Chapter 7

Classic Conditioning

A form of learning that occurs when an organism encounters a stimulus that repeatedly signals the occurrence of a second stimulus

Unconditional response

A reaction to a unconditioned stimulus that occurs automatically prior to any learning

Conditioned taste aversion (Garcia Effect)

The rapid learning of a connection between the taste of a food and illness that occurs after consuming that food Organisms learn very speedily that the food is a CS that signals the UR John Garcia researcher

Compensatory response

a biological reaction to a conditioned stimulus that is the opposite of the effects of the stimulus and therefore partially counteracts its effects

Habituation

a change in behavior that occurs when one stimulus which normally evokes a response in an organism merely is presented repeatedly

Blocking

a failure to learn an association between a conditioned stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus that occurs if other environmental stimuli already predict occurrences of the unconditioned stimulus

Observational learning (modeling)

a form of learning in which knowledge and skills are acquired by observing others used interchangeably

Operant Conditioning

a form of learning in which the future likelihood of performing a type of behavior is modified by consequences that follow performance of the behavior

Extinction

a gradual lessening of conditioned response when a CS is presented repeatedly without any presentations of the US

Generalization

a learning process in which conditioned responses are elicited by stimuli that vary from the conditioned stimulus that originally was paired with the unconditioned stimulus

Law of effect

a principle of learning which states that when an organism performs a behavior that leads to a satisfying outcome in a given situation it will be more likely to perform that when it again encounters the same situation

conditioned response

a response to a conditioned stimulus that occurs as a result of learning through classical conditioning

Learned helplessness

a severe reduction in motivation that occurs when animals learn that their own behavior cannot control unpleasant outcomes

positive reinforcement

a stimulus whose occurrence following a behavior raises the future likelihood of that behavior

Negative reinforcement

a stimulus whose removal following a behavior raises the future likelihood of that behavior

conditioned stimulus

an event that elicits a response from an organism only after the organism learns to associate it with another stimulus that already evokes a response

Biological constraint

an evolved predisposition that makes it difficult or impossible for a given species to learn a certain type of behavior when reinforced with a certain type of reward

Discriminative stimulus

any stimulus that provides info about the type of consequences that are likely to follow a given type of behavior in particular situations

acquisition

attaining the ability to perform a new response after learning the organism is said to have acquired the response

Discrimination

in classical conditioning is a learning process in which organisms respond to one stimulus but not the other

Punishment

in operant conditioning a stimulus that lowers the future likelihood of a given behavior

reinforcer

in operant conditioning any stimulus that occurs after a response and raises the future probability of that response

ratio schedule of reinforcement

in operant conditioning research a timetable for reinforcement in which a reinforcer is administered only after an organism performs a certain number of responses

interval schedule of reinforcement

in operant conditioning research a timetable for reinforcement in which the reinforcer is delivered subsequent to the first response an organism makes after a specific period of time elapses

Fixed schedule of reinforcement

in operant conditioning research a timetable for reinforcement that is consistent across trials

Variable schedule of reinforcement

in operant conditioning research a timetable for reinforcement that is inconsistent across trials the delivery of reinforcers changes unpredictably

schedule of reinforcement

in operant conditioning research a timetable that indicates when reinforcements occur in relation to the occurrence of behavior

shaping

in operant conditioning the learning of complex behavior through a step by step process in which behaviors that successively approximate a desired final behavior are reinforced

Ivan Pavlov

initiated research on psychological processes in classical conditioning

Learning

is any relatively long lasting change in behavioral abilities or emotional reactions that results from experience

mirror neurons

neurons in the motor cortex that fire not only when an organism engages in an action but also when it observes another organism engaging in that same action

Unconditioned stimulus

one that elicits a reaction in an organism prior to any learning

Preparedness

the ease with which associations between a stimulus and a response can be learned as a result of a species experiences over the course of evolution some stimulus response connections are prepared that is are easy to learn

Skinner Box

the primary laboratory apparatus in the study of operant conditioning it includes a device for animals to act upon a mechanism for delivering reinforcers

Spontaneous recovery

the reappearance of an extinguished CR after a period of delay following extinction