[Psych 101] Chapters 5-6

• Learning


  Any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or practice
• Maturation


  Biological change controlled by a genetic blueprint
• Classical conditioning


  Learning to make a reflex response to a stimulus other than the original, natural stimulus that normally produces the reflex
• Ivan Pavlov


  • Russian physiologist who discovered classical conditioning through his work on digestion in dogs and pioneered the empirical study of the basic principles of a particular kind of learning
• Reflex


  An unlearned, involuntary response that is not under personal control or choice
• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)


  The original, naturally occurring stimulus that leads to an involuntary response
• Unconditioned response (UCR)


  An involuntary response to a naturally occurring or unconditioned stimulus
• Conditioned stimulus (CS)


  Stimulus that becomes able to produce a learned reflex response by being paired with the original unconditioned stimulus
• Conditioned response (CR)


  Learned reflex response to a conditioned stimulus
• Analogue studies


  • Studying animals instead of humans
• Acquisition


  The repeated pairing of the NS and the UCS; the organism is in the process of acquiring learning
• Principles of classical conditioning

  • The CS must come before the UCS

  The CS and UCS must come very close together in time-ideally, only several seconds apart

  The neutral stimulus must be paired with the UCS several times, often many times, before conditioning can take place

  The CS is usually some stimulus that is distinctive or stands out from other competing stimuli
• Stimulus generalization


  The tendency to respond to a stimulus that is only similar to the original conditioned stimulus with the conditioned response
• Stimulus discrimination


  The tendency to stop making a generalized response to a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus because the similar stimulus is never paired with the unconditioned stimulus
• Extinction


  The disappearance or weakening of a learned response following the removal or absence of the unconditioned stimulus (in classical conditioning) or the removal of a reinforcer (in operant conditioning)
• Reinforcer


  Any event or object that, when following a response, increases the likelihood of that response occurring again
• Spontaneous recovery


  The reappearance of a learned response after extinction has occurred
• Higher-order conditioning/Second-order conditioning


  Occurs when a strong conditioned stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus, causing the neutral stimulus to become a second conditioned stimulus
• Stimulus substitution


  Original theory in which Pavlov stated that classical conditioning occurred because the conditioned stimulus became a substitute for the unconditioned stimulus by being paired closely together
• Cognitive perspective


  Modern theory in which classical conditioning is seen to occur because the conditioned stimulus provides information or an expectancy about the coming of the unconditioned stimulus
• Conditioned emotional response (CER)


  Emotional response that has become classically conditioned to occur to learned stimuli, such as a fear of dogs or the emotional reaction that occurs when seeing an attractive person
• Vicarious conditioning


  Process of becoming classically conditioned by simply watching someone else respond to a stimulus
• Conditioned taste aversion


  Development of a nausea or aversive response to a particular taste because that taste was followed by a nausea reaction, occurring after only one association
• Biological preparedness


  The tendency of animals to learn certain associations, such as taste and nausea, with only one or few pairings due to the survival value of the learning
• Operant conditioning


  The learning of voluntary behavior through the effects of pleasant and unpleasant consequences to responses
• Edward L. Thorndike


  • Thorndike's Law of Effect - law stating that if a response is followed by a pleasurable consequence, it will tend to be repeated, and if followed by an unpleasant consequence, it will tend not to be repeated
• B.F. Skinner


  • Behaviorist who wanted to study only observable, measurable behavior and gave "operant conditioning" its name
• Operant


  Any behavior that is voluntary
• Reinforcement


  Any event or stimulus, that when following a response, increases the probability that the response will occur again
• Primary reinforcer


  Any reinforcer that is naturally reinforcing by meeting a basic biological need, such as hunger, thirst, or touch
• Secondary reinforcer


  Any reinforcer that becomes reinforcing after being paired with a primary reinforcer, such as praise, tokens, or gold stars
• Positive reinforcement


  The reinforcement of a response by the addition or experiencing of a pleasurable stimulus
• Negative reinforcement


  The reinforcement of a response by the removal, escape from, or avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus
• Partial reinforcement effect


  The tendency for a response that is reinforced after some, but not all, correct responses to be very resistant to extinction
• Interval Schedule


  Timing-based reinforcement where a response is rewarded after a set time interval, regardless of the number of responses
• Ratio Schedule


  Response-based reinforcement where a reward is given after a certain number of responses, irrespective of the time taken
• Fixed


  Consistent requirements for reinforcement, whether in terms of time intervals or response numbers, which do not change
• Variable


  Fluctuating requirements for reinforcement, where different time intervals or response numbers are needed each time for reinforcement
• Continuous reinforcement


  The reinforcement of each and every correct response
• Fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement


  Schedule of reinforcement in which the number of responses required for reinforcement is always the same