Chapter 5- Learning

Counterconditioning

A classical conditioning procedure for changing the relationship between a conditioned stimulus and its conditioned response

Operant Conditioning

A learning process in which behavior is shaped and maintained by consequences (rewards or punishments) that follow a response

Unconditioned Stimulus

A natural stimulus (food) that reflexively elicits a response (salivation) without the need for prior learning

Punishment

A process in which a behavior is followed by an aversive consequence that decreases the likelihood of the behavior being repeated

continuous reinforcement

A reinforcement schedule in which all correct responses are reinforced.

secondary reinforcer

A reinforcer that acquires its positive value through an organism's experience; a secondary reinforcer is a learned or conditioned reinforcer.

positive reinforcement (addition of something)

A situation in which a behavior or response is followed by the addition of a reinforcing stimulus. The stimulus increases the probability that the response will occur again.

negative reinforcement (removal of something)

A situation in which a behavior or response is followed by the removal of an adverse stimulus. Negative reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior by enabling a person to either escape an existing adverse stimulus or avoid an aversive stimulus before it occurs.

Neutral Stimulus

A stimulus (ringing bell) that produces no conditioned response prior to learning

Behaviorism

A theory of learning that focuses solely on observable behaviors, discounting the importance of such mental activity as thinking, wishing, and hoping

Taste Aversion

A type of classical conditioning involving the learned association between a particular taste and nausea

Unconditioned Response

An unlearned response (salivation) that is elicited by an unconditioned stimulus (food)

Albert Bandura

Bobo doll experiments illustrated the role of modeling in human behavior; contends observational learning is responsible for most human behavior

Hermann Ebbinghaus

Conducted scientific studies on memory, learning curves, forgetting curves

Elizabeth Loftus

Her research on memory construction and the misinformation effect created doubts about the accuracy of eye-witness testimony

Observational Learning

Learning that occurs by watching others and then imitating or modeling the observed behavior

Associative Learning

Learning that occurs when an organism makes a connection, or an association, between two events

stimulus generalization

Occurs when stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus also elicit the conditioned response. (three year-old frightened by white rabbit gets scared by a white fur coat)

Conditioned stimulus

Originally the neutral stimulus; When systematically paired with the unconditioned stimulus (food), the neutral stimulus (ringing bell) becomes a conditioned stimulus as it gains the power to cause a response

variable-ratio schedule

Reinforcement is unpredictable because the ratio varies. (casino slot machines)

variable-interval schedule

Reinforcement occurs unpredictably since the time interval varies. (teacher gives unannounced pop quizzes)

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.

Premack Principle

States that the opportunity to engage in a preferred activity can be used to reinforce a less-preferred activity.

Reinforcement

Strengthens a response and makes it more likely to recur

Extinction

The gradual weakening of a conditioned behavior when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus

Classical Conditioning

The learning process that occurs when a previously neutral stimulus (ringing bell) is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus (food) to elicit a conditioned response (salivation); Based on pioneering work of Ivan Pavlov

Discrimination

The process of learning to respond to certain stimuli and not others

intermittent reinforcement

The rewarding of some, but not all, correct responses.

Preparedness

The species-specific biological predisposition to learn in certain ways but not others.

Shaping

The technique of strengthening behavior by reinforcing successive approximations of a behavior until the entire correct routine is displayed.

Generalization

The tendency of a new stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus to elicit a response that is similar to the conditioned response

Law of Effect

Thorndike's law stating that behaviors followed by positive outcomes are strengthened and that behaviors followed by negative outcomes are weakened

Edward L. Thorndike

Widely known for the law of effect- the principle that rewarded behavior is likely to recur and punished behavior is unlikely to recur.

Insight Learning

a form of problem solving in which the organism develops a sudden insight into or understanding of a problem's solution

Aversive Conditioning

a form of treatment that consists of repeated pairings of a stimulus with a very unpleasant stimulus (electric shocks/nausea inducing substances)

Conditioned Response

a learned response elicited by the conditioned stimulus

primary reinforcer

a reinforcer that is innately satisfying; one that does not take any learning on the organism's part to make it pleasurable

positive punishment

adding an aversive stimulus that weakens a response and makes it less likely to recur (spanking a misbehaved child)

Avoidance Learning

an organism's learning that it can altogether avoid a negative stimulus by making a particular response (studying harder after receiving a bad grade to avoid failure in the future)

Wolfgang Kohler

believed behaviorists underestimated animals' cognitive processes and abilities; named the sudden understanding of a problem as "insight"

B.F. Skinner

believed psychologists should focus on observable behavior that could be objectively measured; formulated principles of operant conditioning

Habituation

decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations

Ivan Pavlov

discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell

George A. Miller

made famous the phrase: "the magical number 7, plus or minus 2" when describing human memory

fixed-ratio schedule

reinforcement occurs after a predetermined set of responses (paid for every two lawns you mow)

fixed-interval schedule

reinforcement occurs after a predetermined time has elapsed (receive a paycheck every Friday)

Robert Rescorla

researched classical conditioning; found subjects learn the predictability of an event through trials (cognitive element)

Edward Tolman

researched rats' use of "cognitive maps"; concluded learning involved the acquisition and use of knowledge rather than conditioned changes in outward behavior

schedules of reinforcement

specific patterns that determine when a behavior will be reinforced

Negative Punishment

taking away a stimulus that weakens a response and makes it less likely to recur (timeout- removed from a positive reinforcer)

Stimulus Discrimination

the ability to distinguish between two similar stimuli (fearful of poison oak leaves but not oak tree leaves)

contiguity

the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are presented very close together in time

contingency

the conditioned stimulus must not only come before the unconditioned stimulus closely in time, but it must also serve as an indicator that the unconditioned stimulus is on the way

Acquisition

the initial learning of the connection between the unconditioned stimulus and the conditioned stimulus when these two stimuli are paired

Spontaneous recovery

the process by which a conditioned response can recur after a time delay without further conditioning

Instinctive Drift

the tendency of animals to revert to instinctive behavior that interferes with learning

Applied behavior analysis

the use of operant conditioning principles to change human behavior

learned helplessness

through experience with unavoidable aversive stimuli, an organism learns that it has no control over negative outcomes (domestic abuse victims)

latent learning

unreinforced learning that is not immediately reflected in behavior (can be stored cognitively, but not yet expressed behaviorally)