General Psych Chapter 5

Negative Punishment

An event, when removed, decreases the likelihood of a response occurring again.

Pavlovian Conditioning

Another name for classical conditioning; based on the name of the person who discovered it.

Positive Punishment

A consequence that, when presented, decreases the likelihood of a response occurring again.

Positive Reinforcement

A consequence that, when presented, increases the likelihood of a response occurring again.

Modeling

The tendency to imitate the behavior of significant others.

Successive Approximations

Behaviors that are progressively closer to a desired or target behavior.

Punishment

Consequences that decrease the likelihood of a response occurring again.

John B. Watson

Founded behaviorism; examined conditioned fear in a box known as "Little Albert".

Discrimination

Occurs when an organism is able to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and a similar stimulus.

Continuous Reinforcement

Occurs when every instance of a designated response is reinforced.

Premack Principle

Using a preferred behavior to reinforce a less preferred behavior.

Primary Reinforcement

Unlearned reinforcers which satisfy biological needs such as food, water, warmth, etc.

Ian Pavlov

Was the first to describe the process of classical conditioning.

Flooding

A behavioral fear-reduction technique based on principles of classical conditioning; fear-evoking stimuli (CSs) are presented continuously in the absence of actual harm so that fear responses (CRs) are extinguished.

Systematic Desensitation

A behavioral fear-reduction technique in which a hierarchy of fear evoking stimuli is presented while the person remains relaxed.

Counterconditioning

A fear-reducing technique in which pleasant stimuli are associated with fear-evoking stimuli so that the fear-evoking stimuli lose their aversive qualities.

Observational Learning

Learning that is influenced by observing others, who are called models; also called social learning.

Generalization

Occurs when a new stimulus produces a response that is similar to the one produced by the conditioned stimulus.

Fixed-interval Schedule

Reinforcement is given for the first correct response that occurs after a fixed amount of time has elapsed.

Variable-interval Schedule

Reinforcement is given for the first correct response that occurs after a variable amount of time has elapsed.

Secondary Reinforcer

Stimuli that acquire reinforcing qualities by being associated with primary reinforcers; also called conditioned reinforcers.

Extinction

The gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response tendency.

Classical Conditioning

The most common name of a type of learning in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus.

Fixed-ratio Schedule

The number of responses required for reinforcement is fixed (1/n).

Variable-ratio Schedule

The number of responses required for reinforcement varies from trail to trial, but it will average out to 1/n over many trials.

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of an extinguished response after a period of non exposure to the conditioned stimulus.

Vicarious Reinforcement

The strengthening of a response through observational learning.

Vicarious Punishment

The weakening of a response through observational learning.

Operant Conditioning

This term, introduced by Skinner, refers to learning in which voluntary responses come to be controlled by their consequences; also known as instrumental conditioning.

Shaping

A procedure for teaching complex behaviors that at first reinforces closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.

Learning

A relatively durable change in behavior or knowledge that is due to experience.

Negative Reinforcement

An event that, when removed, increases the likelihood of a response occurring again.

Reinforcement

Consequences that increase the likelihood of a response occurring again.

Albert Bandura

Described and extensively investigated the process of observational or social learning.

B. F. Skinner

Elaborated on the learning process known as operant conditioning; investigated schedules of reinforcement.