Behavioral Sciences 3: Learning and Memory Flashcards
learning
acquiring new behaviors
a change in behaviors that occurs in response to a stimulus
habituation
decreased response as a result of repeated exposure to the same stimulus
dishabituation
recovery of a response
usually as a result of a second stimulus (temporary)
associative learning
creation of an association between two stimuli or between a behavior and response
a way of pairing together stimuli and responses, or behaviors and consequences
classical conditioning
conditioning which uses biological/instictual responses to create associations between 2 unrelated stimuli (pavlov)
an unconditioned stimulus that produces an instinctive, unconditioned response is paired with a neutral stimulus
with repetition, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that produces a conditioned response
acquisition
the process of taking advantage of a reflexive, unconditioned stimulus to turn a neutral stimulus into a conditioned stimulus
extinction
occurs when an organism becomes habituated to a conditioned stimulus
spontaneous recovery
when an extinct conditioned stimulus is presented and a weak conditioned response occurs
generalization
a broadening affect
stimulus similar enough to conditioned stimulus can produce the conditioned response
discrimination
occurs when the organism learns to distinguish between two similar stimuli
operant conditioning
conditioning in which behavior is changed through the use of consequences
reinforcement
the process of increasing the likelihood that the organism will perform the behavior
positive reinforcement
process that hopes to increase the likeliness of behavior with incentives
negative reinforcement
process that hopes to increase the likeliness of a behavior by removing something unpleasant
escape learning
behavior is done to reduce the unpleasantness of something already existing
avoidance learning
behavior to reduce unpleasantness of something that has not yet happened
primary reinforcers
reinforcers that are unconditioned
secondary reinforcers
conditioned reinforcers
discriminative stimulus
a stimulus that indicates that a reward is potentially available
punishment
a process of decreasing the the likelihood that an organism will perform that behavior
positive punishment
hoping to reduce the occurrence of a behavior by adding something unpleasant
negative punishment
hoping to reduce the occurrence of behavior by removing something good
fixed-ratio schedules
reinforcement schedule that reinforces a behavior after a specific number of performances of that behavior
ex. rewarding a rat every third time it presses button
continuous reinforcement
a fixed-ratio reinforcement schedule in which the behavior is rewarded every time it is performed
variable-ratio schedule
reinforcement schedule that reinforces a behavior after a varying number of performances of the behavior, but the average number of performances to receive a rewards is relatively constant
ex. reward a rat after two button presses, then four, then eight, then six
works fastest for learning a new behavior, most resistant to extinction
fixed-interval schedule
reinforcement schedule that reinforced the first instance of a behavior after a specified time period
ex. rat gets a pellet and doesn’t get another one until another 60 seconds, no matter how many additional presses afterwards
variable-interval schedule
reinforcement schedule that reinforces a behavior the first time its performed after a varying interval of time
ex. rat waits 90 seconds before next reward, then 30 sec, then 3 minutes
shaping
process of rewarding increasingly specific behaviors
latent learning
learning that occurs without a reward but is spontaneously demonstrated once a reward is produced
problem solving
testing behaviors until yielding a reward
preparedness
learning a behavior that coincides with the organism’s natural behaviors
instinctive drift
difficulty in overcoming instinctual behavior
observational learning/modeling
learning a new behavior or gaining info by watching others
not just imitation because one can learn to avoid behaviors too
mirror neurons
neurons located in frontal and parietal lobes
fire when an individual performs an action or when he observes someone perform an action
memory
gaining knowledge that is accumulated
encoding
putting new information into memory
can be automatic or effortful
can be visual (weak), acoustic, semantic (strong)
self-reference effect
recalling info best when putting it into the context of our own lives
maintenance rehearsal
repetition of piece of info to keep it within working memory or store it in short term for consolidation into long term
short-term memory
fast and most fleeting kind of memory storage
fades after about 30 sec without rehearsal
follows 7 +- 2 rule : limited to about 7 items
housed in hippocampus
working memory
keeps a few pieces of info in our consciousness simultaneously and manipulates that info
uses hippocampus, frontal, parietal lobes
long-term memory
memory that requires elaborative rehearsal; the result of increased neuronal connectivity
over time memories migrate from hippocampus to cerebral cortex
can be implicit or explicit
implicit/nondeclarative/procedural memory
memory which stores skills and conditioning effects
unconscious
explicit/declarative memory
memory that stores facts (semantic) and stories (episodic)
retrieval
process of demonstrating that learning has been retained
recall, recognition, relearning
ideas are interconnected in a semantic network - linked together based on similar meaning
recall
the retrieval and statement of info
recognition
identifying info previously learned
easier than recall
spacing effect
the longer the amount of time between sessions of relearning, the greater the retention
spreading activation
seeing one stimulus and thinking about linked concepts
priming
recall aided by first being presented with a word/phrase close to the desired semantic memory
context effect
memory aided by being in the physical location where encoding took place
state-dependent memory effect
mental state affects recall, better recall when in the state that encoding took place
serial position effect
better recall for first and last few items on a list (primacy and recency effect)
forgetting
the loss of memorized info
alzheimer’s
degenerative brain disorder
loss of acetylcholine in neurons that link to the hippocampus
progressive dementia (loss of cognitive function), memory loss, and brain atrophy
retrograde amnesia
neurofibrillary tangles and beta-amyloid plaques
sundowning - losing function in late afternoon/evening
korkasoff’s syndrome
thiamine deficiency in the brain
retrograde and anterograde amnesia
confabulation - creating vivid fabricated memories, maybe brain’s attempt to fill gaps in missing memories
agnosia
loss of ability to recognize objects, people, sounds
decay
memory loss over time as neurochemical trace of short term memory fades
interference
retrieval error caused by other similar info
similar memories compete
proactive interference
old info interferes with new learning
retroactive interference
new info causes forgetting of old info
misinformation effect
impairment in memory for the past that arises after exposure to misleading information
source-monitoring error
confusion between semantic and episodic memory
ex. person remembers a story that they heard as a story that happened to them
synaptic pruning
as we age, weak neural connections are broken and strong ones are bolstered
what are the components of the working memory model?
central executive
visuospatial sketchpad
phonological loop
episodic buffer
Central Executive working memory
responsible for monitoring and coordinating the operation of the other systems in the working model and links them to long term memory
supervises the cognitive function of memory
The Phonological Loop memory model
the part of working memory that deals with spoken and written material
phonological store (linked to speech perception) acts as an inner ear and holds information in a speech-based form
articulatory control process (linked to speech production) acts like an inner voice rehearsing information from the phonological store
The Visuospatial Sketchpad working memory
deals with visual and spatial information.
likely plays an important role in helping us keep track of where we are in relation to other objects as we move through our environment
displays and manipulates visual and spatial information held in long-term memory
The Episodic Buffer working memory
acts as a ‘backup’ store which communicates with both long-term memory and the components of working memory
nature intelligence
ability to understand the biological aspects of the world
linguistic intelligence
the ability to write, speak, and read
intrapersonal intelligence
the ability to have insight
to understand one’s inner self
interpersonal intelligence
the ability to understand and associate with other people
mathematical intelligence
the ability to perform in numbers
spatial intelligence
the ability to see and process the world (space) that surrounds you
musical intelligence
the ability to compose and/or perform musically
bodily-kinesthetic intelligence
the ability to perform athletically
general intelligence
an intelligence that underlies all types of intelligence
emotional intelligence
refers to one’s ability to understand, sympathize/empathize, regulate, and express one’s emotions
Robert Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
includes experiental, componential, and contextual intelligence
experiental intelligence / creative intelligence
the ability to familiarize oneself with new circumstances and form new concepts
ex. moving to a new country and learning the new language
componential intelligence / analytical intelligence
the traditional idea of intelligence
ability to logically reason and think abstractly, comunicate and think mathematically
can be evaulated by intelligence tests
contextual intelligence / practical intelligence / street smarts
the ability to apply one’s knowledge base to the world around them
