Learning

Associative Learning
 Learning

The creation of a pairing, or association, either

between two stimuli or between a behavior and a
response
 Learning

Classical Conditioning
 Learning

A type of associative learning that takes advantage

of biological, instinctual responses to create
associations between two unrelated stimuli
 Learning

Unconditioned Stimulus
 Learning

Stimulus which produces a response from the

subject naturally, or without conditioning
 Learning

Unconditioned Response
 Learning

An involuntary and natural reaction to a stimulus

 Learning

Conditioned Stimulus
 Learning

A normally neutral stimulus that, through

association, now causes a reflexive response
 Learning

Conditioned Response
 Learning

A newly formed reaction to a once unassociated

stimulus
 Learning

Neutral Stimuli
 Learning

Any stimulus that produces no conditioned

response prior to learning
 Learning

Acquisition
 Learning

The pairing of a conditioned stimulus and an

unconditioned stimulus
 Learning

Operant Conditioning
 Learning

Links voluntary behaviors with consequences in an

effort to alter the frequency of those behaviors
 Learning

Reinforcement
 Learning

The process of increasing the likelihood that an

individual will perform a behavior
 Learning

Positive Reinforcement
 Learning

Adds a stimulus to continue a behavior

 Learning

Negative Reinforcement
 Learning

Removes a stimulus to continue a behavior

 Learning

Punishment
 Learning

Uses conditioning to reduce the occurrence of a

behavior
 Learning

Positive Punishment
 Learning

Adds a stimulus to reduce a behavior

 Learning

Negative Punishment
 Learning

Removes a stimulus to reduce a behavior

 Learning

Discriminative Stimulus
 Learning

A stimulus that exerts control over a particular form

of behavior; the subject discriminates between
closely related stimuli and elicits a specific
behavior more frequently or less frequently only in
the presence of that stimulus
 Learning

Habituation
 Learning

An organism decreases or ceases its responses to

a stimulus after repeated presentations
 Learning

Dishabituation
 Learning

The recovery of a response to a stimulus after

habituation has occurred
 Learning

Sensitization
 Learning

Occurs when a repeated administration of a

stimulus results in the progressive amplification of
a response
 Learning

Desensitization
 Learning

Diminished emotional responsiveness to a

negative, aversive or positive stimulus after
repeated exposure to it
 Learning

Generalization
 Learning

Occurs when a stimulus similar enough to the

conditioned stimulus can also produce the
conditioned response
 Learning

Discrimination
 Learning

Distinguishing between two similar stimuli

 Learning

Extinction
 Learning

A process by which a response that has been

learned is weakened by the absence or removal of
reinforcement
 Learning

Spontaneous Recovery
 Learning

The recovery of a conditioned response after

extinction
 Learning

Extinction Burst
 Learning

A sudden and temporary increase in the

response's frequency, followed by the eventual
decline and extinction of the behavior targeted for
elimination
 Learning

Aversive Conditioning
 Learning

Exposure to an unpleasant stimulus while

engaging in the targeted behavior, the goal being
to create an aversion to it
 Learning

Escape
 Learning

The role of the behavior is to reduce the

unpleasantness of something that already exists
 Learning

Avoidance
 Learning

Meant to prevent the unpleasantness of something

that has yet to happen
 Learning

Taste Aversion
 Learning

Occurs when an animal associates the taste of a

certain food with symptoms caused by a toxic,
spoiled, or poisonous substance
 Learning

Systematic Desensitization
 Learning

A form of treatment or therapy for phobias, fears,

and aversions that people have through
counterconditioning
 Learning

Counterconditioning
 Learning

A type of therapy based on the principles of

classical conditioning that attempts to replace bad
or unpleasant emotional responses to a stimulus
with more pleasant, adaptive responses
 Learning

Primary Reinforcers
 Learning

Anything that provides reinforcement without the

need for learning to an organism
 Learning

Secondary Reinforcers
 Learning

A stimulus that reinforces a behavior after it has

been associated with a primary reinforcer
 Learning

Token Economy
 Learning

A system of contingency management based on

the systematic reinforcement of target behavior.
The reinforcers are symbols or "tokens" that can
be exchanged for other reinforcers and is based on
the principles of operant conditioning and
behavioral economics
 Learning

Instinctual Drift
 Learning

The animal no longer performs the behaviors it has

been taught, but goes back to behaviors that are in
its nature
 Learning

Shaping
 Learning

A method of training by which successive

approximations toward a target behavior are
reinforced
 Learning

Reinforcement Schedules
 Learning

Determine how and when a behavior will be

followed by a reinforcer
 Learning

Fixed-Ratio
 Learning

Reinforce a behavior after a specific number of

performances of that behavior
 Learning

Continuous Reinforcement
 Learning

A fixed-ratio schedule in which the behavior is

rewarded every time it is performed
 Learning

Fixed-Interval
 Learning

Reinforce the first instance of a behavior after a

specified time period has elapsed
 Learning

Variable-Ratio
 Learning

Reinforce a behavior after a varying number of

performances of that behavior
 Learning

Variable-Interval
 Learning

Reinforce the first instance of a behavior after a

varying time period has elapsed
 Learning

Latent Learning
 Learning

Learning that occurs without a reward but that is

spontaneously demonstrated once a reward is
introduced
 Learning

Observational Learning
 Learning

The process of learning a new behavior or gaining

information by watching others
 Learning

Insight Learning
 Learning

Occurs when people recognize relationships that

can help them solve new problems