Module 7

Question 1

language

Answer 1

the agreed-upon systems of spoken, written, or signed words, and the ways people combine them to communicate meaning

Question 2

two-word stage

Answer 2

the stage in speech development, beginning about age 2, during which a child speaks or signs mostly in two-word sentences

Question 3

one-word stage

Answer 3

the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2 years, during which a child speaks or signs mostly in single words

Question 4

aphasia

Answer 4

impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding of speech)

Question 5

linguistic relativism

Answer 5

the idea that language influences the way humans think

Question 6

Broca’s area

Answer 6

a frontal lobe brain area, usually in the left hemisphere, that helps control language expression by directing the muscle movements involved in speech

Question 7

universal grammar

Answer 7

humans’ innate predisposition to understand the principles and rules that govern grammar in all languages

Question 8

phoneme

Answer 8

in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

Question 9

grammar

Answer 9

in a language, a system of rules that enables communication and understanding between people

Semantics is the language’s set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds, and syntax is its set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences.

Question 10

linguistic determinism

Answer 10

Whorf’s hypothesis that language determines the way humans think

Question 11

telegraphic speech

Answer 11

the early speech stage in which a child speaks or signs like a telegram — “go car” — using mostly nouns and verbs

Question 12

morpheme

Answer 12

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix or suffix)

Question 13

wernicke’s area

Answer 13

a brain area, usually in the left temporal lobe, involved in language comprehension and expression

Question 14

babbling stage

Answer 14

the stage in speech development, beginning around 4 months, during which an infant spontaneously utters various sounds (or makes signs) that are not all related to the household language

Question 15

neutral stimulus (NS)

Answer 15

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning

Question 16

conditioned response (CR)

Answer 16

in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus

Question 17

behaviorism

Answer 17

the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes

Most research psychologists today agree with the first premise but not with the second one.

Question 18

discrimination

Answer 18

in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have not been associated with a conditioned stimulus

Question 19

conditioned stimulus (CS)

Answer 19

in classical conditioning, an originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response

Question 20

learning

Answer 20

the process of acquiring new information and behavior through experience

Question 21

associative learning

Answer 21

learning that certain events occur together

The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequence (as in operant conditioning).

Question 22

operant behavior

Answer 22

behavior that operates on the environment, producing a consequence

Question 23

high-order condition

Answer 23

a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus

For example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone. This is also called second-order conditioning.

Question 24

habituation

Answer 24

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation

Question 25

generalization

Answer 25

in classical conditioning, the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses

Question 26

extinction

Answer 26

in classical conditioning, the diminishing of a conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus

Question 27

classical conditioning

Answer 27

a type of learning in which two or more stimuli are linked; to illustrate with Pavlov’s classic experiment, the first stimulus (a tone) comes to elicit behavior (drooling) in anticipation of the second stimulus (food)

Question 28

respondent behavior

Answer 28

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus

Question 29

stimulus

Answer 29

any event or situation that evokes a response

Question 30

acquisition

Answer 30

in classical conditioning, the initial stage — when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response

Question 31

cognitive learning

Answer 31

the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language

Question 32

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

Answer 32

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally — naturally and automatically — triggers an unconditioned response

Question 33

unconditioned response (UCR)

Answer 33

in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (such as food in the mouth)

Question 34

preparedness

Answer 34

a biological predisposition to learn associations, such as between taste and nausea, that have survival value

Question 35

taste-aversion response

Answer 35

response in which, if sickened after sampling a new food, people later avoid it

Question 36

one-trial conditioning

Answer 36

conditioning in which the single pairing of stimulus and response is enough to create an association For example, the pairing of eating oysters with vomiting one time is enough to create an association.

Question 37

discriminative stimulus

Answer 37

in operant conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement)

Question 38

fixed-ratio schedule

Answer 38

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

Question 39

positive reinforcement

Answer 39

increasing behaviors by presenting a pleasurable stimulus A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.

Question 40

reinforcement

Answer 40

in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

Question 41

variable-interval schedule

Answer 41

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

Question 42

punishment

Answer 42

an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows

Question 43

primary reinforcer

Answer 43

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need

Question 44

shaping

Answer 44

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

Question 45

negative reinforcement

Answer 45

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing an aversive stimulus A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. Negative reinforcement is NOT punishment.

Question 46

conditioned reinforcer

Answer 46

a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer

Question 47

fixed-interval schedule

Answer 47

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

Question 48

variable-ratio schedule

Answer 48

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

Question 49

continuous reinforcement

Answer 49

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

Question 50

partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule

Answer 50

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

Question 51

operant chamber

Answer 51

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

Question 52

reinforcement schedule

Answer 52

a pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced

Question 53

law of effect

Answer 53

Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable (reinforcing) consequences become more likely and that behaviors followed by unfavorable (punishing) consequences become less likely

Question 54

instinctive drift

Answer 54

the tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to biologically predisposed patterns

Question 55

operant conditioning

Answer 55

a type of learning where behavior is shaped by rewards and punishments

Question 56

observational learning

Answer 56

learning by observing others; also called social learning

Question 57

mirror neuron

Answer 57

neurons that some scientists believe fire when we perform certain actions or observe another person doing so The brain’s mirroring of another’s action may enable imitation and empathy.

Question 58

modeling

Answer 58

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

Question 59

prosocial behavior

Answer 59

positive, constructive, helpful behavior; opposite of antisocial behavior

Question 60

insight learning

Answer 60

solving problems through sudden insight; contrasts with strategy-based solutions

Question 61

latent learning

Answer 61

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

Question 62

antisocial behavior

Answer 62

negative, destructive, harmful behavior; opposite of prosocial behavior

Question 63

cognitive map

Answer 63

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.