Exam 2 Flashcards
Learning
A relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs through experience.
Associative learning
Learning that certain events occur together. Can either by two stimuli (classical conditioning) or a response and its consequence (operant conditioning)
Classical conditioning (learning type)
SR (Stimulus response) Learning
Classical conditioning (definition)
Learn to associate two stimuli and therefore anticipate events
Unconditioned stimulus (US)
Unlearned stimulus. Individual already knows about this stimulus.
Unconditioned response (UR)
Unconditioned response, almost like a reflex.
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
Stimulus that was previously neutral (had no meaning) repeatedly paired with unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned response (CR)
Conditioned response, learned throughout the pairing of conditioned and unconditioned response.
Principles of classical conditioning
- Acquisition
- Higher order conditioning/second order conditioning
- Generalization
- Discrimination
- Extinction
- Spontaneous recovery
Acquisition (definition)
The initial learning of an association.
Acquisition (types)
- Backward conditioning
- Simultaneous conditioning
- Trace conditioning
- Delayed conditioning
Backward conditioning
US preceded the CS.
- Feeding and then banging the spoon
- Not very effective
Simultaneous conditioning
CS and US presented at same time
- Banging the spoon and giving food at same time
- Not very effective
Trace conditioning
CS is discontinued before the US is presented
- Banging the spoon and taking a short break before feeding
- More effective
Delayed conditioning
CS presented at least until the US is presented.
- Banging the spoon and feeding immediately
- Most effective
Higher order conditioning (another name)
Second order conditioning
Higher order conditioning/Second order conditioning
You have an established conditioned response but you pair a new stimulus with an already learned conditioned stimulus.
- Learning to put the CS with the US that was previously the CS
- Ex: Opening drawer before banging spoon before getting food
Generalization
Conditioned response occurs to stimuli that are similar to an established conditional stimulus
- Ex: Opening drawer but it was the wrong drawer.
Discrimination
An individual learns to respond to certain stimuli but not others.
- Ex: Learning to differ between drawer sounds.
Extinction
The behavior no longer produces the outcome that was influencing. If you engage in behaviors that used to be reinforced and it’s no longer reinforced, the individual will stop engaging in that behavior.
- Ex: Switched to dry food. No longer uses spoons to feed. Cat slowly dissociates from the drawer opening.
Spontaneous recovery
Occurs when the conditioned response appears after having previously been extinguished.
Explanations for classical conditioning
- Stimulus substitution
- Information theory
- Biological mechanisms
Stimulus substitution - Explanations for classical conditioning
Explanation of classical conditioning.
- The conditioned stimulus comes to be perceived exactly as the unconditioned stimulus at the level of the nervous system.
Information theory - Explanations for classical conditioning
Explanation of classical conditioning.
- A cognitive explanation that the individual is learning that the conditioned stimulus is telling us something about the delivery of the unconditioned stimulus. It’s a signal that’s telling us what’s about to happen.
Biological mechanism - Explanations for classical conditioning
Explanation of classical conditioning.
- With some types of classical conditioning, there are neurons in the cerebellum that are activated when an individual learns the connection b/t the conditioned and unconditioned stimulus.
Operant conditioning
Associate a response and its consequence. The consequence shapes the behavior.
Thorndike’s Law of Effect
Behaviors that are followed by positive outcomes strengthen the behavior. Behaviors that are followed by negative outcomes weaken behavior
- Put cats in puzzle boxes (food outside box) so the cat learned to get out of the box –> The cats could get out faster and faster each time.
Reinforcement
Increases behavior
Positive Reinforcement
Increases behavior, adds something
Negative reinforcement
Increases behavior, removes something
Primary reinforcers
“Primitive” Biological reinforcers, unlearned. Food, air, water, sex.
Secondary reinforcers (another name)
Conditioned reinforcers
Secondary reinforcers (definition)
Can substitute biological reinforcers. Get power through learned association with primary reinforcers.
Delayed reinforcers
Delay in reinforcement leads to decrease in learning. Harder to make associations.
Reinforcement schedules
How often a desired response will be reinforced.
Continuous reinforcement
Reinforcing every time it occurs. Learning AND extinction occur rapidly.
Partial/Intermittent reinforcement
Slower to learn but more resistant to extinction.
Fixed-ratio operant conditioning
Reinforces a response after a specific number of responses.
Variable-ratio operant conditioning
Reinforces a response after a random number of responses.
Fixed-interval operant conditioning
Reinforces a response after a specific amount of time has elapsed.
Variable-interval operant conditioning
Reinforces a response after a random amount of time has elapsed.
Punishment
Decreases behavior
Positive punishment
Decreases behavior adds something bad
Negative punishment
Decreases behavior, removes something good
Principles of operant conditioning
- Shaping
- Extinction
- Chaining
- Instinctive drift
Shaping
Principles of operant conditioning
- Reward successive approximations of the desired behavior.
- Helps us understand what nonverbal organisms can perceive (bc we shape them to respond to one stimulus and if we present another we can tell if they perceive a difference)
Chaining
Principle of operant conditioning
- Teaching the animal a series of behaviors, starting with the last behavior first.
- Prevents extinction.
Instinctive drift
Principle of operant conditioning
- Animal that has learned a trick reverts to its natural behaviors.
Taste aversion
When an organism associates a taste with a negative experience (becoming ill) and avoids the taste in the future.
Instinctive drift
Learned behavior gradually reverts back to biologically predisposed patterns.
Social Learning theory (person)
Bandura
Bobo doll study
Bandura - Children became aggressive after watching an adult hurt a bobo doll
Modeling
The process of observing and imitating a specific behavior
Mirror neurons
Frontal lobe neurons some scientists believe fire when we perform certain actions or observe another doing so. The brain’s mirroring may enable imitation or empathy.
- When an organism sees, its neurons mirror what another organism does
- Empathy
Prosocial effects
Learning positive, helpful behaviors from social settings
Antisocial effects
Learning negative behaviors from social settings
Prospective memory
Memories for the need to do actions in the future
Retrospective memory
Memories from our past.
Retrograde amnesia
Lost memories in the past
Anterograde amnesia
Unable to form new memories
Memory models 3 types
Encode
Store
Retrieve
Encode
Get info into brain
Store
Retain info
Retrieve
Access info at a later time
Information-processing model (Definition)
Memory storage areas (3 types)
Sensory
Short term/working
Long term
Types of memory storage areas
- Sensory memory
- Short-term/working memory
- Long-term memory
Sensory memory
Memory of sensory experiences (seeing, hearing, etc.). Very brief and fleeting. Encodes to short term memory. If it’s not stored, it’s forgotten. Forgetting so soon allows us to not hold on to useless info.
- Iconic
- Echoic
Iconic memory
Sensory memory for visual info
- George Sperling–displayed letters on a screen briefly. Partial report technique (could have participants report part of the letters (top row, bottom row, etc.)
Echoic memory
Sensory memory for auditory info
Short-term/working memory
Holds _ pieces of info
Without rehearsal…
Holds info for a longer period of time. Stores and maintains memory.
- Holds ~ 7 pieces of info
- Without rehearsal it is forgotten.
Long-term memory
A relatively permanent type of memory. Deals with retrieval/recovering from memory.
Memory span
Can hold about _ pieces of info at a time
The number of digits and individual can report after a single presentation
- 7 pieces of info at once +/- 2 (George Miller)
Maintenance rehearsal
The conscious repetition of info that increases the time it stays in working memory
Ways to inc memory retention
- Chunking
- Mnemonics
- Hierarchies
- Distributed practice
- Form more associations
- Personalize info
- Connect it to a different type of information
Chunking
Grouping info into higher order units
- Saying your number as 608 692 3883 helps remember it better
Mnemonics
Creating an acronym from the first letters of the items we want to remember
Hierarchies
Splitting a few broad concepts into narrower concepts and facts.
Distributed practice (Types)
- Spacing effect
- Testing effect/retrieval practice effect/test-enhanced learning
Spacing effect
Distributed studying/practice leads to better long-term retention.
Testing effect/retrieval practice effect/test-enhanced learning
Enhancing memory by retrieving.
Levels of processing/Theory of memory (Definiton)
People will be better at retrieving memories if they form more associations with the material during learning
Elaboration
The extensiveness of processing at a given level of anatomy
Shallow processing
Basic encoding, encodes based on the structure or appearance of words
Deep processing
Encodes semantically, encodes based on meaning of words
- Leads to the best retention
Baddeley’s Working Memory Model
Supported bc it’s easier to remember 2 pieces of info if they are different types of info
- Ex: Picture and word, picture and smell, etc. compared to picture and picture or word and word
Effortful processing
When you have to think about processing something
Explicit/declarative memory (Type of processing)
Effortful processing
Explicit/declarative memory (Definition)
Memory that we can put into words.
Memory consolidation
Temporarily stored…
…in the hippocampus migrate for storage elsewhere in the brain
Explicit/declarative memory (Types)
- Episodic memory
- Semantic memory
- Flashbulb memory
Episodic memory
Personal experiences
Semantic memory
Facts and gen knowledge
Flashbulb memory
Vivid memories that are tied to strong emotional experiences. Strong connections b/t hippocampus and amygdala.
- The memories aren’t any more accurate than regular memories
Automatic processing (Definition)
Happens automatically
Automatic processing (Type of memory)
Implicit/nondeclarative memory
Implicit/nondeclarative memory (Definition)
We know it exists but can’t put words to it. Nonconscious memories that influence behavior without our awareness. Classically conditioned associations.
Implicit/nondeclarative memory (Types)
- Procedural memory
- Priming memory
Unconsciously process
- Space
- Time
- Frequency
Procedural memory
Memory for how to do a task
- Ex: How to ride a bike
Priming memory
When you get exposed to a particular stimulus that makes you more sensitive to a stimulus
- Seeing something more often because you were just exposed to it.
Tunnel vision memory
Attention is focused on the high-priority info so a lot of background or surrounding context gets lost
Memory trace
Lasting physical change as memory forms
Recall
Coming up with old info, on your own
Recognition
Recognizing info, need assistance.
- Recognition memory is pretty quick
Relearning
Learning something faster when you learn it a second or later time.
- As rehearsal increases, time taken to relearn decreases.
Retrieval cues
5 types
- Priming effect
- Context-dependent memory
- State-dependent memory
- Mood congruent
- Serial position effect
Priming effect
Expose to one stimulus influences another stimulus, unconsciously
Context-dependent memory
Location
State-dependent memory
State you’re in (Yelling, posing, etc.)
- When learning drunk, still can’t recall in any state bc alc disrupts mem storage. May recall slightly better when drunk.
Mood congruent
Recalling experiences that are consistent with one’s mood.
- Ex: Bad mood you remember more bad things that happened than if you’re in a good mood.
Serial position effect (Definition)
When items are listed in a series, you’re more likely to remember some words than others
Serial position effect (Types)
- Primacy effect
- Recency effect
Primacy effect
Easiest to remember the first items on the list
Recency effect
Easy to remember the last one/two items on the list
Case study of HM
- 10 yo fell hit head→ started to experience frequent seizures (1/hr)
- No meds/treatments worked
- When 27 yo doctors removed portions of his temporal lobe and hippocampus
- Seizures reduces, personality was unchanged, IQ score when up
- Had some Retrograde amnesia
- Had major Anterograde amnesia
- Could still learn new tasks, even though he never remembered practicing it (Broken line drawing task and mirror drawing task)
Problems w retrieval
5 types
- Decay theory/transience
- Interference
- Blocking
- Retrieval-induced forgetting
- Motivated forgetting
Decay theory/transience
Problems w retrieval
Memory traces fade over time
- Probably NOT the main reason we forget
- Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve: Tests himself from immediate recall to 30 days later. Most rapid memory loss for new info is right after you learn it.
Interference (Definition)
Problems w retrieval
Theory that we forget bc other information gets in the way
Interference (Types)
- Retroactive interference
- Proactive interference
Retroactive interference
New memories interfere with old memories
Proactive interference
Old memories interfere with new memories
Blocking
Problems w retrieval
“Tip of the tongue”
Retrieval-induced forgetting
Problems w retrieval
Problems with reconsolidating information after we retrieve it from long term memory
Motivated forgetting
Problems w retrieval
Forgetting it because you self-censored it.
- Freud’s theory
- Repression of painful or unacceptable
memories to protect ourselves
Problems w storage (Examples)
- Cue-dependent theory
- Encoding failure theory/absentmindedness
Cue-dependent theory
Problems w storage
Failed to encode/storage the associated cues necessary for retrieval
Encoding failure theory/absentmindedness
Problems w storage
Information never made it into memory.
Age can affect encoding efficiency
Loftus
memories can be distorted by later misinfo
Schemas
Mental frameworks representing our knowledge and assumptions about the world
- Influence our perceptions of what is relevant
- Allow us to elaborate on what we learned
Misattribution/Source monitoring error
- Remember an experience but misremember
where it occurred - Source amnesia
Misinformation effect
People are given subtle misleading info about a past event and then often misremember the true details about the event
Thinking
Information in memory is manipulated and transformed through thinking.
- When we think we often use concepts
Cognitive psychology
Study of mental processes (thinking, remembering, problem solving, etc.)
How we learn about what fits and doesn’t fit in a certain concept
- Positive or negative instances - Through feedback
- Systematic or formal approaches - Very clear
- Prototypes
- Exemplars
Prototypes
Most common/typical features of the concept
Exemplars
Learn through memory
Inductive
Reasoning from a specific situation to try and get a broad general conclusion
Deductive
Reasoning from a general idea to a specific idea
- Going from a broad theory to one prediction
Problem solving ways
- Trial and error
- Algorithms
- Heuristics
- Insight
- Creativity
Trial and error
Simple strategy but inefficient
Algorithms
Step by step procedure that guarantees a solution
- Requires time and effort
- Ex: equations in chem to get an answer
Heuristics
Definition
____ of problem solving
Types
Mental shortcuts or rules of thumb
- Most common type of problem solving
- Work most of the time
Availability Heuristic
Representativeness Heuristic
Anchoring effect
Analogies
Using old solution for a new problem
Insight
“A-ha” experience. Abrupt realization of a solution to a problem.
Convergent thinking
Ability to provide one correct answer
Divergent thinking
Ability to consider many different options and think in creative ways.
Creativity has 5 components
- Expertise
- Imaginative thinking skills
- Venturesome personality
- Intrinsic motivation
- Creative environment (team building, communicative)
Functional fixedness
Failure to use a new perspective to solve a problem. The failure to use familiar objects in novel ways to solve problems.
Overconfidence
Being more confident than correct
Mental set
Continuing to use the same old method even though another approach might be better.
Confirmation bias
Tendency to only look for evidence that confirms our beliefs
Belief perseverance
The persistence of your initial beliefs even after the basis on which they formed, have been discredited
- Humans tend to cling to their discredited beliefs
- Once you believe something it’s difficult to let go of your beliefs
Illusory truth effect
Repeated exposure to a false statement increases the chance that it will be accepted as a true statement.
Representative heuristic
Judging an item in terms of how well they match our prototypes. Tendency to assume that if an item is similar to members of a particular category, it is probably apart of that category
- “Stereotype”
Base rate information
Data abt the frequency or probability of a given event/item
- How rare/common something is
Conjunction fallacy
The belief that the probability of two events occurring together is greater than the probability of either event occurring by itself
- Coincidences
Availability heuristic/Availability bias
Tendency to make judgements about the frequency of an event based on how readily examples of them can be brought to mind.
- Can produce illusory correlations
Anchoring effects
Heuristic type, problem solving
The tendency to use one stimulus as an “anchor” or reference point in judging a second stimulus.
Framing effects (Tversky and Kahneman)
Decisions and judgments are formed/shaped by language used and the way an issue is framed
Sunk cost fallacy
Making a decision based on previous investments.
- Already done this much I have to keep going
Entity theorist
Intelligence level is fixed.
- Individuals who believe this are more likely to
give up
Incremental theorist
Intelligence level is variable.
- Individuals who believe this are more likely to persevere through challenging problems
Lumpers
People who believe intelligence is is one category
Charles Spearman
Lumper
Proposed general intelligence (g), which underlies all cognitive abilities. He believed that if you’re good at one thing, you’ll likely be good at others (e.g., math, language).
Raymond Cattell
Lumper
Believed in two types of g
- Fluid (Gf): Problem solving, reasoning
- Increases until you’re ~25, then decreases
- Crystallized (Gc): Specific knowledge
Cattel-Horn-Carroll theory
Theory that bases intelligence on g but also specific abilities like Gf and Gc and reading ability, writing ability, etc.
Sternberg Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
Splitter
Believed in 3 different types of intelligences
Triarchic Theory
- Componential/analytic intelligence
- Experiential/creative intelligence
- Contextual/practical intelligence
Componential/analytic intelligence
Recognizing a problem and coming up with a solution. People who have this type do well in school.
Experiential/creative intelligence
Adaptation to situations.
Contextual/practical intelligence
“Street smarts”
Achievement test
Reflect what you have learned
Aptitude test
Predict what you will be able to learn
Binet - Intelligence levels
Suggests that we might assess children’s intelligence based on their mental age
- Children should be in a room that their
mental age reflects.
- Aka smart 6 year old is as smart as 8 year
olds so the 6 year old should be with the 8
year olds in class.
Flynn Effect
Intelligence scores have increased over time
Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Gardner proposed that intelligence isn’t one general ability but consists of multiple intelligences, each representing a different way of processing information.
He identified nine types:
Linguistic
Logical-mathematical
Spatial
Musical
Bodily-kinesthetic
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
Naturalistic
Existential
