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Module 3.7 A Classical Conditioning Study Review with Solutions
Learning - -the process of acquiring new and
relatively enduring information or behaviors
Habituation - -an organism's decreasing
response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it
associative learning - -learning that certain
events occur together. The events may be two stimuli
(as in classical conditioning) or a response and its
consequences (as in operant conditioning).
Stimulus - -any event or situation that evokes a
response
classical conditioning - -a type of learning in
which one learns to link two or more stimuli and
anticipate events
operant conditioning - -a type of learning in
which behavior is strengthened if followed by a
reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher
cognitive learning - -the acquisition of mental
information, whether by observing events, by
watching others, or through language
Behaviorism - -the view that psychology (1)
should be an objective science that (2) studies
behavior without reference to mental processes.
Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but
not with (2).
neutral stimulus (NS) - -in classical
conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response
before conditioning
unconditioned response - -In classical
conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring
response to the unconditioned stimulus (US), such
as salivation when food is in the mouth.
unconditioned stimulus - -in classical
conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—
naturally and automatically—triggers a response.
conditioned stimulus - -in classical conditioning,
an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association
with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a
conditioned response
conditioned response - -in classical
conditioning, the learned response to a previously
neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)
acquisition - -In classical conditioning, the initial
stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an
unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus
begins triggering the conditioned response. In
operant conditioning, the strengthening of a
reinforced response.
higher-order conditioning - -a procedure in
which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning
experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus,
creating a second (often weaker) conditioned
stimulus. For example, an animal that has learned
that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light
predicts the tone and begin responding to the light
alone. (Also called second-order conditioning.)
Extinction - -the diminishing of a conditioned
response; occurs in classical conditioning when an
unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a
conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant
conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.
spontaneous recovery - -the reappearance,
after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned
response
Generalization - -the tendency, once a
