are presented together

Front 9

Extinction

Back 9

The gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when the UC is no longer presented

Front 10

Spontaneous Recovery

Back 10

The tendency of a learned behavior o recover from extinction after a rest period

Front 11

Generalization

Back 11

A process in which the CR is observed even though the CS is slightly different from the original one used during acquisition

Front 12

Discrimination

Back 12

The capacity to distinguish between similar but distinct stimuli

Front 13

Biological Preparedness

Back 13

A propensity for learning particular kinds of associations over others

Front 14

Operant Conditioning

Back 14

A type of learning in which the consequences of an organism's behavior determine whether it will be repeated in the future

Front 15

Law of Effect

Back 15

The principle that behaviors that are followed by a "satisfying state of affairs" tend to be repeated and those that produce an "unpleasant state of affairs" are less likely to be repeated

Front 16

Operant Behavior

Back 16

Behavior that an organism produces that has some impact on the environment

Front 17

Reinforcer

Back 17

Any stimulus or event that functions to increase the likelihood of the behavior that led to it

Front 18

Punisher

Back 18

Any stimulus or event that functions to decrease the likelihood of the behavior that led to it

Front 19

Overjustification Effect

Back 19

Circumstance when external rewards can undermine the intrinsic satisfaction of performing a behavior

Front 20

Shaping

Back 20

Learning that results from the reinforcement of successive approximations to a final desired behavior

Front 21

Fixed Interval Schedule (FI)

Back 21

An operant conditioning principle in which reinforcements are presented at fixed time periods, provided that the appropriate response is made

Front 22

Variable Interval Schedule (VI)

Back 22

An operant conditioning principle in which behavior is reinforced based on an average time that has expired since the last reinforcement

Front 23

Fixed Ratio Schedule (FR)

Back 23

An operant conditioning principle in which reinforcement is delivered after a specific number of responses have been made

Front 24

Variable Ratio Schedule (VR)

Back 24

An operant conditioning principle in which the delivery of reinforcement is based on a particular average number of responses

Front 25

Intermittent Reinforcement

Back 25

An operant conditioning principle in which only some of the responses made are followed by reinforcement

Front 26

Intermittent Reinforcement Effect

Back 26

The fact that operant behaviors that are maintained under intermittent reinforcement schedules resist extinction better that those maintained under continuous reinforcement

Front 27

Latent Learning

Back 27

A condition in which something is learned but it is not manifested as a behavioral change until sometime in the future

Front 28

Cognitive Map

Back 28

A mental representation of the physical features of the environment

Front 29

Observational Learning

Back 29

A condition in which learning takes place by watching the actions of others

Front 30

Implicit Learning

Back 30

Learning that takes place largely independent of awareness of both the process and the products of information acquisition