Learning - ANSWER the process of acquiring through experience new information
or behaviours
Associative Learning - ANSWER learning that certain events occur together. The
events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its
consequences (as in operant conditioning)
Stimulus - ANSWER any event or situation that evokes a response
Respondent Behavior - ANSWER behaviour that occurs as an automatic response
to some stimulus
Operant Behaviors - ANSWER behaviour that operates on the environment,
producing consequences
Cognitive Learning - ANSWER the acquisition of mental information, whether by
observing events, by watching others, or through language
Neutral Stimulus (NS) - ANSWER in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits
no response before conditioning
Unconditioned Response (UR) - ANSWER in classical conditioning, an unlearned,
naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (US)
(such as food in the mouth)
Unconditioned Stimulus (US) - ANSWER in classical conditioning, a stimulus that
unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers an unconditioned response
(UR)
Conditioned Response (CR) - ANSWER in classical conditioning, a learned
response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)
Conditioned Stimulus (CS) - ANSWER in classical conditioning, an originally
,irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US),
comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR)
Acquisition - ANSWER in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a
neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins
triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a
reinforced response
Higher-Order Conditioning - ANSWER a procedure in which the conditioned
stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus,
creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. For example, an animal that
has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that light predicts the tone
and begin responding to the light alone. (Also called second-order conditioning.)
Extinction - ANSWER the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in
classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a
conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no
longer reinforced
Spontaneous Recovery - ANSWER the reappearance, after a pause, of an
extinguished conditioned response
Generalization - ANSWER the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for
stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses
Discrimination - ANSWER (1) in classical conditioning, the learned ability to
distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an
unconditioned stimulus. (2) in social psychology, unjustifiable negative behaviour
toward a group and its members
Classical Conditioning - ANSWER forms associations between stimuli (a CS and
the US it signals). it also involves respondent behaviour - actions that are automatic
responses to a stimulus (such as salivating in response to meat powder and later in
response to a tone)
Operant Conditioning - ANSWER a type of learning in which behaviour is
strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher
Law of Effect - ANSWER Thorndike's principle that behaviours followed by
favourable consequences become more likely and that behaviours followed by
, unfavourable consequences become less likely
Operant Chamber - ANSWER in operant conditioning research, a chamber (also
known as a Skinner box) containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to
obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal's rate of bar
pressing or key pecking
Reinforcement - ANSWER in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the
behavior it follows
Shaping - ANSWER an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide
behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior
Positive Reinforcement - ANSWER increasing behaviors by presenting positive
reinforcers. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a
response, strengthens the response
Negative Reinforcement - ANSWER increasing behaviors by stopping of reducing
negative stimuli. a negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a
response, strengthens the response
Primary Reinforcers - ANSWER an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that
satisfies a biological need
Conditioned Reinforcers - ANSWER a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power
through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary
reinforcer
Reinforcement Schedules - ANSWER a pattern that defines how often a desired
response will be reinforced
Continuous Reinforcement - ANSWER reinforcing the desired response every time
it occurs
Partial (Intermittent) Reinforcement Schedules - ANSWER reinforcing a response
only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater
resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement
Fixed-Ratio Schedules - ANSWER in operant conditioning, a reinforcement
schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses
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