Learning and Cognition Flashcards
As Professor Smith palpates the patient’s head, he comments, “You have an enlarged area in the center of your forehead, therefore you have an excellent memory.” Professor Smith is a:
a. Neuroscientist.
b. Psychologist.
c. Philosopher.
d. Phrenologist.
d. Phrenologist.
Phrenologist.
The idea that the brain operates as a whole, and that function is distributed across the entire brain is known as
a. the mass action effect
b. equipotentiality
c. summation
d. the engram effect
b. equipotentiality
Long-term potentiation can be thought of as:
a. Neurons that fire together wire together.
b. Neurons that fire prior to another neuron predict behavior.
c. Neurons that share the same neurotransmitter form the basis of learning.
d. Neurons that work antagonistically enhance learning.
Neurons that fire together wire together.
Unconditioned Stimulus
A cue that has some biological significance and in the absence of prior training naturally evokes a response.
-Food evokes a natural response
Unconditioned Response
The naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus (does not depend on learning)
-Salivation
Conditioned Stimulus
A cue that is paired with an unconditioned stimulus and comes to elicit a conditioned response
-the bell
Conditioned Response
The trained response to a conditioned stimulus in anticipation of the unconditioned stimulus that it predicts.
Learning
the process by which changes in behavior arise as a result of experience interacting with the world
Memory
Record of our past experiences acquired through learning
Empiricism
we are the result of experience (Aristotle, Locke, James)
Nativist
The bulk of our knowledge (Plato) (Decartes)
Shaping
Method of operant conditioning by which successive approximations of a target behavior are reinforced.
Premack Principle
Principle of operant conditioning some behavior happens reliably (or without interference of researcher) can be used as a reinforcer for a behavior that occurs less reliably.
Example: “you have to finish your vegetables before you can eat any ice cream”
Operant/ instrumental Conditioning (Thorndike/ Skinner)
Learning process through which the strength of a behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment. Stimuli present when a behavior is rewarded or punished come to control that behavior.
-If a behavior is followed by a reinforcement it is more likely to be repeated.
Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)
A learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired: a response which is at first elicited by a second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone.
Interference
An explanation of forgetting in long-term memory, which states that forgetting occurs because memories interfere with and disrupt one another in other words forgetting.
Interference Proactive
old memories disrupt new memories
Interference Retrospective
new memories disrupt old memories
Types of Learning
Associate Learning
Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
Observational Learning
Observational Learning
occurs by observing behaviors of others and initiating those behaviors-evens if there is no reinforcement at the time.
Primary Enforcers
necessary for survival; biological
food, sex, water, sleep
Secondary Enforcers
initially have no intrinsic value; but can be paired with a primary enforcer. Ex. money exchanged for food.
Reinforcement
A stimulus that strengthens or increases the probability of a specific response
—positive reinforcement-adds something to increase a response
—negative reinforcement-involves removing something in order to increase a response
Punishment intensity:
Humans have a tendency to start with fair mild punisher. However, this undermines punishment as harsher future punishments will be less deterring.
Dualism
- The mind and body are distinct entities, governed by different laws. The body functions as a machine with innate and fixed responses to stimuli.
- Body is a self-regulating machine where a stimulus (sensory event from outside) enters system, causing fluids (spirits) to flow through hollow tubes from the eyes to the brain and then be reflected back as an outgoing motor response, a reflex - Descartes first to show how body could be understood by principles of machinery.
Edward Thorndike (Empiricist)
The law of effect instrumental or operant conditioning: an animal’s behaviors increase or decrease depending on the consequences that follow the response. Studied how cats learn to escape from puzzle boxes. He observed the probability of a particular behavioral response increased or decreased depending on the consequence that followed
-Empiricist
Thorndike Law of Effect
When a response made in the presence of a stimulus is followed by a satisfying event, the connection between the stimulus and the response is strengthened.
-If response is followed by an undesirable consequence, then response is decreased
Hermann Ebbinghaus
First rigorous experimental studies of human memory. Not wealthy could not afford to pay participants so he conducted the studies on himself. Sought mathamatical equations of how to explain how memories are acquired and fade. Used unfamiliar nonsense words
- Forgetting Curve/Retention Curve
- Learning, delay, test, relearning
- Father of modern memory research
Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve/ Retention Curve
For the time of initial learning. Shows that retention drops quickly in the first few days and tapers off more slowly.
John Watson
Watson placed a rat at the entrance to a maze and rewarded it with food if it found its way through the corridors of to the exit. After many trials, rat reached in less than 10 seconds.
- Father of Behaviorism
- psychology should be as purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior.”
- Empiricist
Who is the father of Behaviorism?
John Watson
BF Skinner
Developed automated learning apparatus Skinner Box.How animals learn the relationship between responses and consequences
- Wrote about Utopian society. He wrote “Walden Two” (1948) in which he describes a highly utopian behaviorist society (which was especially used during 1960s and 70s).
- Radical Behaviorism
Much of the foundation for statistics and scientific methodology can be attributed to:
Galton
“Practice makes perfect” was first scientifically demonstrated by:
“Practice makes perfect” was first scientifically demonstrated by:
You take the same route to school every day, driving by many shops along the way. One day your roommate asks you pick up a loaf of bread on the way home. Even though you have never consciously learned the various shops you pass by, you know exactly where to go to get that loaf of bread. This is an example of:
Latent Learning
Hebbian Learning:
The principle that learning involves strengthening the connections of co-active neurons, often stated as, “neurons that fire together wire together”
Unconditioned stimuli can be
a. either appetitive or aversive.
b. learned.
c. determined by mother/infant bonding.
d. environmentally determined.
either appetitive or aversive
Types of Memories
Declarative and Non-Declarative
Declarative Memory
A broad class of memories both semantic and episodic, that can typically be verbalized "declared" or explicitly communicated in some other way. -Medical temporal lobe
Non-Declarative
a broad class of memory that includes skill memory and other types of learning that do not fall under the heading of episodic or semantic memory and that are not always consciously accessible or easy to verbalize
Episodic Memory
a memory for a specific event in your life. It includes information about the spatial and temporal context; where and when the event occured
“remember”
-Tagged with spatial and temporal context
-must have experienced the event personally
-learned in a single exposure; can be weakened by exposure to similar even
Semantic Memory
memories for facts and general knowledge about the world, as well as for personal information such as your own name and your favorite food. “know”
- not necessarily tagged with spatial or temporal context
- can be personal or general information
- can be learned in a single exposure, but can also be strengthened by repetition
Short Term memory
information can be maintained as long as it is reherased or conciously attended to
-active contents of conciousness
-access is rapid
-capacity is limited
-forgotten quickly
+-7
-Limited to what you can pay attention to
-Capacity determined by how we encode information (i.e. chunking techniques etc…)
Sensory memory
brief transient sensations of what you have just perceived when you have seen, heard, touched, smelled or tasted something.
Long term memory
memories can be retained for long persiods pssoibly permantly without requiring ongoing maintenance or conscious attention.
- Not currently in conciousness
- access is slower
- capacity is unlimited
- forgotten more slowly
Baddeley’s model of working memory
dominant theory in the field of working memory. Consists of the central executive which acts as supervisory system and controls the flow of information from and to its slave systems: the phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, and the episodic buffer
Visuo-spatial sketchpad (holds visual and spatial images for manipulation) Phonological Loop (holds auditory memories for manipulation). Central executive (monitors and manipulates both). Adds, deletes from items in the buffers, selects items to guide behavior, retrieve information from LTM, and transfer information from the visuospatial sketchpad and phonological loop to LTM
Atkinson and Shiffrin’s model STM to LTM
rehearsal loops are required to maintain information in STM. Maintenance leads to transfer in LTM.
Shaping
- Successive approximations of the desired response are reinforced.
- Wait until rat wonders near food tray, then drop a piece of food. Then change rules, rat must be near the lever to get food. Then rat gets food only if it touches the lever etc…
Chaining
Learn to execute complicated sequence of discrete responses.
Example: Workers learning to manufacture an item, learn a sequence. Budding pianist learns keyboard technique, one hand, then two hands.
-A set of two or more reinforcement schedules, each signaled by its own discriminative stimulus, that must be completed in sequence before the primary reinforcer occurs.
Rehearsal
Cognitive process in which information is repeated over and over as a possible way of learning and remembering it.
Two types:
-Maintenance
-Elaborative
Rehearsal Maintenance
saying a loud or thinking of material repeatedly until it becomes a part of working memory- fades quickly
Elaborative Maintenance
connecting new material learned, with already existing long-term memories. Deeper and allows for more store-able and retrievable memory
Fixed Ratio
A reinforcement schedule in which a specific number of responses are required before a reinforcer is delieved
- Ice Cream punch cards
- 5:1 ratio every five punches free ice cream
Variable Ratio
provides reinforcement after a certain average number of responses
- slot machine
- you dont know exactly when it is going to pay off
Fixed Interval
reinforces the first response after a fixed amount of time.
- interval of 10 seconds
- paycheck every 2 weeks
Variable Interval
reinforces the first response after average of particular time
-Checking for online posts every few hours for your crush
Concurrent schedules
Organism can make any of several possible responses, each with its own consequence
Optimal behavior is a strategy that allows maximizing the consequences (i.e. channel surfing: watch preferred program but check on other choices during commercials in case there is something interesting going on).
Premack Principle
Principle of operant conditioning some behavior happens reliably (or without interference of researcher) can be used as a reinforcer for a behavior that occurs less reliably.
Example: “you have to finish your vegetables before you can eat any ice cream”
Types of Exposure
Flooding
Systematic Desensition
Flooding
this type of Exposure Therapy involves rapid exposure to feared situations.
Systematic Desensition
this involves gradual exposure coupled with relaxation exercises when anxiety levels become too great.
Charles Darwin
Natural Selection: species evolve when they possess a trait that is inheritable, varies across individuals, and increases the chances of survival and reproduction
-Nativist
John Locke (Empiricist)
A newborn’s mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa) that is written on by experience. Education and experience (learning) allow common people to transcend their class.
- Empiricist
- Rise of individual rights and responsibilities- science flourished
- Hoped to do for the mind what newton had done for light
- Complex ideas are formed from combination of more elementary ideas
- All knowledge derived from experience alone-> so all were born equal.
- Influenced Thomas Jefferson as he drafted Declarations of Independence
Ivan Pavlov (Empiricist)
In classical pavlovian conditioning, animals learn through experience to predict future events.
- Notice dog often salivated before receiving food, or when they saw the bowl, or when they heard footsteps of laboratory assistants.
- Animal learns a stimulus (doorbell) predicts an upcoming event (delivery of food)
- Empiricist
- Learning Curve
- Generalization
- Extinction
Extinction
The process of reducing a learned response to a stimulus by ceasing to pair that stimulus with a reward or punishment.
Edward Tolman
In contrast to Watson who argued a purely mechanical approach, Tolman was convinced rats were learning more. Rats are intrinsically motivated to learn general layout of mazes, not just exit and food.
rats had been allowed to explore the maze with no food in it for several days. Later, they found the food much faster than rats who had not been previously exposed. The rats had taken in learning with no specific training or effort to get a consequence
-They formed cognitive map.
-Latent learning
-Neobehaviorist
