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 every 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

higher-order conditioning

(also, second-order conditioning) using a conditioned stimulus to condition a neutral stimulus

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

radical behaviorism

staunch form of behaviorism developed by B. F. Skinner that suggested that even complex higher mental functions like human language are nothing more than stimulus-outcome associations

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