Glossary of Classical Conditioning Terms
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Glossary of Classical Conditioning Terms - A - Absolute Threshold - The minimum amount of stimulus energy to which a receptor will respond 50% of the time. Adaptation - Adjustment to new surroundings, characterized by a decrease in excitability. Adverse - Tending to discourage, retard, or make more difficult. Anticipation - The condition of expecting something. Arousal - The inciting and energizing of behavior by an internal or external stimulus. Association - Process by which an organism connects related elements such as perceptions, memories, or ideas with each other. Aversion - A dislike or avoidance of something. Aversive Stimulus - A stimulus whose termination or avoidance thereof increases the frequency of a response it precedes. An increase in the frequency of a behavior to terminate an aversive stimulus is said to have been negatively reinforced, where a decrease in frequency is said to have been punished. - B - Behavior - A broad term to connote all the responses, overt or implicit, muscular or glandular, of an organism. An observable or measurable response or act. - C - Classical Conditioning - (Pavlovian Conditioning) A form of conditioning in which a neutral, novel or previously meaningless stimuli is associated with naturally meaningful stimuli tend to become substitutes for the stimuli themselves and to elicit similar responses. A cause-and-effect event where the stimulus is an adequate explanation for the response. The response is elicited reflexively where the organism exercises no control in the situation and the organism=s action produces no change in its environment. Technically, the pairing of a conditioned stimulus (CS) with an unconditioned stimulus (US) elicits a conditioned response (CR) similar to the unconditioned response (UR) originally elicited by the unconditioned stimulus. Conditioned Fear - Anxiety which results from a neutral stimulus that has been associated with one that elicits fear. Conditioning - Refers to a change in the form and frequency of a behavior due to influences of the environment. It can be brought about by the application of reinforcers or punishers. The process by which a response is made stronger (increasing the probability of its recurrence in a similar situation) by pairing a reinforcer with the preceding response. Conditioned Aversive Stimulus - An event that is initially neutral but has acquired aversive properties by virtue of being paired with aversive events or with a signal that no reinforcement will be coming. Conditioned Reinforcer - A previously neutral stimulus that has become reinforcing because of its association with a primary reinforcer; it derives its meaning as a result of its association with basic, unconditioned reinforcers. See Secondary Reinforcer. Conditioned Response (CR) - A new or modified response that is elicited only by a given stimulus after conditioning has occurred. In classical conditioning, a response that develops to the conditioned stimulus after a number of pairings of the conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus. The conditioned response is similar to the unconditioned response. Conditioned Stimulus (CS) - Also known as a “cue”. A stimulus that has the property of producing a response through pairing or association. In classical conditioning, a stimulus with which the unconditioned stimulus is paired; as a result of the pairing, the CS comes to elicit a response similar to the original response (UR) to the unconditioned stimulus (US). A stimulus which has a specific meaning - usually to denote the successful completion of behavioral criterion. Cue - A signal that will elicit a specific behavior or reflex as a result of a learned association. See Conditioned Stimulus and Positive Discriminative Stimulus. - D - Data - Observable events or phenomena that can be detected and agreed upon. Delayed Conditioning - In classical conditioning, a sequence in which the unconditioned stimulus is presented after the conditioned stimulus has been turned off. Delay of Reinforcement - The interval between a behavior and the delivery of reinforcement. Deprivation - Occurs when a primary reinforcer or strongly conditioned secondary reinforcer is withheld for a period of time. Distractions - Qualitative aspects of the environment, things such as bells, applause, audience, animals, the feelings of pressure, etcetera. - E - Elicit - To automatically bring about a response. Respondent, reflex or autonomic behaviors are elicited by unconditioned stimulus. Emit - Operant behavior is emitted. Emitted behavior is produced through willingness. An animal emits a response to a stimulus. Emotion - Any strong feeling, always accompanied by physiological activity of the internal organs. Experimental Method - The rigorous scientific process by which hypotheses are tested under laboratory conditions. Experimental Psychology - The study of different components of the behavior of humans and other animals under laboratory conditions, in which a variable or variables can be manipulated to determine their effect on another variable or variables. - F - Fear - An emotional reaction to threat or danger from specific stimuli. Forgetting - The loss or losing, temporary or permanent, of something earlier learned. - G – Generalization - The process whereby an organism responds similarly to stimuli which resemble one another. The reciprocal or opposite of stimulus discrimination; the organism will increase in the strength of responses to a variety of stimuli. An adaptive learning process. To the extent that stimuli generalization occurs, stimulus control is lost. - H - Habit - A recurrent pattern of behavior acquired through experience and made more or less permanent by various reinforcing events. Heritability - The ability to inherit genes that determine behavioral traits. Homeostasis - The biological and behavioral processes that maintain balance in the operation of the internal bodily functioning. Hormones - Chemicals produced by the endocrine glands that have a powerful and profound effect on bodily function and behavior. - I - Imprinting - The process by which a young animal forms a lasting attachment to and preference for some object, usually a parent. Independent Variable - In an experiment, the variable that the experimenter can manipulate to determine its effects upon the dependent variable. Innate - Those characteristics that an organism is born with (that is, genetically determined) as opposed to those that are acquired through experience. Instinct - An inborn predisposition to behave in a specific way when appropriately stimulated. Instincts are complex behaviors that are characteristic of a species. Intelligence - The capacity of organisms to deal effectively with the environment. Intensity - Loudness, in subjective terms. Inter-Stimulus Interval (ISI) - In classical conditioning, the time elapsed between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus. In habituation, the time between exposures to a stimulus. - J - Just Noticeable Difference (JND) - The least amount of change in a stimulus necessary for an organism to be able to detect a difference. - L - Loudness - The psychological property of hearing, determined by the intensity of a sound as judged by an individual; amplitude is the physical correlate of loudness. - M - Metabolic Rate - Speed of physical and chemical changes that take place within the body. Frequently used to refer to those changes involving the conversion of food to useful energy. - N - Nature-Nurture Issue - The question of the extent to which environment and heredity determine behavior. Negative - To remove from the environment. Negative Punishment - In operant conditioning, the removal of a positive stimulus - something the organism seeks to encounter - from the organism’s environment following a response, thereby decreasing the frequency of that response. Negative Reinforcement - An organism is said to be negatively reinforced when the performance of a behavior serves to terminate an aversive stimulus or event. Negative reinforcement has occurred when the frequency of a behavior increases in order to avoid the onset of, or to terminate, an aversive stimulus. Not to be confused with punishment. Neutral Stimulus - Any stimulus that has no effect on behavior before conditioning. - O - Olfactory - Referring to the sense of smell. Operant Behavior - Emitted behavior that is controlled by its consequences. Operant behavior acts on and produces a change in the environment. Operant Conditioning - (Instrumental Conditioning ) The procedure of presenting an organism with a reinforcing stimulus immediately following the occurrence of a desired response. In this method of conditioning, the organism obtains reinforcement by operating on the environment in some fashion. The process by which, through learning, free operant behavior becomes attached to a specific stimulus. - P - Paradigm - A pattern, example, or model. Perception - A psychological function which, by means of the sense organs, enables the organism to receive and process information on the state of, and alterations in, the environment. Performance - Objective (i.e., repeatable) Measures of observed behavior; generally referred to as the form and frequency of behavior. Pleasure-Pain Principle - The principle that organisms are motivated to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Positive - To add to the environment. Positive Punishment - In operant conditioning, the addition of an aversive stimulus, something the organism seeks to avoid, to the organism=s environment following a response,