Chapter 5- Learning
Counterconditioning
A classical conditioning procedure for changing the relationship between a conditioned stimulus and its conditioned response
Operant Conditioning
A learning process in which behavior is shaped and maintained by consequences (rewards or punishments) that follow a response
Unconditioned Stimulus
A natural stimulus (food) that reflexively elicits a response (salivation) without the need for prior learning
Punishment
A process in which a behavior is followed by an aversive consequence that decreases the likelihood of the behavior being repeated
continuous reinforcement
A reinforcement schedule in which all correct responses are reinforced.
secondary reinforcer
A reinforcer that acquires its positive value through an organism's experience; a secondary reinforcer is a learned or conditioned reinforcer.
positive reinforcement (addition of something)
A situation in which a behavior or response is followed by the addition of a reinforcing stimulus. The stimulus increases the probability that the response will occur again.
negative reinforcement (removal of something)
A situation in which a behavior or response is followed by the removal of an adverse stimulus. Negative reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior by enabling a person to either escape an existing adverse stimulus or avoid an aversive stimulus before it occurs.
Neutral Stimulus
A stimulus (ringing bell) that produces no conditioned response prior to learning
Behaviorism
A theory of learning that focuses solely on observable behaviors, discounting the importance of such mental activity as thinking, wishing, and hoping
Taste Aversion
A type of classical conditioning involving the learned association between a particular taste and nausea
Unconditioned Response
An unlearned response (salivation) that is elicited by an unconditioned stimulus (food)
Albert Bandura
Bobo doll experiments illustrated the role of modeling in human behavior; contends observational learning is responsible for most human behavior
Hermann Ebbinghaus
Conducted scientific studies on memory, learning curves, forgetting curves
Elizabeth Loftus
Her research on memory construction and the misinformation effect created doubts about the accuracy of eye-witness testimony
Observational Learning
Learning that occurs by watching others and then imitating or modeling the observed behavior
Associative Learning
Learning that occurs when an organism makes a connection, or an association, between two events
stimulus generalization
Occurs when stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus also elicit the conditioned response. (three year-old frightened by white rabbit gets scared by a white fur coat)
Conditioned stimulus
Originally the neutral stimulus; When systematically paired with the unconditioned stimulus (food), the neutral stimulus (ringing bell) becomes a conditioned stimulus as it gains the power to cause a response
variable-ratio schedule
Reinforcement is unpredictable because the ratio varies. (casino slot machines)
variable-interval schedule
Reinforcement occurs unpredictably since the time interval varies. (teacher gives unannounced pop quizzes)
John Garcia
Researched taste aversion. Showed that when rats ate a novel substance before being nauseated by a drug or radiation, they developed a conditioned taste aversion for the substance.
Premack Principle
States that the opportunity to engage in a preferred activity can be used to reinforce a less-preferred activity.
Reinforcement
Strengthens a response and makes it more likely to recur
Extinction
The gradual weakening of a conditioned behavior when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus
Classical Conditioning
The learning process that occurs when a previously neutral stimulus (ringing bell) is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus (food) to elicit a conditioned response (salivation); Based on pioneering work of Ivan Pavlov
Discrimination
The process of learning to respond to certain stimuli and not others
intermittent reinforcement
The rewarding of some, but not all, correct responses.
Preparedness
The species-specific biological predisposition to learn in certain ways but not others.
Shaping
The technique of strengthening behavior by reinforcing successive approximations of a behavior until the entire correct routine is displayed.
Generalization
The tendency of a new stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus to elicit a response that is similar to the conditioned response
Law of Effect
Thorndike's law stating that behaviors followed by positive outcomes are strengthened and that behaviors followed by negative outcomes are weakened
Edward L. Thorndike
Widely known for the law of effect- the principle that rewarded behavior is likely to recur and punished behavior is unlikely to recur.
Insight Learning
a form of problem solving in which the organism develops a sudden insight into or understanding of a problem's solution
Aversive Conditioning
a form of treatment that consists of repeated pairings of a stimulus with a very unpleasant stimulus (electric shocks/nausea inducing substances)
Conditioned Response
a learned response elicited by the conditioned stimulus
primary reinforcer
a reinforcer that is innately satisfying; one that does not take any learning on the organism's part to make it pleasurable
positive punishment
adding an aversive stimulus that weakens a response and makes it less likely to recur (spanking a misbehaved child)
Avoidance Learning
an organism's learning that it can altogether avoid a negative stimulus by making a particular response (studying harder after receiving a bad grade to avoid failure in the future)
Wolfgang Kohler
believed behaviorists underestimated animals' cognitive processes and abilities; named the sudden understanding of a problem as "insight"
B.F. Skinner
believed psychologists should focus on observable behavior that could be objectively measured; formulated principles of operant conditioning
Habituation
decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations
Ivan Pavlov
discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell
George A. Miller
made famous the phrase: "the magical number 7, plus or minus 2" when describing human memory
fixed-ratio schedule
reinforcement occurs after a predetermined set of responses (paid for every two lawns you mow)
fixed-interval schedule
reinforcement occurs after a predetermined time has elapsed (receive a paycheck every Friday)
Robert Rescorla
researched classical conditioning; found subjects learn the predictability of an event through trials (cognitive element)
Edward Tolman
researched rats' use of "cognitive maps"; concluded learning involved the acquisition and use of knowledge rather than conditioned changes in outward behavior
schedules of reinforcement
specific patterns that determine when a behavior will be reinforced
Negative Punishment
taking away a stimulus that weakens a response and makes it less likely to recur (timeout- removed from a positive reinforcer)
Stimulus Discrimination
the ability to distinguish between two similar stimuli (fearful of poison oak leaves but not oak tree leaves)
contiguity
the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are presented very close together in time
contingency
the conditioned stimulus must not only come before the unconditioned stimulus closely in time, but it must also serve as an indicator that the unconditioned stimulus is on the way
Acquisition
the initial learning of the connection between the unconditioned stimulus and the conditioned stimulus when these two stimuli are paired
Spontaneous recovery
the process by which a conditioned response can recur after a time delay without further conditioning
Instinctive Drift
the tendency of animals to revert to instinctive behavior that interferes with learning
Applied behavior analysis
the use of operant conditioning principles to change human behavior
learned helplessness
through experience with unavoidable aversive stimuli, an organism learns that it has no control over negative outcomes (domestic abuse victims)
latent learning
unreinforced learning that is not immediately reflected in behavior (can be stored cognitively, but not yet expressed behaviorally)