Psychology Ch.6-8

Conditioned reinforcer (Chapter 6)

(Also known as secondary reinforcer) an event that gains its reinforcing power through its link with a primary reinforcer

Comparison of classical conditioning and operant conditioning (Extinction) (Chapter 6)

-Classical Conditioning: CR decreases when CS is repeatedly presented alone -Operant Conditioning: Responding decreases when reinforcement stops

Comparison of classical conditioning and operant conditioning (Discrimination) (Chapter 6)

-Classical Conditioning: Learning to distinguish between a CS and other stimuli that do not signal a US -Operant Conditioning: Learning that some responses, but not others, will be reinforced

Comparison of classical conditioning and operant conditioning (Generalization) (Chapter 6)

-Classical Conditioning: Responding to stimuli similar to the CS -Operant Conditioning: responses to similar stimuli are also reinforced

Comparison of classical conditioning and operant conditioning (Acquisition) (Chapter 6)

-Classical Conditioning: associating events; Ns is paired with US and becomes CS -Operant Conditioning: Associating response with a consequence (reinforcer or punisher)

Comparison of classical conditioning and operant conditioning (Response) (Chapter 6)

-Classical Conditioning: involuntary, automatic -Operant Conditioning: voluntary, operates on environment

Comparison of classical conditioning and operant conditioning (Basic Idea) (Chapter 6)

-Classical Conditioning: learning associations between events we don't control -Operant Conditioning: learning associations between our own behavior and its consequences

Comparison of classical conditioning and operant conditioning (Spontaneous recovery) (Chapter 6)

-Classical Conditioning:The reappearance, after a rest period, of an extinguished CR -Operant Conditioning: The reappearance, after a rest period, of an extinguished response

Source Amnesia (Chapter 7)

-Faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined -Example: Song writer thinks a song idea came from their own imagination, when in fact they are unintentionally plagiarizing something they have read or heard

Positive Punishment (Chapter 6)

-Give something that's undesired -spray water on a barking dog; give a parking ticket

Fixed-interval schedule (Chapter 6)

-In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule at reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed -Example: Tuesday discounted prices

Variable-Ratio Schedule (Chapter 6)

-In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses -Example: playing slot machines

Variable-interval schedule (Chapter 6)

-In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals -Example: Checking for a Facebook response

Fixed-Ratio Schedule (Chapter 6)

-In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses -Example: Buy 10 coffees, then get 1 free

Explicit Memory (Chapter 7)

-Memory of facts and personal events you can consciously retrieve. -Frontal lobe and hippocampus in the brain help us remember this

Implicit Memory (Chapter 7)

-Retaining learned skills, or classically conditioned associations, without conscious awareness -Cerebellum and the basil ganglia in the brain help us remember this

Retroactive Interference (Chapter 7)

-The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information -Occurs when new learning disrupts your memory of older information -Example-Someone sings new words to a song so you have trouble remembering the original

Proactive Interference (Chapter 7)

-The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information -Happens when an older memory makes it more difficult to remember new information

Negative Punishment (Chapter 6)

-end something that's desired -take away a teens driving privileges; cancel a library card for failure to pay fines

We form memory in three stages (Chapter 7)

1)We first record to-be-remembered information as a fleeting sensory memory 2)From there, we process information into short-term memory, where we encode it through rehearsal 3)Finally, information moves into long-term memory for later retrieval

Flashbulb Memory (Chapter 7)

A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Intrinsic Motivation (Chapter 6)

A desire to perform a behavior well for its own sake

Extrinsic Motivation (Chapter 6)

A desire to preform a behavior to gain a reward or avoid punishment

Concept (Chapter 8)

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, and people.

Cognitive Map (Chapter 6)

A mental image of the layout of ones environment.

Prototype (Chapter 8)

A mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin)

Algorithm (Chapter 8)

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees you will solve a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier-but also more error prone-use of heuristic

Hippocampus (Chapter 7)

A neural center located in the limbic system; helps explicit memories for storage.

Working Memory (Chapter 7)

A newer understanding of short-term memory that stresses conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.

Reinforcement schedule (Chapter 6)

A pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced

Heuristic (Chapter 8)

A simple thinking strategy that often allows you to make judgements and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error prone than algorithms

Insight (Chapter 8)

A sudden realization of the solution to a problem; it contrasts with strategy-based solutions

Confirmation bias (Chapter 8)

A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort evidence that contradicts them

Operant conditioning (Chapter 6)

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

Classical Conditioning (Chapter 6)

A type of learning in which we learn to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

Short-Term Memory (Chapter 7)

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly (such as the seven digits of a phone while dialing) before the information is sorted or forgotten.

Cognition (Chapter 8)

All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Punishment (Chapter 6)

An event that decreases the behavior it follows

Primary reinforcer (Chapter 6)

An event that is innately reinforcing, often by satisfying a biological need

Long-term Potentiation (LTP) (Chapter 7)

An increase in a synapse's firing potential. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.

Shaping (Chapter 6)

An operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide actions closer and closer toward a desired behavior

Cognitive Process (Operant Conditioning) (Chapter 6)

Animals may develop expectation that a response will be reinforced or punished; latent learning may occur without reinforcement

Biological Predispositions (operant conditioning) (Chapter 6)

Animals most easily learn behaviors similar to their natural behaviors ; associations that are not naturally adaptive are not easily learned

Stimulus (Chapter 6)

Any events or situation that evokes a response

Retrieval Cue (Chapter 7)

Any stimulus (event, feeling, place, and so on) linked to a specific memory.

Respondent behavior (Chapter 6)

Behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus

Operant behavior (Chapter 6)

Behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences

Biological predispositions (Classical conditioning) (Chapter 6)

Biological tendencies limit the types of stimuli and responses that can easily be associated. Involuntary, automatic.

Effortful Processing (Chapter 7)

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

Testing Effect (Chapter 7)

Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also sometimes referred to as the retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning

Biological Constraints (Chapter 6)

Evolved biological tendencies that predispose animals' behavior and learning. Thus, certain behaviors are more easily learned by some animals than others.

Conditioned Response (CR) (Chapter 6)

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

Neutral Stimulus (NS) (Chapter 6)

In classical conditioning, a stimulus that evokes no response before conditioning

Unconditioned Stimulus (US) (Chapter 6)

In classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally-naturally and automatically-triggers a response (UR)

Conditioned Stimulus (CS) (Chapter 6)

In classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), Comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR).

Unconditioned Response (UR) (Chapter 6)

In classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (Such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (US)

Acquisition (Chapter 6)

In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when we link a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. (In operant conditioning, the strengthens of a reinforced response.)

Discrimination (Chapter 6)

In classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other irrelevant stimuli

Generalization (Chapter 6)

In classical conditioning, the tendency, after conditioning, to respond similarly to stimuli that resemble the conditioned stimulus

Extinction (Chapter 6)

In classical conditioning, the weakening of a conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus. (In operant conditioning, the weakening of a response when it is no longer reinforced)

Operant chamber (Chapter 6)

In operant conditioning research, a chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animals rate bar pressing or key pecking.

Reinforcement (Chapter 6)

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

Repression (Chapter 7)

In psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness the thoughts, feelings, and memories that arouse anxiety

Positive reinforcement (Operant Conditioning Term) (Chapter 6)

Increases behaviors by presenting positive stimuli. A positive reinforcer is anything that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.

Negative reinforcement (Operant Conditioning Term) (Chapter 6)

Increases behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock. A negative reinforcer is anything that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Negative reinforcement is not punishment)

Memory Trace (Chapter 7)

Lasting physical changes in the brain as a memory forms

Observational Learning (Chapter 6)

Learning by observing others

Associative Learning (Chapter 6)

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).

Latent Learning (Chapter 6)

Learning that is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.

Amnesia (Chapter 7)

Literally "Without Memory"- a loss of memory, often due to brain trauma, injury, or disease.

Mnemonics (Chapter 7)

Memory aids, especially techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

Recognition (Chapter 7)

Memory demonstrated by identifying items previously learned; as on a multiple-choice test.

Recall (Chapter 7)

Memory demonstrated by retrieving information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test

Relearning (Chapter 7)

Memory demonstrated by time saved when learning material a second time.

Mirror Neuron (Chapter 6)

Neuron that fires when we preform certain actions and why we observe others performing those actions; neural basis for imitation and observational learning

Chunking (Chapter 7)

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.

Serial Position Effect (Chapter 7)

Our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.

Prosocial Behavior (Chapter 6)

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

Continuous reinforcement (Chapter 6)

Reinforcing a desired response every time it occurs

Partial (intermittent) reinforcement (Chapter 6)

Reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement

Deja Vu (Chapter 7)

That eerie sense that "I've experienced this before". Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience

Cognitive Learning (Chapter 6)

The acquisition of mental information, weather by observing events, by watching others, or through language

Priming (Chapter 7)

The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory.

Sensory Memory (Chapter 7)

The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

Fixation (Chapter 8)

The inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving

Memory (Chapter 7)

The persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information

Learning (Chapter 6)

The process of acquiring, through experience, new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

Encoding (Chapter 7)

The process of getting information into the memory system

Retrieval (Chapter 7)

The process of getting information out of memory storage

Modeling (Chapter 6)

The process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

Storage (Chapter 7)

The process of retaining encoded information over time

Spontaneous recovery (Chapter 6)

The reappearance, after a pause of an extinguished conditioned response.

Long-Term Memory (Chapter 7)

The relatively permeant and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Spacing Effect (Chapter 7)

The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice

Mood-Congruent Memory (Chapter 7)

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with your current good or bad mood

Behaviorism (Chapter 6)

The view that psychology 1)should be an objective science that 2)studies behavior without reference to mental process. Most research psychologists today agree with 1 but not with 2

Law of effect (Chapter 6)

Thorndlike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

Cognitive Process (Classical Conditioning) (Chapter 6)

Thoughts, perceptions, and expectations can weaken the association between CS and the US

Automatic Processing (Chapter 7)

Unconscious encoding of everyday information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meaning.

Misinformation Effect (Chapter 7)

When a memory has been corrupted by misleading information