Learning and Behaviorism

occurs when an organism responds to a new event based on a history of pairing with a biologically important stimulus

an increase or decrease in operant response as a function of the consequences that have followed the response

the principle of causation for biology, behavior, and culture. Genes/attributes that are necessary for an organism to evolve

try to isolate a chain of events that directly result in some effect. (might refer to the biochemistry or physiology of the organism

explains a phenomenon by pointing to remote events that made it likely

a correlation between the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (US). a positive correlation is necessary for conditionin

organisms that changed their behavior as a result of experience during their lives survived and those that didnt adapt didnt survive

concerned with how success and failure affect the behavior of organisms. "trial and error learning"

the principle of reinforcement. we take less and less time to solve problems after repeated trials.

trial and error learning in cats. found that most cats take less and less time to solve the problem after they were repeatedly put in box

events taking place within skin are not public observable, not the cause of observable behavior

all the forms of the performance that have a similar function

stimuli that vary across physical dimensions but have a common effect on behavior

A-B-A-B, used to show causal relationships among stimuli, responses, and consequences

the difference between the highest and lowest values of the dependent measure in the baseline and trtm. phases of experiment

a systematic decline or rise in the baseline values of the dependent variable

the difference in the average (response rate or percentage) from baseline to treatment

the cause of a change in behavior must immediately precede the change. assessed from the treatment phase to the return to the baseline

when the name of a color is presented in a diff color it takes longer to name the color and we make more errors

individual organism's experiences with its environment

sequences of behavior (a series of connected movements) that are phylogenetic in origin

an environmental stimulus sets off behavior that produces stimuli that set off the next set of responses in the sequence

laws that govern the US-->UR relationship

there is a point below which no response is elicited and above which a response always occurs

describes the relationship between the intensity of the eliciting stimulus and the size or magnitude of the elicited response

the time between the onset of the eliciting stimulus and the appearance of the reflexive response

occurs when an unconditioned stimulus (US) repeatedly elicits an unconditioned response (UR).

involves the presentation of the CS without the US after acquisition has occured

refers to a correlation between the CS and the US. Neutral stimulus should predict the US. the contingency b/w US and CS influences Res.Cond