Classical Conditioning
This term describes a stimulus that naturally produces a response without learning.
What is an unconditioned stimulus?
Skinner’s theory focuses on how consequences shape behavior.
What is operant conditioning?
This theory says we are motivated to maintain internal balance (like hunger).
What is drive‑reduction theory?
This type of emotion is universal, biologically hardwired, and includes reactions like fear, anger, and joy.
What are primary emotions?
he body’s response to stress is called this.
What is the stress response?
When a previously neutral stimulus begins to trigger a response, it becomes this.
What is a conditioned stimulus?
Adding a pleasant stimulus to increase behavior.
What is positive reinforcement?
Maslow’s theory organizes needs into this shape.
What is a hierarchy/pyramid?
This term describes a longer-lasting affective state that isn’t tied to a specific trigger and can influence how someone interprets events throughout the day.
What is a mood?
he three‑stage stress model (alarm, resistance, exhaustion).
What is the General Adaptation Syndrome?
Pavlov demonstrated this process by pairing a bell with food.
What is acquisition?
Removing an aversive stimulus to increase behavior.
What is negative reinforcement?
Motivation driven by internal satisfaction rather than external rewards.
What is intrinsic motivation?
Emotion enhances memory because emotional events activate this system, “tagging” information as important and increasing the likelihood of long-term storage.
What is the amygdala–hippocampus system?
Stress that is short‑term and motivating.
What is eustress?
When the conditioned response disappears because the CS is presented without the US.
What is extinction?
Giving something unpleasant to decrease behavior.
What is positive punishment?
This theory suggests that behavior is motivated by the desire to obtain external rewards or avoid punishments, making it especially relevant in school and workplace settings.
What is incentive theory?
This type of emotion is more complex, often involving a blend of primary emotions and social learning — for example, feeling jealous or embarrassed.
What are secondary emotions?
Chronic stress can weaken this system.
What is the immune system?
The sudden reappearance of a conditioned response after extinction.
What is spontaneous recovery?
Reinforcement schedule where behavior is rewarded after an unpredictable number of responses.
What is a variable ratio schedule?
This concept refers to the ability to resist an immediate reward in favor of a larger or more valuable reward later, famously demonstrated in the “marshmallow test.”
What is delayed gratification?
This component of emotion involves the meaning you assign to an event — such as interpreting a friend’s comment as supportive or insulting.
What is the cognitive appraisal component?
A coping strategy that involves changing how you think about a stressor.
What is emotion‑focused coping?