42 Chapter 6. Key Terms
acquisition
period of initial learning in classical conditioning in which a human or an animal begins to connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus will begin to elicit the conditioned response
associative learning
form of learning that involves connecting certain stimuli or events that occur together in the environment (classical and operant conditioning)
classical conditioning
learning in which the stimulus or experience occurs before the behavior and then gets paired or associated with the behavior
cognitive map
mental picture of the layout of the environment
conditioned response (CR)
response caused by the conditioned stimulus
conditioned stimulus (CS)
stimulus that elicits a response due to its being paired with an unconditioned stimulus
continuous reinforcement
rewarding a behavior each time it occurs
extinction
decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the conditioned stimulus
fixed interval reinforcement schedule
behavior is rewarded after a set amount of time
fixed ratio reinforcement schedule
set number of responses must occur before a behavior is rewarded
instinct
unlearned knowledge, involving complex patterns of behavior; instincts are thought to be more prevalent in lower animals than in humans
latent learning
learning that occurs, but it may not be evident until there is a reason to demonstrate it
law of effect
behavior that is followed by consequences satisfying to the organism will be repeated and behaviors that are followed by unpleasant consequences will be discouraged
learning
change in behavior or knowledge that is the result of experience
model
person who performs a behavior that serves as an example (in observational learning)
negative punishment
taking away a pleasant stimulus to decrease or stop a behavior
negative reinforcement
taking away an undesirable stimulus to increase a behavior
neutral stimulus (NS)
stimulus that does not initially elicit a response
observational learning
type of learning that occurs by watching others
operant conditioning
form of learning in which the stimulus/experience happens after the behavior is demonstrated
partial reinforcement
rewarding behavior only some of the time
positive punishment
adding an undesirable stimulus to stop or decrease a behavior
positive reinforcement
adding a desirable stimulus to increase a behavior
primary reinforcer
has innate reinforcing qualities (e.g., food, water, shelter, sex)
punishment
implementation of a consequence in order to decrease a behavior
reflex
unlearned, automatic response by an organism to a stimulus in the environment
reinforcement
implementation of a consequence in order to increase a behavior
secondary reinforcer
has no inherent value unto itself and only has reinforcing qualities when linked with something else (e.g., money, gold stars, poker chips)
shaping
rewarding successive approximations toward a target behavior
spontaneous recovery
return of a previously extinguished conditioned response
stimulus discrimination
ability to respond differently to similar stimuli
stimulus generalization
demonstrating the conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus
unconditioned response (UCR)
natural (unlearned) behavior to a given stimulus
unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
stimulus that elicits a reflexive response
variable interval reinforcement schedule
behavior is rewarded after unpredictable amounts of time have passed
variable ratio reinforcement schedule
number of responses differ before a behavior is rewarded
vicarious punishment
process where the observer sees the model punished, making the observer less likely to imitate the model’s behavior
vicarious reinforcement
process where the observer sees the model rewarded, making the observer more likely to imitate the model’s behavior
