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Learning Chapter 1&2

Terms

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things an organism strives to avoid; they are commonly described as painful, noxious, or unpleasant
aversives
Any general behavioral tendency that is strongly influenced by genes. Examples include introversion and general anxiety.
general behavior traits
A decrease in the intensity or probability of a reflex response resulting from repeated exposure to a stimulus that elicits that response.
habitutation
A change in behavior due to experience
learning
Any change in a gene. When the modified gene occurs in a reproductive cell, it may be passed on to offspring.
mutation
The tendency for characteristics that contribute to the survival of a species to persist, and for those that do not to disappear.
natural selection
A definition that specifies the operation (procedure) by which a term will be measured.
operational definition
A relationship between a specific event and a simple, involuntary response to that event.
reflex
Any stimulus that reliably elicits a fixed action pattern
releaser
An increase in the intensity or probability of a reflex response resulting from earlier exposure to a stimulus that elicits that response.
sensitization
A type of within--subject experiment in which behavior is observed before (A) and after (B) an experimental manipulation. The original (A) condition is restored, sometimes followed again by the experimental (B) -condition.
ABA reversal design
First- or secondhand reports of personal experience.
anecdotal evidence
In a within-subject experiment, a period of observation (often designated “A”) during which no attempt is made to modify the behavior under study.
baseline period
Anything a person or animal does that can be measured.
behavior
An experimental design in which the independent variable is made to vary across two or more groups of subjects. Also called between-treatment or group experiment.
between-subjects experiment
Detailed study and description of a single case. Usually used in clinical settings.
case study
In a between-subjects experiment, those subjects not exposed to the independent variable.
control group
A graphic record of behavior, each point of which reflects the total number of times a behavior has been performed as of that time.
cumulative record
An apparatus (or software) that records every occurrence of a behavior, thereby producing a cumulative record.
cumulative recorder
The variable by which the outcome of an experiment is measured. It is expected to vary with (to depend on) the independent variable.
dependent variable
A study in which the researcher attempts to describe a group by obtaining data from its members.
descriptive study
A research design in which the researcher measures the effects of one or more independent variables on one or more dependent variables.
experiment
In a between-subjects experiment, those subjects exposed to the independent variable.
experimental group
In an experiment, the variable that the researcher controls. The independent variable is usually expected to affect the dependent variable.
independent variable
A procedure for reducing extraneous differences among subjects in between-subjects experiments by matching those in the experimental and control groups on specified characteristics, such as age, sex, and weight.
matched sampling
Any event that affects, or is capable of affecting, behavior.
stimulus
A research design in which the independent variable is made to vary at different times for the same subject. (Thus, each subject serves as both an experimental and control subject.) Also called single-subject or single-case experiment.
within-subject experiment

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