Terms: Law of Effect Operant Chamber Cumulative Recorder Discriminative Stimulus Positive Reinforcement Negative Reinforcement Punishment Extinction Shaping Intermittent Reinforcement Fixed-Interval Schedule Fixed-Ratio Schedule Variable-Interval Schedule Variable-Ratio Schedule Generalization Discrimination Primary Reinforcer Secondary (Conditioned) Reinforcer Escape Response Avoidance Response

Learning the Jargon of Learning As a student, one of the things that makes understanding learning difficult is all of the new terminology that you must memorize. The purpose of this exercise is to help you practice using these terms. Your task is to match correctly each of the terms (listed to the left) with their definitions. This exercise deals exclusively with terms related to operant conditioning. The first exercise for this unit dealt with terms related to classical conditioning. 1. The stimulus that sets the occasion for responding. In the past, a specific behavior has produced certain consequences in the presence of that stimulus. 2. A schedule of reinforcement in which the response requirement for reinforcement varies from one reinforcer delivery to the next. 3. Any stimulus that acquires its reinforcing properties through its association with biologically significant stimuli, such as food or pain. 4. An apparatus that produces a continuous record of an organism’s operant behavior as it occurs in time. 5. Any stimulus that, when made dependent on the occurrence of a particular behavior, increases the likelihood of that behavior recurring in the future. 6. A schedule of reinforcement in which a response is reinforced only after a constant amount of time has elapsed between reinforcer deliveries. 7. The occurrence of an operant response in the presence of a stimulus that is similar (but not identical) to the discriminative stimulus to which the behavior was originally trained. 8. Any operant behavior that is acquired through negative reinforcement and prevents an aversive stimulus from occurring. 9. The occasional reinforcement of behavior. This sort of reinforcement produces behavior that is resistant to extinction. 10. An operation that produces an increase in any behavior that is regularly and reliably followed by the termination or avoidance of an aversive stimulus. 11. A schedule of reinforcement in which behavior is reinforced only after a certain number of responses have been emitted. 12. The idea that the consequences produced by a behavior determine the likelihood of that behavior being repeated in the future. 13. Any operant behavior that is acquired through negative reinforcement and terminates an aversive stimulus. 14. Any stimulus that, when made dependent on the occurrence of a particular behavior, decreases the likelihood of that behavior recurring in the future. 15. Any biologically significant appetitive stimulus, such as food or water. 16. The reinforcement of a behavior that successively approximates the desired response until that response is fully acquired. 17. Responding only to a particular discriminative stimulus but not to other stimuli. 18. A schedule of reinforcement in which a response is reinforced only after varying amounts of time have elapsed between reinforcer deliveries. 19. A decrease in the frequency of a response because it is no longer regularly and reliably followed by a reinforcer. 20. An apparatus in which an organism’s behavior can be manipulated, observed, and recorded.