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
