Chapter 1: Introduction - Fundamental Themes in the Psychology of Learning & Memory Flashcards
Who is Aristotle?
A keen observer of the natural world who loved data, facts, and figures from which he could infer conclusions.
What is Aristotle’s key interest?
Memory
What is the theory of associationism?
Argued that memory depends on the formation of linkages (“associations”) between pairs of events, sensations, or ideas, so that recalling or experiencing one member of the pair elicits a memory or anticipation of the other
Who created the theory of associationism?
Aristotle
What are the three fundamental laws of associationism?
Contiguity
Frequency
Similarity
What is the law of contiguity?
Events or items that occur in close proximity to each other in time or space are readily associated with each other
What is the law of frequency?
The more frequently two events or items occur together, the more strongly they are associated
What is the meaning of similarity in the theory of associationism?
Events or items that are similar are readily associated
What is empiricism?
All ides that we have are the result of experience
What did Aristotle argue?
Knowledge emerges from experience
What is nativism?
The bulk of our knowledge is hardwired in our brain when we are born
Definition of Learning?
the process by which changed in behaviour arise as a result of an organism’s experience with the world.
Definition of memory?
The organism’s internal record of past experiences, acquired through learning
Who is William James?
He taught the first psychology course ever given in America
What was William James especially interested in?
In how we learn new habits and acquire new memories
What did William James state about the act of remembering an event, such as a dinner party?
To remember the event, it would involve a network of multiple connections between the components of the evening such as tests of food, or smell of perfume.
Who is Ivan Pavlov?
Known for developing methods for studying animals that are still in widespread use today.
Definition of Stimulus?
A stimulus is any object or event that causes a sensory or behavioural response in an organism
Definition of classical conditioning?
Two stimuli are linked together to produce a new learned response
What is another name for classical conditioning?
Pavlovian Conditioning
What is a learning curve?
A graph representation of the rate at which you make progress learning new information.
Definition of the independent variable?
What is being intentionally changed in the experiment
How are modern studies of classical conditioning usually reported?
The results are reported as a learning curve.
Where are the dependent and independent variables plotted on the learning curve?
Independent: Horizontal axis
Dependent: Vertical axis
What is Ivan Pavlov’s process of extinction?
Pavlov and his assistants showed that they could also weaken an animal’s trained response resulting in the process called extinction.
Definition of Extinction Ivan Pavlov?
The process of reducing a learned response to a stimulus by ceasing to pair the stimulus with a reward or punishment
What is Ivan Pavlov’s concept of generalisation?
Pavlov also demonstrated that a dog will transfer what it has learned about one stimulus to similar stimulus
Who is Edward Thorndike?
A student of William James, and also studied how animals learn associations
What is Operant Conditioning?
organisms learn to make responses in order to obtain or avoid important consequences; The behaviour is instrumental in determining whether the consequences occur.
What was Throndike’s most influential study?
Observing how cats learn to escape from puzzle boxes.
What is another name for operant conditioning?
instrumental conditioning
What did Edward Thorndike observe?
The probability of a particular behaviours response increased or decreased depending on the consequences that followed/