chap 7-8 Flashcards
what is learning?
process of acquiring through new experience new information or behaviors
How do we learn: Associative learning
-certain events that occur together (classical conditioning)
-stimuli that are not controlled are associated
-response becomes automatic (respondent behavior)
How do we learn: consequences
-association between a response and a consequence is learned (operant behavior)
Classical conditioning
-basic learning form
-type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events
-response becomes automatic
operant behavior
-behavior that operates on the environment, producing a consequence
-consequence can be good or bad
Pavlov
-founded classical conditioning
-demonstrate associative learning via salivary conditioning in dogs
watson
-“father of behaviorism”
-believed that theoretical goal of the science of psychology is prediction and control of behavior
conditioning experiment
-unconditioned stimulus (food) produces an unconditioned response (salvitation)
-neutral stimulus (tone) produces no response
-Unconditioned stimulus (food) is presented after the neutral stimulus (tone)
-unconditioned stimulus (food) continues to produce a unconditioned response (salivation)
-Neutral stimulus (now conditioned stimulus: tone) now produces a conditioned response (salivation)
-neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus
-unconditioned response becomes the conditioned response
neutral stimulus
-stimulus that naturally/automatically triggers an unconditioned response
-elicits no response before conditioning
conditioned response
a learned response to a previously neutral but now conditioned stimulus
conditioned stimulus
originally neutral stimulus that after association with an unconditioned stimulus comes to trigger a conditioned response
unconditioned response
unlearned naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus
unconditioned stimulus
stimulus that naturally/automatically triggers an unconditioned response
Classical conditioning: Acquisition
-when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response
Classical conditioning: higher-order conditioning
-also called second order conditioning
procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second conditioned stimulus
classical conditioning: extinction
-diminishing of a conditioned response
-occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus
classical conditioning: spontaneous recovery
reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response
Classical conditioning: Generalization
tendency once a response has been conditioned for a stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar response
ex: scared of all bugs
Classical conditioning: Discrimination
learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other irrelevant stimuli
ex: scared of just bees
operant conditioning
type of learning in which behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer or less likely if punisher
Law of effect
-Edward L. Thorndike
-behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely while unfavorable consequences are more unlikely
-operant conditioning
Operant chamber (skinner box)
-B.F. Skinner
-chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer
-attached devices record the animal’s rate of bar pressing
Operant conditioning: reinforcement
any event that strengthens a preceding response; makes a behavior more likely to occur
Operant conditioning: shaping
reinforcers gradually guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior
Operant conditioning: positive reinforcement
-increases behaviors by presenting positive/pleasurable forces
-any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response
- means giving
Operant conditioning: negative response
-increases behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli
-any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response
-ex: using exercise to remove stress
-ex: car dinging to put on seatbelt
Operant conditioning: primary
-unlearned, innately reinforcing stimuli
-satisfies biological needs
-ex: hugs, candy
Operant conditioning: conditioned (secondary)
gains power through association with primary reinforcer
-ex: money
Operant conditioning: immediate
occurs immediately after a behavior
Operant conditioning: delayed
involves time delay between desired response and delivery of reward
-wont associate action with punishment/reward
Operant conditioning: reinforcement schedule
a pattern defines how often a desired response will be reinforced
Operant conditioning: continuous reinforcement schedule
reinforces the desired response every time it occurs
Operant conditioning: partial (intermittent reinforcement)
-reinforces a response only part of the time
-results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement
Schedules of Reinforcement: Fixed Ratio
reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses
-very high rate of responding
-extinction happens fast
-immediate effect
-ex: rat gets food every third time it presses the lever
Schedules of Reinforcement: variable ratio
-reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses
-random
-extinction takes longer
- gambling, fishing, very hard to extinguish because of unpredictability
-ex: hitting a jackpot sometimes on the slot machine
Schedules of Reinforcement: Fixed Interval
-reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed
-rapid responses at end interval
-ex: getting paid weekly no matter how much work is done
Schedules of Reinforcement: Variable Interval
-reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals
-produces slow and steady responding
-least likely to extinct
-ex: checking phone all day, sometimes getting a text
Operant conditioning: punishment
-admininters an undesirable consequence or withdraws something desirable in an attempt to decrease the frequency of a behavior
Operant conditioning: positive punishment
-administer an aversive stimulus
-presenting a negative consequence after an undesired behavior is exhibited, making the behavior less likely to happen in the future
Operant conditioning: negative punishment
-withdrawing a rewarding stimulus
-taking away something good
4 major drawback of physical punishment
1) punished behavior is suppressed, not forgotten
2) punishment teaches discrimination among situations
3) punishment can teach fear
4) physical punishment may increase aggression by modeling aggression as a way to cope with problems (must be immediate; punish in the moment; punishment needs to match the crime)
Skinner’s Legacy: Applications of Operant Conditioning
-at school: computer and adaptive learning software used in teaching and learning
-in sports: behavioral methods implemented in shaping behavior in athletic performance
-at work: rewards successfully used to increase productivity
-in parenting: basic rules of shaping used in parenting
limits on classical conditioning
-animals and humans seem biologically prepared to learn some associations rather than others
-conditioning is stronger when the conditioned stimulus is ecologically relevant
-genetic predisposition to associate a conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus that follows predictably and immediately is adaptive
limits on operant conditioning
-nature limits species capacity for operant conditioning
-biological constraints predispose organisms to learn associations that are naturally adaptive
-instinctive drift occurs as animals revert to biologically predisposed patterns
observational learning
higher animals learn without direct experience by watching and imitating others
Bandura
-pioneer researcher of observational learning
-used modeling
-bobo doll experiment focused in vicarious reinforcements and vicarious punishment
modeling
process of observing and imitating a specific behavior
mirror neurons
fire when performing certain actions or when observing another person do so
Prosocial effects
positive constructive, helpful behavior
antisocial effect
-can be genetic and environmental
-abusive parents may have aggressive children
-watching TV and videos may teach children some unwanted lessons
memory
persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information
recall
retrieving information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but that was learned at an earlier time
ex: fill in the blank questions to test
recognition
identifying items previously learned
ex: multiple choice
relearning
learning something more quickly when you encounter it a second or later time
information-processing model
-compares human memory to computer operations
-involves three processes: encoding, storage, and retrival
connectionism information-processing model
-focuses on multitrack, parallel processing
-views memories as products of interconnected neural networks
Atkinson-Shiffrin model
- record to-be-remembered information as a fleeting sensory memory
- process info into short-term memory where we encode it through rehearsal
- Information moves into long-term memory for later retrieval
sensory memory
-immediate very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system
-access to visual array
-lasts for about 20 secs
-ex: reading
short-term memory
-briefly activated memory of a few items
-where you encode
- can memorize about 5-9 things at once
- has limited capacity
-ex: memorization, taking notes
long-term memory
relatively permanent and limitless archive of the memory system
working memory
-short-term memory
-intelligent people tend to have a bigger capacity
-to stress the active processing occurring in the second memory stage
automatic processing
to address the processing of information outside of conscious awareness
-learn things without trying
-classical conditioning
auditory rehearsal
repeating a password to memorize it
executive functions
choosing what to attend to, respond to
Visospatial sketchpad
rearranging room furniture in your mind
explicit memories
-conscious facts and experiences encoded through conscious effortful processing
-retention of facts and experiences
implicit memories
-unconscious memories that form through automatic processes and bypass the conscious encoding track
-ex: classical condition
iconic memory
picture-image memory
echoic memory
-sound memory
-have access to everything, but only pay attention to certain things
chuncking
-organization for a lot of information into familiar, manageable units
-occurs automatically
ex: acronms
Mnemonics
memory aids, especially techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
Hierarchies
organization of items into a few broad categories that are divided and subdivided into narrower concepts and facts
spacing effect
encoding is more effective when it is spread over time
massed practie
produces speedy short-term learning and feelings of confidence
-cramming
-end loading
distributed practice
produces better long-term recall
-dividing study over time
-front loading
testing effect
retrieval practice effect or test enhanced effect
-testing improves learning and memory
-testing protects out memory from the harmful effects of stress
making material personally meaningful
-most people excel at remembering personally relevant information
-members of individualist Western cultures tend to exhibit the self-reference effect
-might not work for all cultures bc they do not have the experience
hippocampus and frontal lobes are dedicated to what
explicit memories
memory consolidation
neural storage of long-term memories
semantic memory
explicit memory of facts and general knowledge
episodic memory
memory for episodes; sequence of events
memory consolidation
neural storage of a long-term memory
cerebellum
-implicit memory system
-plays an important role in forming and storing memories created by classical conditioning
basal ganglia
-implicit memory system
-memory of physical skills
false memory syndrome
-through repeated questioning and pictorial evidence you make the person make up a story they did about something they have not done
Infantile amnesia
-brain is not fully developed
-conscious memory of the first 3 years of life is blank
-command of language and well-developed hippocampus are needed to form memories
Amygdala
-linked to negative emotion
flashbulb memories
-episodic memories
-occur via emotion-triggered hormonal changes and rehearsal
-memories that are memorable bc of emotion
Synaptic Change: long-term potentiation (LTP)
-increase in a synapses firing potential
-makes memory more accessible
-brain will not erase memories
-believed to be a neutral basis for learning and memory
memory retrieval
best retrieval cues come from associations formed at the time a memory is encoded
priming
-retrieval cue
-makes memories more accessible
-activation of a particular associations in memory
ex: more likely to spell hare when see the word rabbit
context-dependent memory
recall of specific information is improved when the contextes present at encoding and at retrieval are the same
encoding specificity principle
cues and context specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping recall
state dependent memory/mood-congruent mood
tendency to recall events consistent with current good or bad mood
serial position effect
tendency to recall best the last (recency effect) and first (primacy effect) items in a list
causes for forgetting
-encoding failure
-storage decay
-interference
-motivated forgetting
encoding failure
-age: encoding lag is linked to age-related memory decline
-attention: failure to notice or encode contributes to memory failure
storage decay
-course of forgetting is initially rapid but then levels off with time
-physical changes in the brain occur as memories form (memory trace)
proactive
older memories make it more difficult to remember new information
retroactive
new learning disrupts memory for older information
Motivated forgetting: Freud
repressed memories protect a person’s self concept and minimize anxiety
motivated forgetting: today
attempts to forget are more likely when information is neutral, not emotional
misinformation effect
a memory is corrupted by misleading information
imagination effect
repeatedly imagining fake actions and events can create false memories
source amnesia
faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined
Deja Vu
-sense that “I have experienced this before”
-cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience
false memories
-feel like real memories and can be persistent but are usually limited to the gist of the event
-often result of faulty eyewitness testimony
Ceci and Bruck
-studied the effect of suggestive interviewing techniques
-58% of preschoolers produced false stories about unexperienced events
SQ3R
survey, question, read, retrieve, review
