Myers AP Psychology LEARNING

operant chamber

Skinner box containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain food or water reinforce; attached devices record the animal's rate of bar pressing or key pecking

little albert

subject in John Watson's experiment, proved classical conditioning principles, especially the generalization of fear

acquisition

the "learned" behavior or response

self-control

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards

cognitive learning

the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language

extinction

the diminishing of a CR; when a response is no longer reinforced

reinforcement schedule

the frequency and regularity with which rewards are offered; they can be based on a number of target behaviors (ratio) or on a time interval (interval); types include: fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, and variable-interval

learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

discrimination

the learned ability to distinguish between a CS and stimuli that do not signal an US

conditioned response (CR)

the learned reaction to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)

external locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate.

internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate

modeling

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished CR

generalization

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

unconditioned response (UR)

the unlearned, naturally occurring reaction to US, such as salivation when food is in the mouth

law of effect

Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, or where behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

intrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake; INSIDE

extrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment, OUTSIDE

cognitive map

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment. (For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it)

higher-order conditioning

a procedure in which the CS in one conditioning experience is paired with a new NS, creating a second (often weaker) CS.

variable-ratio schedule

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

variable-interval schedule

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

fixed-ratio schedule

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

fixed-interval schedule

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

learning

a relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience

Stimulus

a signal to which an organism responds

discriminative stimulus

a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement)

conditioned reinforcer

a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer

unconditioned stimulus (US)

a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a reaction (like food)

insight

a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem

biofeedback

a technique that trains people to improve their health by controlling certain bodily processes that normally happen involuntarily, such as heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and skin temperature.

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished followed by a punisher

classical conditioning

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

Coping

alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods

aversion theory

an aversive (causing a strong feeling of dislike or disgust) stimulus is paired with an undesirable behavior in order to reduce or eliminate that behavior.

punishment

an event that decreases the behavior that it follows

primary reinforce

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need

habituation

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

conditioned stimulus (CS)

an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an US, comes to trigger a conditioned reaction

reinforcer

any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

respondent behavior

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus

John Watson

behaviorist; famous for Little Albert study in which a baby was taught to fear a white rat

neutral stimulus (NS)

environmental factor that doesn't elicit a CR until it is repeatedly paired with the US (ex/ bell in Pavlov experiment)

mirror neurons

frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's actions may enable imitation and empath

B.F. Skinner

he is famous for use of his operant conditioning aparatus which he used to study schedules of reinforcement on pidgeons and rats.

reinforcement

in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

positive reinforcement

increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food.

negative reinforcement

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock.

latent learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it LATER

token economy

object or point reward system used in jail, school, & at Chuck E Cheese

shaping

reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

partial (intermittent) reinforcement

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

continuous reinforcement

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

Albert Bandura

researcher famous for work in observational or social learning including the famous Bobo doll experiment

associative learning

learning that certain events occur together.

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.

Ivan Pavlov

Russian physiologist who observed conditioned salivary responses in dogs (1849-1936)

observational learning

learning by observing others; also called social learning

prosocial behavior

positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior

behaviorism

psychology: (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes.