Learning and Memory Flashcards
Prior learning interferes with learning new information
Proactive interference
Kohler’s research with chimpanzees demonstrated that, at least in some situations, problem-solving is not the result of trial-and-error but, instead,
sudden insight
A client whose symptoms meet the diagnostic criteria for dissociative amnesia is unable to recall any events that occurred for about six weeks after she was brutally raped two years ago. This type of dissociative amnesia is referred to in the DSM-5 as:
localized amnesia
Law of effect (thorndike)
behaviors that are followed by satisfying consequences are more likely to recur.
Does sensory memory have
large vs. small capacity
brief vs. long duration
Large capacity, short duration
A dog is exposed to bells at home before he goes to the lab. So when Pavlov does his experiment, it doesn’t really work. What is this called
latent inhibition (presentation of US alone on multiple occasions prior to conditioning)
two-factor learning
Performance of a particular behavior is due to positive reinforcement (operant conditioning). Performance of the behavior in the presence of a positive discriminative stimulus but not in the presence of a negative discriminative stimulus is the result of discrimination training (classical conditioning).
Gradually removing a prompt once the behavior is at the desired level
Fading
signals that reinforcement will not be provided following performance of a particular behavior
a negative discriminative stimulus
teaching each response separately, beginning with the first response in the behavior chain and, once that response is mastered, teaching the next response. This process continues until the individual is performing the desired behavior.
forward chaining
beginning with the last response in the chain and then teaching the second to last response, etc. F
backward chaining
What is the difference between shaping and chaining
with shaping, only the final target behavior is important and the other behaviors that were reinforced during training are no longer important or evident once the individual can perform the final behavior. In contrast, with chaining, each response in the behavior chain is important and evident when the individual performs the target behavior.
A child loves to play video games but hates doing homework and mom tells the child he can play video games only after he’s finished his homework.
premack principle
preferred behavior = reinforcement for less preferred behavior
When using __________ to increase a behavior, the presence of a discriminative stimulus indicates that the behavior will be reinforced.
stimulus control
A rat is reinforced with a food pellet whenever it presses Bar A or presses Bar B. If reinforcement is stopped for pressing Bar B, the rat will:
Increase freq of Bar A and decrease freq of bar B (contrast)
A decrease in the effectiveness of punishment over time is often due to:
habituation (satiation occurs with reinforcement)
a phrase or sentence consisting of familiar words is created, with each word beginning with the first letter of one of the words to be memorized.
acrostic
A psychology graduate student repeatedly presents a tone just prior to presenting food to a hungry dog. After the dog is salivating in response to the tone when it’s presented alone, the student repeatedly presents the tone and a blinking light together just before presenting food. Regardless of how many times she presents the tone and blinking light together before presenting the food, the dog never salivates in response to the blinking light when it’s presented alone. This phenomenon is referred to as:
blocking - because it doesn’t provide any new information
What is the reinforcer most resistent to satiation
Generalized reinforcers (e.g., money, tokens)/generalized secondary reinforcers/generalized conditioned reinforcers.
They’re less susceptible than primary and secondary reinforcers to satiation because they can be exchanged for a variety of back-up (primary) reinforcers.
encoding specificity hypothesis
retrieval from LTM is helped when conditions are the same for learning and recall (cues)
Thinning vs. fading
Thinning refers to the process of reducing the proportion of reinforcements. Fading refers to the gradual removal of prompts.
What can accidentally produce experimental neurosis
training for discriminant conditioning
Elmo, age 5, has learned that, if he has a tantrum at mealtime whenever his parents want him to eat food he doesn’t like, his parents will let him eat something else instead so that he will stop crying. In this situation, the parents’ behavior (letting Elmo eat something other than the disliked food) is being maintained by:
escape conditioning - negative reinforcement
stimulus = offering alternative food response = tantrum stops
escape conditioning = escaping an aversive stimulus after it’s already happened
flooding
deliberate exposure with response prevention (relaxation); implosion is the same thing but it is imagined and has psychodynamic features
avoidance conditioning
withdraw or prevent an unpleasant stimulus before it even starts
A behavior that’s acquired as the result of avoidance conditioning is not likely to extinguish because it’s being:
maintained by negative reinforcement
The behavioral technique known as successive approximation conditioning is also known as:
shaping
