Module 26 Classical Conditioning

generalization

the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses

learning

process of acquiring new and relatively enduring info or behaviors

habituation

An organism's decreasing response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it

spontaneous recovery

Recurrence of an extinguished conditioned response, usually following a rest period

neural stimulus

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning.

behaviorism

(1) psychology should be an objective science (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes Most psychologists agree with (1), not (2)

extinction

A process in which the conditioned response is weakened when the conditioned stimulus is repeated without the unconditioned stimulus. Occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced

classical conditioning

A type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

cognitive learning

Acquisition of mental info, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language

stimulus

Any event or situation that evokes a response

unconditioned response

In classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivation when food is in the mouth.

conditioned stimulus

In classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response

acquisition

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.

discrimination

In classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus.

conditioned response

In classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS).

associative learning

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).

higher-order conditioning

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 a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone. (Also called second-order conditioning.)

unconditioned stimulus

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response.