PSYC Chapter 6

Front

Define learning

Back

Learning is a process that leads to a relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge due to experience.

Front

Describe the primary difference between habituation and sensitization.

Back

Habituation is a decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations, while sensitization is an increase in response to a stimulus after exposure to a strong or noxious stimulus.

Front

Define classical conditioning and apply terms like unconditioned stimulus (US), unconditioned response (UR), conditioned stimulus (CS), conditioned response (CR), extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization and discrimination.

Back

Classical conditioning is a learning process where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, leading to a conditioned response. US is the stimulus that naturally triggers a response, UR is the natural response to the US, CS is the previously neutral stimulus that, after association with the US, triggers a conditioned response, CR is the learned response to the CS. Extinction is the diminishing of a conditioned response when the US no longer follows the CS. Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a conditioned response after a pause. Generalization is the tendency to respond similarly to stimuli that resemble the CS, while discrimination is the ability to distinguish between different stimuli.

Front

Describe the difference between an operant and a reinforcer.

Back

An operant is a behavior that is influenced by its consequences, while a reinforcer is any stimulus that increases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated.

Front

Describe Thorndike’s law of effect.

Back

Thorndike’s law of effect states that behaviors followed by favorable consequences are more likely to be repeated, while behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences are less likely to be repeated.

Front

Define operant conditioning and apply terms like positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, negative punishment, and shaping to an example.

Back

Operant conditioning is a learning process through which the strength of a behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment. Positive reinforcement involves adding a pleasant stimulus to increase a behavior, negative reinforcement involves removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase a behavior, positive punishment involves adding an unpleasant stimulus to decrease a behavior, and negative punishment involves removing a pleasant stimulus to decrease a behavior. Shaping is the process of reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior.

Front

Explain the 4 different reinforcement schedules: fixed interval (FI), variable interval (VI), fixed ratio (FR), and variable ratio (VR) and how they are related to learning.

Back

Reinforcement schedules determine how often a behavior is reinforced. Fixed interval (FI) provides reinforcement after a set amount of time, variable interval (VI) provides reinforcement after varying amounts of time, fixed ratio (FR) provides reinforcement after a set number of responses, and variable ratio (VR) provides reinforcement after a varying number of responses. These schedules affect the rate and persistence of learning.

Front

Define behavior modification.

Back

Behavior modification is a therapeutic approach that uses principles of operant conditioning to change maladaptive behaviors.

Front

Define observational learning and discuss the differences between modeling and vicarious conditioning.

Back

Observational learning is a type of learning that occurs by watching others. Modeling involves imitating the behavior of others, while vicarious conditioning occurs when an individual learns by observing the consequences of another's behavior.