Chapter 9 Vocab Words

cognitive learning

a form of learing that involves mental processes and may result from observation or imitation

operant conditioning

a form of learning in which a certain action is reinforced or punished, resulting in a corresponding increases or decreases in the likelihood that similar actions will occur again

cognitive map

a mental picture of spatial relationships or relationships between events

conditioned stimulus (CS)

a once-neutral event that elcits a given response after a period of training in which it has been paried with an unconditioned stimulus.

conditioned response

a response elcited by the conditioned stimulus, it is similar to the unconditioned response, but not identical in magnitude or amount.

reinforcement

a stimulus or event that follows a response and increases the likelihood that the response will be repeated

primary reinforcer

a stimulus such as food or water that is naturally rewarding or satisfying and requires no learning on the part of the subject to become pleasurable

secondary reinforcer

a stimulus such as money that becomes a rewarding through its link with a primary reinforcer

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

a stimulus that doesn't initially elicit any part of an unconditoned stimulus

behavior modification

a systematic application of learning principles

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

an event that elcits a certain predictable reponse without previous training

unconditioned response (UCR)

an organism's automatic (or natural) reaction to a stimulus

token economy

form of conditioning in which desirable behavior is reinforced with valueless objects or points that can be accumulated and exchanged for privileges or other rewards

social learning

form of learing in which the orgainism observes, explores, and imitates the behavior of others

extiniction

in classical conditioning, the gradual disappearance of a conditioned response because the reinforcemtn is withheld or because the the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus

generalization

in classical conditioning, the tendacy for a stimulus that is similar to the orginal certain issues because of different formative experiences. , In operant conditioning, the occurrence of responding when a stimulus similar (but not identical) to the discriminative stimulus is present

negative reinforcement

increasing the strength of a given response by removing or preventing a painful stimulus when the response occurs

classical conditioning

learning procedure in which associations are made between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus

shaping

technique of operant conditioning in which the desired behavior is "molded" by first rewarding any act similar to that behavior and then requiring ever closer approximation to the desired behavior before giving the reward.

discrimination

the ability to respond differently to similar but distinct stimuli

aversive control

the process of influencing behavior by means of unpleasant stimuli

modeling

the process of learning behavior through observations and imitation of others, copying behavior