Ch. 6- Memory, Learning, Emotion, Stress Flashcards
encoding
transformation of sensory input into a cognitive object (may be visual, auditory, or semantic)
priming
our response to stimuli AFTER we’ve experienced before is a little different
chunking
breaking up a complex stimulus into chunks to make it easier to encode
what are three major ways to encode information?
chunking, mnemonics, and method of loci
negative priming
when a prior stimulus inhibits our processing of a current stimulus (ie. Stroop task)
what are the three temporal categories of memory?
instantaneous, brief, and lifelong
sensory memory
instantaneous memory, where we sift through a lot of background noise info that we have taken in without rehearsal, and decide what’s important to remember.
long-term memory
minutes to years
short-term memory
ability to store information on the time scale of ~10sec to 30sec.
7+2 rule
you can generally store 5 to 9 things in short-term memory
working memory
cognitive and attentional processes that we use to analyze the info we have in short-term memory. includes the visuospatial sketchpad
explicit memory
(declarative memory), memory of specific pieces of information (semantic and episodic)
implicit memory
remembering how to do something (ie. riding a bike), includes procedural memory
flashbulb memory
phenomenon that we have very vivid memories of good and bad things both
eidetic memory
(photographic memory), ability to remember a stimulus in great detail after a relatively short exposure to it
iconic memory
how highly-detailed images can remain in our perception for a brief period of time (a couple seconds) AFTER the stimulus has changed to something else.
prospective memory
memories related to plans to do something in the future
spreading activation
when a concept is brought to mind, activation spreads across adjacent nodes of a conceptual network
schemas
ways in which we organize our knowledge and perceptions about the world
source monitoring errors
we have a memory or piece of knowledge that is correct BUT we misattribute the source where we got it from
retrieval
grabbing memories from stored knowledge
recall
active process of fishing out info from your brain
recognition
passive process of fishing out info from your brain
semantic activation
primes us to retrieve concepts faster when they are near other concepts that we already have activated
primacy effect
you’re most likely to remember things at the beginning of a list
recency effect
you’re most likely to remember things at the end of a list
serial position effect
the extreme ends of a list are more likely to be remembered than the parts in the middle
spacing effect
we remember information better when we space out when we view it
dual-coding effect
studying in multiple ways (ie. visual and reading) is more effective than just one
are more emotional moments or less emotional moments more likely to become memories?
emotional moments are more likely
state-dependent memory
remembering something based on the association with a specific emotion felt at the time of learning
context-dependent memory
remembering something based on the context (physical setting)
misinformation effect
information we obtain after an event can affect how we remember the event
reproductive memory
we encode information and reproduce it as needed (not good model of memory)
reconstructive memory
we build our memories based on our perceptions, information we have, etc.
Ebbinghaus forgetting curve
if you repeat learning things, you won’t forget them as easily
proactive interference
old memories inhibit the consolidation or retrieval of new memories
retroactive interference
new memories or knowledge interfere with the older ones
amnesia
losing memory of entire experiences, periods of time, or large amounts of information
retrograde amnesia
inability to remember previous events
anterograde amnesia
inability to form new memories
what are two disorders that are related to amnesia?
Alzheimer’s and Korsakoff’s syndrome
What is Alzheimer’s disease-type memory loss?
long-term dementia, neurofibrillary tangles (tau proteins, beta-amyloid plaques), retrograde and anterograde amnesia
What is Korsakoff’s syndrome-type memory loss?
retrograde and anterograde amnesia, confabulation (making up stories they’re convinced are real)
neuroplasticity
ability of the brain to rewire itself in response to learning new info or to compensate for disease or injuries
associative learning
conditioning
unconditioned stimulus
a stimulus that normally causes a response (that you don’t have to change anything about it for it to work)
unconditioned response
a normal response to a stimulus (you don’t have to change the stimulus to get it)
neutral stimulus
a stimulus that doesn’t produce a response
acquisition
a successful process of forming a conditioned response to a stimulus
conditioned stimulus
a stimulus that normally doesn’t produce a response, but it does now because you’ve made it become associated with some other thing that does produce a response.
conditioned response
a response that normally is an unconditioned response, but is shown when a neutral stimulus has successfully become paired to an unconditioned stimulus/response
extinction
if you stop linking the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus, you’ll stop getting the conditioned response
habituation
repeated stimuli = less response over time
dishabituation
you become habituated to a stimulus, an intervening stimulus then makes you re-sensitized
spontaneous recovery
under some circumstances, the conditioned response can re-emerge without requiring a whole new conditioning process but the response is less strong every time
stimulus generalization
you generalize the stimulus to other similar stimuli
stimulus discrimination
you exclude certain stimuli so you only react to one or a specific set of stimuli
operant conditioning
incentivizing behavior to produce specific behavioral results
reinforcement
a consequence that increases the frequency of a behavior
punishment
a consequence that decreases the frequency of a behavior
what are positive vs. negative stimuli?
positive = add something, negative = remove something
escape learning
behavior aimed to stop an ongoing aversive or unpleasant stimulus
avoidance learning
behavior aimed to prevent an aversive or unpleasant stimulus from happening in the first place
fixed ratio
every set number of hits = reward
variable ratio
in an average range of hits = reward (CASINOS!)
fixed interval
every set period of time = reward
variable interval
in an average time range = reward
which type of reinforcement schedule increase the behavior the most and are most resistant to extinction?
variable-ratio (CASINOS)
shaping
rewarding progressive approximations of a target behavior
capturing
waiting for the specific behavior to happen in order to reward
latent learning
background learning that happens and information gathered even when no rewards are present
extinction
response becomes less over time when it’s not being reinforced
instinctive drift
reversion to instinctive behavior unless reinforcement continues
what type of learning was exhibited in the Bobo doll experiment?
observational learning- kids who saw adults act aggressively to a doll would also act aggressively
imitation
subtype of observational learning (monkey see, monkey do)
mirror neurons
neurons that are activated when an organism performs an action but ALSO when the organism observes the action being done
what are Ekman’s universal emotions?
happy, sad, surprise, fear, disgust, anger, contempt
limbic system
group of midbrain structures involved in emotion, memory, and motivation
what sub-organs are in the limbic system?
the hypothalamus and the amygdala
hypothalamus
“bridge” between the nervous system and the endocrine system
amygdala
emotional processing unit of the brain
cognitive component of emotions
what is going on inside our heads when we feel something
physiological component of emotions
how emotions manifest physically in the body
behavioral component of emotions
how we behave when we feel a certain emotion
James-Lange theory of emotion
(basic) stimulus -> physiological response -> emotion
Schachter-Singer theory of emotion
(+appraisal) stimulus -> physiological response -> appraise context -> emotion
Cannon-Bard theory of emotion
(simultaneous) stimulus -> physiological AND cognitive response simultaneously -> emotion/behavior
Lazarus theory
(labeling) stimulus -> labeling -> physiological response -> emotion
independent stressors
stressors outside of our control
dependent stressors
stressors impacted by our behaviors
avoidance-avoidance conflict
you have to choose between two bad options
approach-avoidance conflict
you have to deal with upsides and downsides of 1 option
approach-approach conflict
you have to choose between two good options
double approach-avoidance conflict
choosing between two options that each have upsides and downsides
primary appraisal
is this a threat??
secondary appraisal
can I deal with the threat??
distress
negative stress
eustress
positive stress
neustress
neutral stress
general adaptation syndrome
3 stages of stress adaptation: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.
learned helplessness
if you’ve been exposed to too many unavoidable stressors, you start believing you can’t change your situations even if it’s not the case
