Cognitive Psychology - Lecture 3

Question 1

What is learning?

Answer 1

Learning is the acquisition of new behaviour or the strengthening or weakening of old behaviour as the result of experiences

Learning is a process

Start learning immediately after birth

Result of learning:
- Personality, habits, preferences, knowledge , skills, attitude and interest

Question 2

What can be learned?

Answer 2

Motor learning: 
- Muscular coordination
- To maintain one's regular life
Verbal learning:
- The language we speak
The communication devices we use
Effective learning: habits, interest, attitudes
Cognitive learning: learning concepts, principles, problem solving

Question 3

Types of learning

Answer 3

1. Nonassociative
2. Associative
3. Observational

Question 4

Learning Key terms

Answer 4

• Stimulus: input from the environment
• Response: a behaviour emitted by an organism
• Conditioned: something learned

Question 5

Non-associative learning

Answer 5

• Habituation
• > Learning to NOT to respond after repeated exposure to a stimulus
• > Adaption to meaningless events
• > Dis habituation; a change in something familiar -> the increase of a respond
• Sensitization
• > an increase in behavioural response after exposure to a stimulus, threatening or painful

Question 6

Associative learning

Answer 6

• Conditioning: connecting environmental stimuli to behaviour
• > classical conditioning
• > operant conditioning

Question 7

Classical conditioning

Answer 7

• learn to associate two stimuli that occur in sequence
• relatively passive and automatic
• Unconditioned stimulus: a stimulus that brings about a response without having been learned
• Unconditioned response: a response that is natural and needs no training
• Neutral stimulus: before conditioning, no effect on the desired response
• Conditioned stimulus: once-neutral stimulus that has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus to bring about a response formerly caused only by the unconditioned stimulus
• Conditioned response: a response that after conditioning, follows a previously neutral stimulus
• Can explain some cases of phobias, which are irrational or excessive fears of specific objects or situations
• Can explain some emotional responses

Question 8

Operant Conditioning

Answer 8

• Trial and error conditioning learning
• Organisms tend to repeat those responses that are followed by favourable consequences
• Learning relationship between special behaviour with a reinforcement event
• Positive reinforcement: presenting a stimulus increases the probability of repeating a behaviour
• Negative reinforcement: removing a stimulus increases the probability of repeating a behaviour
• Positive punishment: presenting a stimulus decreases the probability of repeating a behaviour
• Negative punishment: removing a stimulus decreases the probability of repeating a behaviour

Question 9

Observable learning

Answer 9

• Cognitive learning, not focus on external stimuli and responses, focus on the mental processes
• Learning through observation
• The replication of other’s behaviour through observation and imitation
• Mirror neurons: a group of neurons that activate when performing an action or when seeing an action being performed

Question 10

The law of effect

Answer 10

• if the response are rewarded and the reward is satisfying or pleasant, the connection or behaviour is strengthened
• if the effect is unpleasant or annoying, the connection is weakened

Question 11

The law of readiness

Answer 11

• motivation of learners through building up of the proper background and fostering the proper mindset
• including the understanding that learning follows a maturation level
• an appropriate learning activity depends on the capacity of the learner

Question 12

The law of exercise

Answer 12

• “practice makes perfect”
• more connections are exercised, the stronger the connections become
• when a connection or behaviour has not been practised or repeated, its strength decreases