EXAM 3 Flashcards
Be able to differentiate the three memory storage systems (proposed by Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968): sensory memory, short-term / working memory, and long-term memory.
Sensory memory: brief type of memory where you just sense something
- Iconic memory: visual sensory memory
- Echoic memory: auditory sensory memory
Short term/working memory:
- Can use chunking and maintenance rehearsal to remember better
Long term memory: Retrieval and reconsolidation
- Elaborative rehearsal: elaborate the information in order to link it up with existing long-term memories
- Fit new memories into existing schemas (a cognitive structure)
- Easier when you have a narrative
- Mnemonics: focus attention on organizing incoming information
Be able to explain how the class examples demonstrated (or attempted to!) each of the types of memory.
a. the 12-letter display
Demonstrates sensory memory—don’t even know that you saw it but still can write down some of the numbers
Be able to explain how the class examples demonstrated (or attempted to!) each of the types of memory.
b. the license plate
Short term memory– use rehearsal to remember it
Be able to explain how the class examples demonstrated (or attempted to!) each of the types of memory.
c. long list of words
Serial position effect:
The words at the beginning are remembered (long term memory)
The words at the end are remembered (short term memory)
The words in the middle are forgotten
Understand generally how long each type of memory “lasts” for and what (strategies) maintains them there.
maintenance rehearsal
Repeating the phrase or thing to remember over and over
Understand generally how long each type of memory “lasts” for and what (strategies) maintains them there.
Chunking
Reorganize information into larger meaningful units (letters to form words, break up phone numbers into 3-3-4)
Understand generally how long each type of memory “lasts” for and what (strategies) maintains them there.
elaborative rehearsal
Elaborate the information in order to link it up with existing long-term memories
Fits new memories into existing schemas (a cognitive structure—don’t memorize info in a vacuum
Understand generally how long each type of memory “lasts” for and what (strategies) maintains them there.
Schemas
Cognitive structures
Understand generally how long each type of memory “lasts” for and what (strategies) maintains them there.
Mnemonics
Focus attention on organizing incoming information
Understand generally how long each type of memory “lasts” for and what (strategies) maintains them there.
memory palace technique
Finding a place for all information—long term memory storage
What was Lashley looking for?
He was looking for the area of the brain is required to maintain learning
lashley: What was his research method, what did he find, and what did that lead him to conclude about the location of memory in the brain?
His method was to train rats to run a maze, leisned various areas of their brain, then tested them on the maze again
He found that neither incisions disrupted the the learning of the maze for either group of rats
Memory must be controlled by lots of areas in the brain
What/where is the hippocampus?
Hippocampus: plays an important role in learning and memory
It is a subcortical structure
it projects into the cortex
there are 2
Be able to describe the role of the hippocampus in memory formation and storage according to the Standard Model of Systems Consolidation.
During perceptions and learning, various cortical regions are active
In memory formation, the medial temporal hippocampus maintains connections between various cortical regions that are active during perception and learning
Repeated activation allow for consolidation of the trace within the cortex that no longer requires the hippocampus
If a patient has damage to the hippocampus:
Do they have old memories?
Yes–they are instantiated somewhere else in the brain
If a patient has damage to the hippocampus:
Do they have recent memories?
Could be wiped out if they were still in the consolidation phase
If a patient has damage to the hippocampus:
Can they form new memories?
No! Hippocampus cannot consolidate
Be able to relate the results of the Smith & Squire (2009) study to the Standard Model of Systems Consolidation. Did their experimental results support the standard model? How so?
fMRI scans of healthy adults while they took the news event test
160 questions about events during the past 30 years
Measured brain activity associated with correctly answered questions
RESULTS: brain activity in medial temporal areas is lower for older memories (correct answers so not poorer memories)
Hippocampus areas are not needed anymore!
Know the structure of the taxonomy of memory.
Understand what amnesia is. What do the two different types of amnesia tell us about the formation of memories? What does H.M.’s pattern of ability/disability tell us about the memory system?
Amnesia: memory loss
Retrograde Amnesia: cannot remember older memories but can remember new memories
Anterograde Amnesia: cannot remember new memories but can remember old memories
H.M. has anterograde Amnesia; long term memory is good, working memory is good, implicit memory is good, explicit memory struggles with episodic memory but not semantic memory
Be able to define/differentiate the various types of memory.
Working vs Long term
Working: small amt of info and Temporarily stored and manipulated
Long term: vast amt of information and long term storage
Within long term – Explicit vs implicit (declarative vs nondeclarative)
Explicit: conscious recollection of facts and events and declaritive
Implicit: unconscious and nondeclaritive
Within implicit…
Procedural: Information necessary to perform learned skills or habits. Memory about doing things (moving, perceptual, reading)
Priming: Past experience with one stimulus w one stimulus produces a response to another. Occurs outside of awareness. Short presentation of stimulus activates a stored memory
Classical conditioning: Learn to associate 2 stimuli together that are not typically associated because they are often used together
Non-associative learning: We habituate (become less sensitive) to airplane noise after repeated exposure. Response slowly goes away with repeated exposure
Within explicit…
Semantic: facts (e.g railroad facts, school, memorization)
Episodic: specific events (what did you have for breakfast, how was your vacation)
Be able to explain how the class examples demonstrated each of the types of memory.
star mirror drawing task
Implicit procedural memories – learn over time
Be able to explain how the class examples demonstrated each of the types of memory.
priming effect (soup/soap)
Show a picture of soap (so fast you can’t really know you’ve seen it consciously) and then people will spell it soap not soup
Be able to explain how the class examples demonstrated each of the types of memory.
the video clip from The Office (Jim and Dwight)
Classical conditioning
Be able to explain how the class examples demonstrated each of the types of memory.
the airplane noise example
Nonassociative learning: become less sensitive to airplane noise after repeated exposure
Be able to explain how the class examples demonstrated each of the types of memory.
and from the next day: the soul/sole example
Priming effect: spell based on unconscious picture
What is being learned in habituation? In sensitization?
Dulling of sensory response when it is constant (airplane)
Sensitization: overactive sensation to a new stimulus
How could habituation or sensitization be adaptive (useful)?
Good because it allows you to focus on stimuli that is more important
What is “conditioning” (in the non-moisturizing sense)? (AKA “stimulus substitution”)
Conditioning: the development of an association between a previously neutral stimulus with the effective stimulus, such that the previously neutral stimulus comes to control the behavior
Be able to define the components in a classical conditioning scenario: unconditioned stimulus (US), unconditioned response (UR), conditioned stimulus (CS), conditioned response (CR).
US: unconditioned stimulus (ex. Hot water)
UR: unconditioned response (ex. Jumping out of it)
CS: conditioned stimulus (ex. Toilet flush)
CR: conditioned response (ex. Jump out of the water)
In classical conditioning, what tells you if learning has occurred? (What counts as evidence of learning?)
When the CR is the same as the UR when only the CS is present, it proves that they have learned that response. Need to see the anticipatory response.
What is The learning theory:
a mathematical model of the trial-by-trial change in anticipatory response.
what is Error-driven learning:
the learner adjusts their expectation of the Unconditioned Stimulus on each trial
Ceiling effect:
no more learning, learned as much as you can
Extinction:
the weakening of a learned response when the CS is presented without the associated US
spontaneous recovery:
Unprompted reappearance of extinguished response after time has passed (spontaneous recovery)
Why is “extinction” considered to be additional learning and not actually forgetting?
Its not forgotten, really you’re learning another pattern that sometimes it is associated, sometimes it doesn’t
How does the relative timing of the presentation of the US and the CS correspond to the success of learning?
Trace:
onset of CS before US. Requires memory trace of the CS. Less successful vs delay
How does the relative timing of the presentation of the US and the CS correspond to the success of learning?
Delay:
onset of US delayed; CS begins and is maintained through the US. Most successful.
How does the relative timing of the presentation of the US and the CS correspond to the success of learning?
Simultaneous:
happens at the same time. Not effective due to a lack of predictive effect and a lot to attend to at once
How does the relative timing of the presentation of the US and the CS correspond to the success of learning?
Backward:
US before CS. Requires a memory of the US. CS not predictive of US but predicted by US. Least successful
In what way is classical conditioning adaptive (useful)?
Allows learner to anticipate future events and make appropriate anticipatory responses
How does the association between the US and the CS develop, according to the Rescorla-Wagner Model?
Through the error-driven learning: the learner adjusts their expectation of the US on each trial
It can be mathematically modeled
Before the association between the US and the CS is learned, to what extent will the organism “expect” the CS to occur?
On the first trial, no expectation
On the later trials, the extent to which the learner is surprised by the US means he failed to predict it. This strengthens the association
In a graph of learning over time, what does a “steep” learning curve represent?
Quick learning: starts with a slow beginning but quickly get the association
Explain Skinner’s argument that the existence of “free will” would make a science of behavior impossible. (What is a science of behavior?)
Skinner says that behavior is controlled by external stimuli and to predict and understand behavior we have to identify the external stimuli and relate them to each other
If we focus on people’s own internal thoughts (which is non falsifiable or visible), then it would not be a science
Skinner talks a lot about the “control” of behavior. What is behavior under the control of?
Skinner says that behavior is controlled by external stimuli
According to Skinner, why should a science of behavior seek to find relationships between behaviors and external variables rather than variables from “inside the organism” (such as feelings of thirst)?
They are not visible or falsifiable by a scientist outside of external action
Behaviorism:
the idea that behaviors can be explained as learned responses to environmental stimuli
Behavior:
observable actions
Learned:
acquired through experience
Explained:
accurately predicted
Response:
behaviors that occur relative to a stimulus
Environment:
external objects/events
Stimuli:
the sensory detection of an object or event
What is operant conditioning?
is a learning process where voluntary behaviors are modified by association with the addition of reward or aversive stimuli.
What is operant conditioning?
is a learning process where voluntary behaviors are modified by association with the addition of reward or aversive stimuli.
Be able to define the components in an operant conditioning scenario: discriminative stimulus, response, consequence.
Discriminative stimulus: signals whether a particular behavior (response) will lead to a particular stimulus.event (consequence)
Response: behavior
Consequence: thing that happens as a result of response
We didn’t address this specifically, but think about it: In operant conditioning, what would tell you if learning has occurred? (What would count as evidence of learning?) (NOTE: it’s not an anticipatory response.)
The behavioral response happens due to the stimuli always (don’t push or always push)
For a given scenario, be able to identify whether the consequence is functioning as a reward or punishment, and categorize it as positive or negative.
Reward: consequence that results in increased response
Punishment: consequence that results in decreased response
Positive: means that it is added stimulus to environment
Negative: absence
Continuous:
R is always followed by C
Fixed Ratio:
Fixed number of Rs before C
Variable Ratio:
Variable number of Rs before C
Fixed Interval:
fixed amount of time before an R will result in C
Variable Interval:
variable amount of time before an R will result in C
What is being learned in operant conditioning?
The association between the response and the consequence
How do you think operant conditioning could be adaptive (useful)?
It can be a way to reduce undesirable behavior and induce desired behavior
Be able to define / contrast “classical conditioning” from “operant conditioning”
Classical conditioning: just associate 2 stimuli together so both result in response
Operant conditioning: associating the stimuli and response with the consequence to learn what response they should or should not do
