| learning | A systematic, relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs through experience.
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| behaviorism | A theory of learning that focuses solely on observable behaviors, discounting the importance of such mental activity as thinking, wishing, and hoping.
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| associative learning | Learning that occurs when we make a connection, or an association, between two events.
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| observational learning | Learning that occurs when a person observes and imitates another's behavior.
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| classical conditioning | Learning process in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus and acquires the capacity to elicit a similar response.
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| unconditioned stimulus (UCS) | A stimulus that produces a response without prior learning.
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| unconditioned response (UCR) | An unlearned reaction that is automatically elicited by the unconditioned stimulus.
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| conditioned stimulus (CS) | A previously neutral stimulus that eventually elicits a conditioned response after being paired with the unconditioned stimulus.
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| conditioned response (CR) | The learned response to the conditioned stimulus that occurs after conditioned stimulus–unconditioned stimulus pairing.
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| acquisition | The initial learning of the connection between the unconditioned stimulus and the conditioned stimulus when these two stimuli are paired.
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| generalization (in classical conditioning) | The tendency of a new stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus to elicit a response that is similar to the conditioned response.
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| discrimination (in classical conditioning) | The process of learning to respond to certain stimuli and not others.
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| extinction (in classical conditioning) | The weakening of the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is absent.
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| spontaneous recovery | The process in classical conditioning by which a conditioned response can recur after a time delay, without further conditioning.
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| renewal | The recovery of the conditioned response when the organism is placed in a novel context.
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| counterconditioning | A classical conditioning procedure for changing the relationship between a conditioned stimulus and its conditioned response.
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| aversive conditioning | A form of treatment that consists of repeated pairings of a stimulus with a very unpleasant stimulus.
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| habituation | Decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations.
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| operant conditioning | Also called instrumental conditioning, a form of associative learning in which the consequences of a behavior change the probability of the behavior's occurrence.
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| law of effect | Thorndike's law stating that behaviors followed by positive outcomes are strengthened and that behaviors followed by negative outcomes are weakened.
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| shaping | Rewarding approximations of a desired behavior.
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| reinforcement | The process by which a rewarding stimulus or event (a reinforcer) following a particular behavior increases the probability that the behavior will happen again.
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| positive reinforcement | An increase in the frequency of a behavior in response to the subsequent presentation of something that is good.
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| negative reinforcement | An increase in the frequency of a behavior in response to the subsequent removal of something that is unpleasant.
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| avoidance learning | An organism's learning that it can altogether avoid a negative stimulus by making a particular response.
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| learned helplessness | An organism's learning through experience with unavoidable negative stimuli that it has no control over negative outcomes.
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| primary reinforcer | A reinforcer that is innately satisfying; one that does not take any learning on the organism's part to make it pleasurable.
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| secondary reinforcer | A reinforcer that acquires its positive value through an organism's experience; a secondary reinforcer is a learned or conditioned reinforcer.
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| generalization (in operant conditioning) | Performing a reinforced behavior in a different situation.
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| discrimination (in operant conditioning) | Responding appropriately to stimuli that signal that a behavior will or will not be reinforced.
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| extinction (in operant conditioning) | Decreases in the frequency of a behavior when the behavior is no longer reinforced.
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| schedules of reinforcement | Specific patterns that determine when a behavior will be reinforced.
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| punishment | A consequence that decreases the likelihood that a behavior will occur.
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| positive punishment | The presentation of an unpleasant stimulus following a given behavior in order to decrease the frequency of that behavior.
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| negative punishment | The removal of a positive stimulus following a given behavior in order to decrease the frequency of that behavior.
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| applied behavior analysis | Also called behavior modification, the use of operant conditioning principles to change human behavior.
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| latent learning | Also called implicit learning, unreinforced learning that is not immediately reflected in behavior.
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| insight learning | A form of problem solving in which the organism develops a sudden insight into or understanding of a problem's solution.
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| instinctive drift | The tendency of animals to revert to instinctive behavior that interferes with learning.
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| preparedness | The species-specific biological predisposition to learn in certain ways but not others.
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