Prepare for AP Psychology learning unit questions with these practice answers. This covers classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning.
Q: learning
Answer: a relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience
Q: associative learning
Answer: 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)
Q: classical conditioning
Answer: a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events
Q: behaviorism
Answer: 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)
Q: unconditioned response (UR)
Answer: in classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivation when food is in the mouth
Q: unconditioned stimulus (US)
Answer: in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response
Q: conditioned response (CR)
Answer: in classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)
Q: conditioned stimulus (CS)
Answer: in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response
Q: acquisition
Answer: 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
Q: higher-order conditioning
Answer: 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
Q: extinction
Answer: 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
Q: spontaneous recovery
Answer: the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response
Q: generalization
Answer: the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses
Q: discrimination
Answer: ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli
Q: respondent behavior
Answer: behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus
Q: operant conditioning
Answer: a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher
Q: operant behavior
Answer: behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences
Q: law of effect
Answer: Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely
Q: operant chamber
Answer: in operant conditioning research, a chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal’s rate of bar pressing or key pecking
Q: shaping
Answer: an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior
Q: reinforcer
Answer: in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows
Q: positive reinforcement
Answer: increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food; any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response
Q: negative reinforcement
Answer: increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock; any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response
Q: primary reinforcer
Answer: an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need
Q: conditioned reinforcer
Answer: a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer
Q: continuous reinforcement
Answer: reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs
Q: partial reinforcement
Answer: reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction
Q: fixed-ratio schedule
Answer: in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses
Q: variable-ratio schedule
Answer: in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses
Q: fixed-interval schedule
Answer: in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed
Q: variable-interval schedule
Answer: in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals
Q: punishment
Answer: an event that decreases the behavior that it follows
Q: cognitive map
Answer: a mental representation of the layout of one’s environment
Q: latent learning
Answer: learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it
Q: intrinsic motivation
Answer: a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake
Q: extrinsic motivation
Answer: a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment
Q: observational learning
Answer: learning by observing others
Q: modeling
Answer: the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior
Q: mirror neurons
Answer: frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so
Q: prosocial behavior
Answer: positive, constructive, helpful behavior