Psychology Of Learning And Behavior Ch. 1

Front 1

An adequate definition of learning

Back 1

The ability to respond to short-term (and long-term), local (and overall) changes in our environment.

Front 2

Process vs. product

Back 2

Acquisition vs. Performance. Process of acquiring information vs. the product of learning, what was produced and was the information for production acquired.

Front 3

Acquisition vs. performance

Back 3

Acquisition of change vs. long-term Acquisition of change vs. long-term changes in an individual’s behavior as a result of learning.

Front 4

Determining causality

Back 4

Understanding the relationship between cause and effect.

Front 5

Independent variable

Back 5

(cause) The experimenter is “free” to vary the independent variable, as he or she desires. (Controlling the speed of the paddle as it strikes the ball)

Front 6

Dependent variable

Back 6

(effect) This depends on some characteristic of the independent variable. (The flight of the ball depends on the speed of the paddle)

Front 7

Intervening variable

Back 7

Purely theoretical concepts that cannot be observed directly and used to predict the relationship between the IV and the DV.

Front 8

Syntax

Back 8

The rules and definitions that state how the independent and dependent variables are to be measured and that specify the relationships among independent variables.

Front 9

Testability

Back 9

(Falsifiablilty) Should make unambiguous predictions that can be tested against the facts. A good theory is one that could, in principle, be proven wrong.

Front 10

Simplicity

Back 10

The smallest number of hypothetical constructs and assumptions is to be preferred.

Front 11

Generality

Back 11

Deal with more phenomena, with a greater range of observations

Front 12

Fruitfulness

Back 12

The ability to stimulate further research and further thinking about a particular topic.

Front 13

Agreement with data

Back 13

How well it coincides with the facts

Front 14

Anecdotes or Case Histories

Back 14

Evidence support comes from anecdotes about other people. Cases reported may represent a biased sample.

Front 15

Observation Technique

Back 15

Denote a wide range of research methods, including field observations, the use of surveys and questionnaires, and the use of archival data. Experimenter is more or less passive observer.