Conditioning and Learning

• Acquisition involves learning something new
• Associative learning is learning that certain events occur together
• Aversive conditioning uses unpleasant stimuli to change behavior
• Behaviorism focuses on observable behaviors and their relation to environmental factors
• Classical conditioning is learning through association where a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus
• Cognitive map is a mental representation of a physical space
• Conditioned reinforcers are stimuli that have become associated with primary reinforcers
• Conditioned response (CR) is a learned response to a previously neutral stimulus
• Conditioned stimulus (CS) is a previously neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, triggers a conditioned response
• Continuous reinforcement involves providing reinforcement after every occurrence of a behavior
• Extinction is the diminishing of a conditioned response
• Fixed-interval schedule reinforces a behavior after a set amount of time has passed
• Fixed-ratio schedule reinforces a behavior after a set number of responses
• Insight learning is a sudden realization of a problem's solution
• Instinctive drift is the tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to instinctive behavior
• Instrumental learning focuses on how consequences of behavior affect future behavior
• Intermittent reinforcement involves providing reinforcement only some of the time
• Latent learning is learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it
• Law of Effect states that behaviors followed by positive consequences are more likely to be repeated
• Modeling is learning by imitating others
• Negative punishment involves removing a pleasant stimulus after a behavior
• Negative reinforcement involves removing an aversive stimulus after a behavior
• Neutral stimulus is a stimulus that initially does not elicit a response
• Observational learning is learning by observing others
• Operant conditioning is learning through consequences
• Positive punishment involves adding an aversive stimulus after a behavior
• Positive reinforcement involves adding a pleasant stimulus after a behavior
• Prosocial/antisocial effects are the effects of observational learning on socially acceptable or unacceptable behaviors
• Shaping uses successive approximations to achieve a desired behavior
• Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response
• Stimulus discrimination involves distinguishing between a conditioned stimulus and other irrelevant stimuli
• Stimulus generalization involves the tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus
• Token economy uses tokens as secondary reinforcers to modify behavior
• Unconditioned response (UCR) is a natural response to a given stimulus
• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) is a stimulus that naturally triggers a response
• Variable-interval schedule reinforces a behavior after varying amounts of time
• Variable-ratio schedule reinforces a behavior after a varying number of responses

Classical Conditioning Phenomena

• Unconditioned Stimulus, Unconditioned Response, Neutral Stimulus, Conditioned Stimulus, and Conditioned Response are key components of the basic model

Key Classical Conditioning Terms

• Acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, discrimination, and higher-order conditioning are important when considering Watson's Little Albert experiment

Thorndike and Skinner

• Edward Thorndike's Law of Effect and B.F. Skinner's work on Operant Conditioning contributed to understand how Positive Reinforcement, Negative Reinforcement, and Shaping occurs

Impact of Reinforcement

• Schedules of reinforcement influence the quality of learning
• Continuous Reinforcement, Intermittent Reinforcement, Fixed Interval, Fixed Ratio, Variable Interval, and Variable Ratio are the primary schedules

Punishment and Negative Reinforcement

• There are key differences between punishment and negative reinforcement
• Each have strengths and weaknesses

Biological Influences on Learning

• Instinctive Drift and Taste Aversion create learning predispositions

Cognitive Influences on Learning

• Insight learning, latent learning, cognitive maps, and social learning

Observational Learning

• Observational learning can cause pro and anti social behaviors
• Albert Bandura's views relate to how reinforcement impacts learning and performance