Classical Conditioning (Pavlovian Learning): A foundational learning process where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a biologically significant stimulus, triggering an involuntary or automatic response.

Operant Conditioning (Instrumental Learning): A method of learning where behavior is modified through consequences—reinforcement strengthens a response, while punishment weakens it.

Extinction and Context: The process of reducing a learned response by removing the reinforcer or unconditioned stimulus. Bouton’s research highlights that extinction is context-dependent and represents new learning rather than unlearning.

Reinforcement Schedules: Rules that determine how and when a behavior will be rewarded (e.g., fixed/variable ratio or interval schedules), influencing the rate and persistence of the response.

Stimulus Control and Discrimination: The capacity of specific environmental cues to trigger or inhibit a learned behavior based on prior experience with those stimuli.

Aversive Control: Behavioral principles involving unpleasant stimuli, including punishment (decreasing behavior) and negative reinforcement (escape or avoidance learning).

Habit vs. Goal-Directed Behavior: The distinction between actions driven by explicit, expected outcomes (goal-directed) versus automatic, stimulus-driven routines formed through extensive practice (habits).

Associative Learning Theory: The theoretical framework explaining how organisms form mental connections between events, stimuli, and behaviors to predict future outcomes.