CAS PS 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Milkshake, Classical Conditioning, Blind Experiment

• School: Boston University
• Department: Psychological & Brain Sciences
• Course: CAS PS 101
• Professor: Barak Caine

Document Summary

Data- factual information (as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation independent variable- something the researcher decides. Positive reinforcer- presence of stimulus that increases the probability of response. Medical community defines positive as presents of a symptom and negative as the absence of a symptom. Negative reinforcer- absence of a stimulus increases the probability of a behavior. Ex: parking ticket- put in more money to avoid ticket / car beeps when driver does not wear seatbelt so drive does seatbelt to avoid beeping. Stimulus shock termination procedure- absence of shock increases lever pressing. Punisher- anything that decreases behavior/any stimulus that decreases the probability of a behavior. Hypothesis (noun)- most research articles state the hypothesis that they are testing. Double blind study- neither the experimenter nor the subject knows the hypothesis being tested. What allows subject to choose between two stimuli.