storage- retaining of encoded information over time.

retrieval- the process of getting information out of memory storage.

encoding- the process of getting information into the memory system.

I can remember the controls of video games I haven’t played in years, but I once lost my keys by placing them in the backpack pocket they reside in whenever they are not being used to unlock something.

latent learning– learning that is not apparent until there is a motive to demonstrate it.

I have one of those shower curtains. They are completely worth it.

variable-ratio schedule- reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses. When done right, this reinforcement schedule can cause the subject to respond frequently for an long time with little actual reinforcement.

Thankfully, Bright House finished their work a few months ago. I can once again watch YouTube videos without fear of interruption.

shaping- operant conditioning procedure in which behavior is guided closer and closer towards a behavior.

I like dogs and I’ve owned a dog for 2/3 of my life, but I’ve never had to train one. The first dog (Sparky) ran away when I was four and the second (Sunshine) we got from a friend who had recently found him wandering around as a stray. Sunshine was two years old and he had been trained by his previous owners.

reinforcement- in operant conditioning (associating a behavior with a consequence), anything that strengthens a behavior.

That black rectangle on the side of the helicopter was supposed to be a rocket pod. At least the Gatling gun is clearly visible. And half as big as the rest of the helicopter.

discrimination- in classical conditioning, the ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other irrelevant stimuli.

And so ends the tale of the two mice. Do the survive the snake attack? Will I ever write another strip featuring them again? I don’t know. Maybe.

generalization- in classical conditioning, the tendency, after conditioning, to respond similarly to stimuli that resemble the conditioned stimulus.

extinction- in classical conditioning, the weakening of a conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus. In operant conditioning, the weakening of a response when it is no longer reinforced.

spontaneous recovery- reappearance, after a pause, of a previously extinct response.

In case you’re wondering why I’m using comic strip curse words, my parents read this.

conditioned response– in classical conditioning, a response to a previously neutral stimulus.

conditioned stimulus- in classical conditioning, an originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditional stimulus comes to trigger a conditioned response.