Invitation to Psychology

Chapter 9 Learning and Conditioning 337

learning and the role played by beliefs, interpretations of events,

and other cognitions in determining behavior. Social-cognitive

theorists argue that in observational learning as in latent learn-

ing, what is acquired is knowledge rather than a specific re-

sponse. Perceptions, personality traits, and social contexts all

influence how people respond to what they see and the different

lessons they take away from an experience.

Psychology in the News, Revisited

• Behavioral and social-cognitive learning theories help us under-
stand when punishment might be constructive and appropriate,
and also when it backfires, as when harsh discipline is imposed

for minor infractions, causing resentment and other undesirable

results. The learning perspective offers good alternatives to pun-

ishment, and helps us appreciate the role of the environment in

promoting “good” or “bad” behavior.

Taking Psychology With You

Psychologists disagree about the effects of depicted violence on

real violence. Because people differ in their perceptions and be-

liefs, they also respond differently to violence in video games and

the media. The issue of what restrictions, if any, should be placed

on violent media is therefore a difficult one.

learning 307
behaviorism 307

conditioning 307

unconditioned stimulus
(US) 308
unconditioned response
(UR) 308

conditioned stimulus
(CS) 309

conditioned response
(CR) 309
classical conditioning 309

extinction (in classical
conditioning) 309

spontaneous recovery 309

higher-order conditioning 310

stimulus generalization

(in classical

conditioning) 310

stimulus discrimination (in

classical conditioning) 311

phobia 313

counterconditioning 314

operant conditioning 317

reinforcement/reinforcers 318

punishment/punishers 318

primary reinforcers and

punishers 318

secondary reinforcers and

punishers 318

positive and negative

reinforcement and

punishment 319

Skinner box 320

extinction (in operant

conditioning) 321

stimulus generalization

(in operant

conditioning) 321

stimulus discrimination (in

operant conditioning) 321

discriminative stimulus 321

continuous

reinforcement 321

intermittent (partial) schedule

of reinforcement 321

shaping 322

successive

approximations 322

instinctive drift 323

determinist view 324

behavior modification

(applied behavior

analysis) 325

extrinsic reinforcers 328

intrinsic reinforcers 328

latent learning 331

social-cognitive learning

theories 332

observational (vicarious)

learning 332

Key Terms