Unit 6 Study Guide

• reflex


  an unlearned, involuntary response that is not under personal control or choice
• operant conditioning


  applies to voluntary behavior
• reinforcement


  any event or stimulus that, when following a response, increases the probability that the response will occur again
• biofeedback


  use of feedback about biological conditions to bring involuntary responses such as blood pressure and relaxation under voluntary control
• latent learning


  learning that remains hidden until its application becomes useful
• what are the four elements of observational learning?


  attention, memory, imitation, and desire
• extinction


  the disappearance or weakening of a learned response following the removal or absence of the unconditioned stimulus
• vicarious conditioning


  classical conditioning of a reflex response or emotion by watching the reaction of another person
• insight


  the sudden perception of relationships among various parts of a problem, allowing the solution to the problem to come quickly
• learning


  any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or practice
• continuous reinforcement


  reinforcer for each and every correct response
• observational learning


  learning new behavior by watching someone else, called a “model,” perform that behavior
• Pavlov


  Russian physiologist who discovered classical conditioning through his work on salivation in dogs
• time-out


  A form of mild punishment by removal in which a misbehaving animal, child, or adult is placed in a special area away from the attention of others
• learned helplessness


  the tendency to fail to act to escape from a situation because of a history of

  repeated failures in the past
• token economy


  a type of behavior modification in which desired behavior is rewarded with tokens
• punishment


  any event or object which, when following a response, makes that response less likely to happen again
• unconditioned stimulus


  a naturally occurring stimulus that leads to an involuntary (reflex) response
• Classical Conditioning


  A type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimulus and anticipate events.
• Acquisition


  The initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditional stimulus so that the NS begins triggering the CR>
• Unconditioned Stimulus


  A stimulus that unconditionally - naturally and automatically - triggers a response. (UR)
• Conditioned Stimulus


  An originally irrelevant stimulus (US) that, after association with an unconditioned response, comes to trigger a CR.
• Unconditioned Response


  An unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus.

  • Salivation to food in mouth.
• Conditioned Response


  A learned response to a previously neutral, but now conditioned stimulus. (CS)
• Extinction


  The diminishing of a conditioned response.

  • US doesn't follow a CS
  • Response isn't reinforced.
• Spontaneous Recovery


  The reappearance after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response.
• Stimulus generalization


  The tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimulus similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses
• Stimulus Discrimination


  The learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus.
• Ivan Pavlov


  Earliest psychologist, known for classical conditioned

  • Experiments in dogs and association with food and sound
  • "Father" of classical conditioning.
• John B. Watson


  "Little Albert" experiment

  • Focused on behaviorism
  • "Father" of behaviorism
• Operant Conditioning


  A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher.
• Positive Reinforcement


  Increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers
• Positive Reinforcers


  Any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response
• Negative Reinforcement


  Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli
• Negative Stimuli


  Any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response
• Fixed-Ratio schedule


  A reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of response
• Variable-Ratio schedule


  A reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses
• Fixed-Interval Schedule


  A reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed
• Variable-Interval Schedule


  A reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals
• Positive Punishment


  An event that decreases the behavior that it follows by administering an aversive stimulus