Learning Processes Chapters 1-3 Key Terms

a connection between the representations of two events (two stimuli or a stimulus and a response) such that the occurrence of one of the events activates the representation of the other

the view of behavior according to which actions can be separated into two categories: voluntary behavior controlled by the mind and involuntary behavior controlled by reflex mechanisms

a philosophy according to which all ideas in the mind arise from experience

a temporary decrease in behavior caused by repeated or excessive use of the muscles involved in the behavior

the philosophy proposed by Hobbes according to which the actions of organisms are determined by the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain

an enduring change in the mechanisms of behavior involving specific stimuli and/or responses that results from prior experience with similar stimuli and responses

a change in behavior caused by physical or physiological development of the organism in the absence of experience with particular environmental events

the philosophical position adopted by pavlov that all behavioral and physiological processes are regulated by the nervous system

a three-letter combo (two consonants separated by a vowel) that has no meaning

an organism's activities at a particular time

a mechanism that enables a specific environmental event to elicit a specific response

the first process in the opponent process theory of motivation that is elicited by biologically significant events -responsible for the quality of the emotional state that occurs in the presence of the stimulus -"a"

causes physiological and behavioral changes that are the opposite of those caused by the primary process -"b"

a neuron that transmits messages from sense organs to the central nervous system -also called sensory neuron

behavior that occurs early in a natural behavior sequence and serves to bring the organism in contact with a releasing stimulus

behavior that serves to bring a natural sequence of behavior to consummation or completion -usually series-typical modal action patterns

reduction in the effectiveness of a drug as a result of repeated use of the drug

a neuron that transmits impulses to muscles -"motor neuron"

the second component of the feeding behavior sequence following general search, in which the organism engages in behavior focused on a particular location/stimulus that is indicative of the presence of food

the last component of the feeding behavior sequence, in which the organism engages in nondirected locomotor behavior

a progressive decrease in the vigor of elicited behavior that may occur with repeated presentations of the eliciting stimulus

a neural mechanism activated by repetitions of a stimulus that reduces the magnitude of responses elicited by that stimulus

a neuron in the spinal cord that transmits impulses from afferent (sensory) to efferent (motor) neurons

A response pattern exhibited by most, if not all, members of a species, used as basic units of behavior in ethological investigations of behavior

an increase in the vigor of elicited behavior that may result from repeated presentations of the eliciting stimulus or from exposure to a strong extraneous stimulus

a neural mechanism that increases the magnitude of responses elicited by a stimulus

a temporary reduction in the sensitivity of sense organs caused by repeated or excessive stimulus

a specific feature of an object or animal that elicits a modal action pattern -"releasing stimulus"

return of responding to baseline levels produced by a period of rest after habituation or sensitization

the shortest neural pathway that connects the sense organs stimulated by an eliciting stimulus and the muscles involved in making the elicited response

neural structures that determine the general level of responsiveness, or arousal of the organism

a sign stimulus whose features have been artificially enhanced or exaggerated to produce an abnormally large modal action pattern