| learning | Any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about through experience.
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| unconditioned stimulus (UCS) | A stimulus that can elicit a response without any learning.
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| unconditioned response (UCR) | An unlearned, inborn reaction to an unconditioned stimulus.
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| conditioned stimulus (CS) | A stimulus that comes to elicit responses as a result of being paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
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| conditioned response (CR) | A response that is similar or identical to the unconditioned response that comes to be elicited by a conditioned stimulus.
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| classical conditioning | A form of learning in which a previously neutral stimulus (CS) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) to elicit a conditioned response (CR) that is identical to or very similar to the unconditioned response (UCR).
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| counterconditioning | The process of eliminating a classically conditioned response by pairing the conditioned stimulus (CS) with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) for a response that is stronger than the conditioned response (CR) and that cannot occur at the same time as the CR.
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| operant conditioning | Learning in which the consequences of behavior lead to changes in the probability of its occurrence.
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| positive reinforcement | Any consequence of behavior that leads to an increase in the probability of its occurrence.
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| delay of reinforcement | The passage of time between the response and the positive reinforcement that leads to reduced efficiency of learning.
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| primary reinforcers | Innate positive reinforcers that do not have to be acquired through learning.
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| secondary reinforcers | Learned positive reinforcers.
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| fixed ratio schedule | A reinforcement schedule in which the reinforcer is given only after a specified number of responses.
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| variable ratio schedule | A reinforcement schedule in which the reinforcer is given after a varying number of responses have been made.
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| fixed interval schedule | A reinforcement schedule in which the reinforcer is given following the first response occurring after a predetermined period of time.
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| variable interval schedule | A reinforcement schedule in which the reinforcer is given following the first response occurring after a variable amount of time.
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| shaping | A strategy of positively reinforcing behaviors that are successively more similar to desired behaviors.
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| Skinner box | A cage for animals, equipped with a response lever and a food tray dispenser, used in research on operant conditioning.
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| negative reinforcement | Reinforcement that comes about when the removal or avoidance of a negative event is the consequence of behavior.
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| escape conditioning | Operant conditioning in which the behavior is reinforced because it causes a negative event to cease (a form of negative reinforcement).
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| avoidance conditioning | Operant conditioning in which the behavior is reinforced because it prevents something negative from happening (a form of negative reinforcement).
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| punishment | A negative consequence of a behavior, which leads to a decrease in the frequency of the behavior that produces it.
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| criticism trap | An increase in the frequency of a negative behavior that often follows the use of criticism, reinforcing the behavior it is intended to punish.
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| stimulus discrimination | The tendency for responses to occur more often in the presence of one stimulus than others.
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| stimulus generalization | The tendency for similar stimuli to elicit the same response.
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| extinction | The process of unlearning a learned response because of the removal of the original source of learning.
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| partial reinforcement effect | The phenomenon that responses that have been reinforced on variable ratio or variable interval schedules are more dif- ficult to extinguish than responses that have been continuously reinforced.
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| response prevention | The prevention of avoidance responses to ensure that the individual sees that the negative consequence will not occur to speed up the extinction of avoidance responses.
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| spontaneous recovery | A temporary increase in the strength of a conditioned response, which is likely to occur during extinction after the passage of time.
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| disinhibition | A temporary increase in the strength of an extinguished response caused by an unrelated stimulus event.
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| cognitive map | An inferred mental awareness of the structure of a physical space or related elements.
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| insight | A form of cognitive change that involves recognition of previously unseen relationships.
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| learning set | Improvement in the rate of learning to solve new problems through practice solving similar problems.
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| modeling | Learning based on observation of the behavior of another.
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| vicarious reinforcement | Observed reinforcement of the behavior of a model, which also increases the probability of the same behavior in the observer.
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| vicarious punishment | Observed punishment of the behavior of a model, which also decreases the probability of the same behavior in the observer.
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| learned taste aversion | Negative reaction to a particular taste that has been associated with nausea or other illness.
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