General flashcards
The reward principle
If a behaviour is followed by a reward, it is more likely to increase the frequency then if it was not followed by a reward
Thorndike’s principle
Responses to a situation that are followed by satisfaction are strengthened, whereas responses followed by discomfort are weakened
Theory
An integrated statement of principles that attempts to explain a phenomenon and make predictions
Parsimony principle/Occam’s razor
Searching for explanations with the smallest total elements
Learning
A relatively permanent change in an organism that results from experience
Elements that change with learning
metacognition, brain, neurology, cognition & behaviour
R-complex/first brain
Oldest part of the brain, body temp, hunger, fight/flight
Limbic system/second brain
Hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala - feelings, emotion and motivation + memory
Third brain/neocortex
Lobes of the brain, higher order function
Critical period
Particular time in which experiences are necessary for brain development
Sensitive/optimal period
window of time in which brain is sensitive to environmental influences
British empiricism
Experience is the only source of knowledge
Continental rationalism
Reason and reflection as valid sources of knowledge
Cognitivism
Focus on intermediate, internal processes between stimulus and response
Semantic integration
Interrelating information from diverse sources
Propositions
Simple sentence between 2 concepts: The ants are in the kitchen
Tolman’s maze/experiment?
Latent learning, subjects rewarded after a long period of time rapidly became more proficient and learned faster then subjects never or regularly rewarded
Purpose behaviourism
Learning is the process of goal directed events rather than the formation of S-R connections
Depression effect
When a reward is expected but not delivered, disappointment ensues
Cognitive maps
Organisation of information to become aware of how things are organised in space
Transition experiment
An experience can not be reduced to it’s constituent parts - Chickens always go for darker square, not same colour square
Law of proximity
We group things together in space that are close together
Law of similarity
we observe an objects as they resemble others (counting red squares, then green triangles, then yellow circles to count all shapes in a space)
Law of closure
Filling in the missing pictures to complete a picture
Late of Pragnanz
We tend to organise experiences as simply, concisely, symmetrically and completely as possible
Gestalt on problem solving
Mentally combining and recombining elements of a problem to create and organised structure = restructuring until insight
Law of figure-ground
the way certain parts of an image fade into the background or become more clear in definition
Verbal learning research
Emphasised serial learning, or remembering items in order. Information repeated/over learned is easier to recall, and distributive practice is more effect than massed practice
Memory
The process of saving information for a period of time
storing/storage
Process of putting information into memory
Encoding
The alteration of information to optimise storage and effective recall
Retrieval
Process of finding and recalling stored information from memory
Retrieval
Process of finding and recalling stored information from memory
Sensory register
Where information is first sensed (smell, taste, vision, touch etc) Brief (1-2secs) duration, can be moved to working memory if we pay attention to it
Factors effecting attention
Size, motion, intensity, novelty, incongruity, social cues and emotion
Working memory
What your attention is on, 7+/-2 items, very brief. Short term memory
Long term memory
What’s in your mind, unlimited capacity, permanent memory, schema, productions, images etc
Forms of storage in WM
Phonological loop, visuospatial sketch-pad, and episodic buffer
Central executive
Head of the head, responsible for processes such as thinking, self regulation, decision making
Chunking
organising information into similar groups to increase the capacity of the WM
Meaningful learning
Making stimuli personally significant to help remember it by attaching new information to existing information
Maintenance rehearsal
Repeating information to keep it alive in WM and try to store it in LTM
Controlled processing
attention required. elaborating, repeating or organising information
Automatic processing
No attention needed, recalling of well learned information
Automatic processing
No attention needed, recalling of well learned information
Construction
Using bits and pieces of information to build a reasonable understanding
Saccades
4-5 second snapshots of visual memory which are filled in to complete the image. Can also be auditory register
Ambiguous stimuli
Stimuli that could be interpreted in different ways
Bartlett’s war of the ghosts
Recall is not verbatim. Focus is on mot important points
Internal organisation
information is stored in an interconnected way
Elaboration
Embellishing of new information to improve encoding and retrieval
Elaboration
Embellishing of new information to improve encoding and retrieval
Misinformation effect
Distorted storage of information to create entirely new ideas/concepts
Self explanation
Explaining information to yourself to facilitate storage and retrieval
Distributed practice
Practicing over small periods of time rather than in one go to improve storage and retrieval
Spreading activation
recalling information through spreading activation of networks of information (remembering relevant information to remember specific information)
Encoding specificity
Retrieval is easier when we use the same thought process used during storage. It is mood and context dependant
Free recall
Having to recall information without prompts/cues
Cued recall
Recalling information after receiving a cue
Recognition
identifying the correct answer with multiple choices
Relearning
testing information by seeing how long it takes to relearn it
Recall tests
e.g. fill in the blanks
Recognition tests
matching, MCQs
Implanted memories
False memories that never happened
Source amnesia
misidentifying the source of learned information
Decay
the fading of information if it is not used
Proactive interference
When old information interferes with learning new information
Retroactive interference
New information interferes with previously learned information (e.g. after learning a new dance move, you cannot remember the old one)
Retroactive interference
New information interferes with previously learned information (e.g. after learning a new dance move, you cannot remember the old one)
Repression
the decay of memory caused by efforts not to retrieve
Failure to retrieve
Looking in the wrong places
Failure to store/consolidate
Not remembering because it was never really learnt
Declarative knowledge
Nature of what is, will be or was
Semantic knowledge - one’s general knowledge that’s independent of experience
Episodic knowledge - information from one’s life experiences
Procedural knowledge
Knowing how to do things
conditional knowledge - how to react under certain situations
Explicit knowledge
Easy to recall and explain - declarative knowledge
Implicit knowledge
Can’t recall or explain, but we can do - procedural knowledge
Actions
movements - waving, hand movement - are encoded into the LTM
Symbols
words, numbers, maps or graphs that are encoded into the LTM
verbal codes - labels for objects, poems lyrics or passages
Concepts
Concrete concepts - easily identified features or objects
Abstract concepts - ideas that are not easily physically identified
Exemplars
Examples of a specific category
Prototypes
The most general example, example that captures the essence of a catagory
Deduction
creating a theory and testing it through observation
Induction
observing data and making a theory
Script
mental representation of often repeated information
Top-down processing
filling in the blanks, relating new information to existing schema
Bottom-up processing
creation of new schema
Cognitive load
Intrinsic - the difficulty of content
Extrinsic - the methods/approaches you use to comprehend/pay attention
Extraneous - noise of environment/distractions
Automaticity
Ability to recall information with little to no effort
Visuospatial sketch-pad
Short term WM storage of space/visual input
Phonological loop
Short term WM storage of verbal information
Episodic buffer
combination of information for VSSP, PL and LTM to create complex and intergrated memory
productions
If this happens, then do this - way procedural knowledge is encoded
Helpful techniques
Chunking
summarising
Distributive practice
self testing
encoding specificity
spreading activation
rehearsal
meaningful learning
elaboration
internal organisation
