Behaviour
behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences
what is operant behavior?
increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.
what is positive reinforcement?
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.
what is extinction?
Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.
what is latent learning?
behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus.
what is respondent behavior?
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses
what is fixed-ratio schedule?
an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need.
what is primary reinforcer?
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).
what is behaviorism?
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses.
what is variable-ratio schedule?
reinforcing a response only part of the time: results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does a continuous reinforcement.
what is partial (intermittent) reinforcement?
the process of acquiring through experience new and relatively enduring information or behaviors
what is learning?
an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.
what is shaping?
a mental representation of the layout of one's environment. for example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it
what is cognitive map?
The reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response.
what is spontaneous recovery?
an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows.
what is punishment?
frontal lobe neurons that some scientists believe fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. the brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation and empathy.
what is mirror neurons?