5.02 Classical Conditioning

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

reinforcer

any event or object that, when following a response, increases the likelihood of that response working again

vicarious conditioning

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

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

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 and attractive person

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

higher-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

biological preparedness

referring to the tendency of animals to learn certain association, such as taste and nausea, with only one or few pairings due to the survival value of the learning

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)

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance of a learned response after extinction has occurred

stimulus generalization

the tendency to respond to a stimulus that is only similar to the original conditioned stimulus with the conditioned response