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MCAT - Behavioral Sciences > 03 Learning and Memory > Flashcards

03 Learning and Memory Flashcards

1
Q

Habituation

A

decrease in response due to repeated exposure to same stimulus.

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2
Q

Dishabituation

A

recovery of a response to a initial stimulus after habituation, usually after a different stimulus has been presented.

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3
Q

Associative Learning

A

creation of a pairing/association b/t 2 stimuli or b/t behavior and response.

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4
Q

Classical Conditioning

A

turning a neutral stimulus into a conditioned stimulus.

**Pavlov’s Dogs; links instincts and biological responses.

If conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus enough times, the organism can become habituated and extinction occurs.

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5
Q

Spontaneous Recovery

A

part of Classical Conditioning — weak conditioned response sometimes exhibited when extinct conditioned stimulus is presented again.

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6
Q

Generalization

A

part of Classical Conditioning — broadening effect by which a stimulus similar enough to the conditioned stimulus is enough to produce conditioned response.

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7
Q

Discrimination

A

part of Classical Conditioning — organism learns to distinguish b/t 2 similar stimuli.

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8
Q

Operant Conditioning

A

links voluntary behavior with consequences to alter frequency of behaviors.

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9
Q

Reinforcement

A

part of Operant Conditioning — increases likelihood of behavior.

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10
Q

Punishment

A

part of Operant Conditioning — decreases likelihood of behavior.

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11
Q

Negative Reinforcement

A

part of Operant Conditioning — removal of bad stimulus to encourage a behavior (e.g. taking aspirin for a headache)

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12
Q

Positive Punishment

A

part of Operant Conditioning — addition of a bad consequence to reduce a behavior (e.g. thieves get arrested for stealing.)

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13
Q

Positive Reinforcement

A

part of Operant Conditioning — addition of a good consequence following the desired behavior (e.g. being paid $$ to work)

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14
Q

Negative Punishment

A

part of Operant Conditioning — reduction of a behavior when stimulus is removed (e.g. getting grounded from watching TV for misbehavior).

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15
Q

Escape Learning

A

part of Negative Reinforcement —> reduce the unpleasantness of something that already exists (e.g. taking aspirin for headache)

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16
Q

Avoidance Learning

A

part of Negative Reinforcement —> prevent the unpleasantness of something that has yet to happen (e.g. studying for the MCAT to avoid bad score).

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17
Q

Fixed-Ratio (FR) Schedules

A

reinforce a behavior after a specific number of behavior.

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18
Q

Continuous Reinforcement

A

FR schedule in which behavior is rewarded each time.

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19
Q

Variable-Ratio (VR) Schedules

A

best results; reinforce behavior after varying # of behavior, average remains relatively constant.

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20
Q

Fixed-Interval (FI) Schedule

A

reinforce first instance of behavior after specific period of time.

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21
Q

Variable-Interval (VI) Schedule

A

reinforce first instance of behavior after varying amount of time.

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22
Q

Shaping

A

associated with operant conditioning —> process of rewarding increasingly specific behaviors.

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23
Q

Latent Learning

A

learning that occurs without a reward but is spontaneously demonstrated once a reward is introduced.

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24
Q

Preparedness

A

animals’ predisposition to behaviors that coincide with natural behaviors.

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25
Instinctive Drift
difficulty in overcoming instinctual behaviors.
26
Observational Learning
process of learning a new behavior or gaining info by watching others.
27
Mirror Neurons
important for observational learning, fire both when an individual performs and action and when that individual observes someone else performing that action.
28
Modeling
*role models, observational learning via modeling important for determining an individual's behavior throughout his lifetime.
29
Memory Formation
encoding —> storage —> retrieval
30
Encoding
process of putting new info into memory.
31
Automatic Processing
encoding: info is gained without effort.
32
Controlled (Effortful) Processing
encoding: active memorization.
33
Visual Encoding
visualizing info.
34
Acoustic Encoding
store it the way it sounds.
35
Semantic Encoding
put info into a meaningful context, the more vivid the better.
36
Self-Reference Effect
phenomenon in which we recall info best if we put it in context of our own lives.
37
Maintenance Rehearsal
repetition of a piece of info to either keep it in working memory or store it in short-term and eventually long-term memory.
38
The Method of Loci
mnemonic; associating each item in the list with a location along a route through an already memorized building. (e.g. grocery shopping).
39
Peg Word
mnemonic; associating numbers with items that rhyme/resemble the numbers.
40
Chunking / Clustering
mnemonic; taking individual elements of a large list and grouping them together into groups of elements with related meaning.
41
Sensory Memory
iconic (visual) + echoic (audio) memory; most fleeting, based on neurotransmitter activity.
42
Whole Report
participant is asked to recall all the letters she saw.
43
Partial Report
participant is asked to list the letters of a particular row immediately after presentation of stimulus.
44
Short-Term Memory
fakes quickly, usually limited in capacity due to 7±2 rule.
45
Working Memory
integrates short term memory, attention, and executive function to manipulate info.
46
Long-Term Memory
requires elaborative rehearsal, is result of increased neural connectivity.
47
Implicit (nondeclarative, procedural) Memory
long-term memory that consists of our skills and conditioned responses.
48
Explicit (declarative) Memory
long-term memory that consists of memories that require conscious recall.
49
Semantic Memory
explicit memory consisting of facts that we know.
50
Episodic Memory
explicit memory consisting of experiences/events.
51
Retrieval
process of demonstrating that something learned has been retained.
52
Recall
retrieval and statement of previously learned information
53
Recognition
process of merely identifying a piece of information that was previously learned.
54
Relearning
another way of demonstrating info has been stored in long-term memory; can re-memorize things more quickly.
55
Spacing Effect
the longer the time b/t sessions of relearning, the greater the retention. (e.g. cramming is bad)
56
Semantic Network
brain organizes ideas so that concepts are linked together based on similar meaning.
57
Spreading Activation
when one node of semantic network is activated, other linked concepts around it are also unconsciously activated.
58
Priming
recall is aided by first being presented with a word or phrase that is close to the desired semantic memory.
59
Context Effect
memory is aided by being in the physical location where encoding took place.
60
State-Dependent Memory
mental state affects recall.
61
Serial Position Effect
retrieval cue that occurs when learning lists —> primacy and recency effects.
62
Primacy Effect
tendency to remember early items in a list.
63
Recency Effect
tendency to remember late items in a list.
64
Dementia
loss of cognitive function.
65
Sundowning
increase in dysfunction in late afternoon/evenings.
66
Retrograde Amnesia
loss of previously formed memories
67
Anterograde Amnesia
inability to form new memories
68
Confabulation
process of creating vivid but fabricated memories, typically thought of as attempt by brain to fill in gaps of missing memory.
69
Agnosia
brain disorder - loss of ability to recognize objects/people/sounds (usually only 1 of the 3). Usually caused by physical damage to brain (e.g. stroke)
70
Alzheimer's Disease
brain disorder - degenerative brain disorder thought to be linked to loss of acetylcholine in neurons linked to hippocampus. Tends to proceed in retrograde fashion, marked by dementia and sundowning.
71
Korsakoff's Syndrome
brain disorder - form of memory loss caused by thiamine deficiency in the brain. Marked by retrograde AND anterograde amnesia and confabulation.
72
Curve of Forgetting
recall falls sharply in the first few days but levels off.
73
Interference
retrieval error caused by existence of other (usually similar) information.
74
Proactive Interference
old information interferes w/ new learning.
75
Retroactive Information
new information interferes w/ old information.
76
Prospective Memory
remembering to perform a task at some point in the future, remains mostly intact when it's event-based. Time-based prospective memory tends to declines with age.
77
Misinformation Effect
leading questions can change how you remember an event.
78
Source-Monitoring Error
confusion b/t semantic and episodic, recalls the details but forgets the source.

MCAT - Behavioral Sciences (12 decks)

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