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AP Psych Voc 6 p.2
Term | Definition |
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respondent behavior | behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus |
operant conditioning | a type of learning in which a behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer or less likely to recur if followed by a punisher |
operant behavior | behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences |
law of effect | Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely |
operant chamber | in operant conditioning research, a chamber (also known as a Skinner box) 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 |
shaping | an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior |
discriminative stimulus | in operant conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement). |
reinforcement | in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows |
positive reinforcement | increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response |
negative reinforcement | increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing aversive stimuli. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response |
primary reinforcer | an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need |
conditioned reinforcer | a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer |
continuous reinforcement schedule | reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs |
partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule | reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement |
fixed-ratio schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses |
variable-ratio schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses |
fixed-interval schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed |
variable-interval schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals |
punishment | an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows |