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Behavioral MCAT > Learning And Memory > Flashcards

Learning And Memory Flashcards

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MCAT flashcards
1
Q

Dis habituation

A
  • The recovery of a response to a stimulus after habituation has occurred.
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2
Q

Associative learning

A
  • Creation of a pairing, or association, either between two stimuli or between a behavior and a response
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3
Q

Classical conditioning

A
  • Type of associative learning that takes advantage of biological, instinctual responses to create associations between two unrelated stimuli
  • Ex: Pavlov’s dog experiments (stimuli causing innate or reflexive physiological response)
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4
Q

Unconditioned stimulus

A

Any stimulus causing a physiologically reflexive response

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5
Q

Unconditioned response

A
  • The innate or reflexive response to an unconditioned stimulus
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6
Q

Conditioned stimulus

A
  • A normally neutral stimulus that, through association, now causes a reflexive response
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7
Q

Acquisition

A

aka classical conditioning

  • the process of taking advantage of a reflexive, unconditioned stimulus to turn a neutral stimulus into a conditioned stimulus
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8
Q

Generalization

A

Broadening effect by which a stimulus is similar enough to the conditioned stimulus can also produce the conditioned response

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9
Q

Discrimination

A

An organism learns to distinguish between two similar stimuli

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10
Q

Operant conditioning

A

Links voluntary behaviors with consequences in an effort to alter the frequency of those behaviors

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11
Q

Reinforcement

A

Process of increasing the likelihood that an individual will perform a behavior

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12
Q

Positive reinforcers

A

Increase a behavior by adding a positive consequence of incentive following the desired behavior (ex: money)

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13
Q

Negative reinforcers

A

Increase the frequency of a behavior but they do so by removing something unpleasant (ex: aspirin to reduce headache)

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14
Q

Escape learning

A
  • Subdivision of negative reinforcers

- the role of the behavior is to reduce the unpleasantness of something that already exists (like a headache)

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15
Q

Avoidance learning

A
  • Subdivision of negative reinforcers

- Meant to prevent the unpleasantness of something that has yet to happen (practicing for mcat)

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16
Q

Punishment

A

Uses conditioning to reduce the occurrence of a behavior

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17
Q

Positive punishment

A

Adds an unpleasant consequence in response to a behavior to reduce that behavior (thief arrested for stealing)

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18
Q

Negative punishment

A

Reduction of a behavior when a stimulus is removed (Kid can’t watch TV as consequence for being bad)

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19
Q

Fixed Ratio schedules

A

Reinforce a behavior after a specific number of performances of that behavior

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20
Q

Continuous reinforcement

A

Fixed ratio schedule in which the behavior is rewarded every time it is performed

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21
Q

Variable ratio schedule

A

Reinforce a behavior after a varying number of performances of the behavior, but such that the average number of performances to receive a reward is relatively constant
- Very rapid and very resistant to extinction

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22
Q

Fixed interval schedules

A

Reinforce the first instance of a behavior after a specified time period has elapsed

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23
Q

Variable interval schedules

A

Reinforce a behavior the first time that behavior is performed after a varying interval of time

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24
Q

Shaping

A

Process of rewarding increasingly specific behaviors

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25
Q

Latent learning

A

Learning that occurs without a reward but that is spontaneously demonstrated once a reward is introduced

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26
Q

Instinctive drift

A

Difficulty in overcoming instinctual behaviors

27
Q

Observational learning

A

Process of learning a new behavior or gaining information by watching others

28
Q

Mirror neurons

A

Located in frontal and parietal lobes of cerebral cortex, and fire both when an individual performs an action and when that individual observes someone else performing that action
- Largely involved in motor processes

29
Q

Modeling

A

Observational learning through modeling is an important factor in determining an individual’s behavior throughout his or her lifetime

30
Q

Encoding

A

The process of putting new information into memory

31
Q

Controlled (effortful) processing

A

Actively working to gain information (i.e. Flashcards for mcat)

32
Q

Different ways of encoding information

A
  • visual encoding
  • acoustic encoding (storing the way it sounds)
  • semantic encoding (put into meaningful context)
    (Semantic encoding is the strongest, visual the weakest)
33
Q

Self reference effect

A

Putting information into the context of our own lives (allowing us to recall it better)

34
Q

Maintenance rehearsal

A

The repetition of a piece of information to either keep it within working memory (to prevent forgetting) or to store it in short term and eventually long term memory

35
Q

Method of loci

A

Involves associating each item in the list with a location along a route through a building that has already been memorized (i.e. Picture a carton of eggs from a grocery list sitting on their doorstep)

36
Q

Peg-word system

A

Associates numbers with items that rhyme with or resemble the numbers (one with sun, two with a shoe)

37
Q

Sensory memory

A
  • first and most fleeting kind of memory storage
  • consists of both iconic (visual) and echoic (auditory) memory
  • Sensory memories maintained by major projection areas of sensory system, such as occipital (vision) and temporal lobes (hearing)
38
Q

Short term memory

A

Fades quickly, over the course of ~30 secs without rehearsal

  • limited to about seven items (7 +/- 2 rule)
  • short term memory housed primarily in hippocampus
39
Q

Working memory

A

Closely related to short term memory, and similarly supported by hippocampus

  • Allows us to keep a few pieces of info temporarily and manipulate that that info (do simple math in our heads)
  • Involves integration of short term memory, attention, and executive function (frontal and parietal lobes are involved)
40
Q

Long-term memory

A

Able to recall information on demand

- Elaborative rehearsal: the association of the information to knowledge already stored in long-term memory

41
Q

Implicit (nondeclarative/procedural) memory

A

Consists of our skills/tasks and conditioned responses

- Unconscious

42
Q

Explicit (declarative) memory

A

Consists of those memories that require conscious recall

- Can be divided into semantic (the facts/concepts we know) and episodic memory (our experiences/events)

43
Q

Retrieval

A

Process of demonstrating that something has been learned and retained

44
Q

Relearning

A

Another way of demonstrating that information has been stored in long-term memory

45
Q

Spacing effect

A

The longer amount of time between sessions of relearning, the greater the retention of the information later on

46
Q

Spreading activation

A

When one node of our semantic network is activated, the other linked concepts around it are also unconsciously activated

47
Q

Priming

A

Recall is aided by first being presented with a word or a phrase that is close to the desired semantic memory

48
Q

Context effects

A

Retrieval clue that shows memory is aided by being in the physical location where the encoding took place (test better in same room information was learned in)

49
Q

State-dependent memory

A

Mental state; i.e. People who learn facts while intoxicated will have better recal when retrieving those same facts while intoxicated than while sober

50
Q

Serial Position Effect

A

Retrieval clue that appears while learning lists; higher recall for first few (primacy effect) and last few (recency effect) items on the list

51
Q

Alzheimer’s disease

A

Degenerative brain disorder thought to be linked to a loss of Ach in neurons that link to the hippocampus
- marked by dementia, memory loss (recent memories before distant ones), with atrophy of the brain

52
Q

Korsakoff’s syndrome

A

Form of memory loss caused by thiamine deficiency in the brain

  • marked by retrograde amnesia (loss of previously formed memories) and anterograde amnesia (inability to form new memories)
  • Confabulation is common symptom (vivid, but fabricated memories)
  • Common with alcohol
53
Q

Agnosia

A

Loss of ability to recognize objects, people, or sounds though usually only one of the three
- Usu. caused by damage to brain (stroke, MS)

54
Q

Interference

A

Retrieval error caused by existence of other (usually similar) information

55
Q

Proactive vs Retroactive interference

A

Proactive (old info interfering with new learning - moving to new address)
Retroactive (new info causes forgetting of old info - teachers forget old students names when get new ones)

56
Q

Prospective memory

A

Remembering to perform a task at some point in the future

57
Q

False memories

A

Ex: confabulation (fill gaps in our memories such that with enough rehearsal our memories of the event can change drastically)

58
Q

Misinformation effect

A

Recalling information about incidents, i.e. A car accident

59
Q

Source monitoring error

A

Involves confusion between semantic and episodic memory; a person remembers the details of an event, but confuses the context under which those details were gained

60
Q

Neuroplasticity

A

The formation of neural connections in response to stimuli

61
Q

Synaptic pruning

A

Weak neural connections are broken while strong ones are bolstered, increasing the efficiency of our brains ability to process information

62
Q

Long-term potentiation

A

Neurophysiological basis of long-term memory
- as stimulus is repeated, stimulated neurons become more efficient at releasing NTs, while receptor sites on other side of synapse increase, increasing receptor density

63
Q

Habituation

A
  • A decrease in response caused by repeated exposure to the same stimulus

Behavioral MCAT (12 decks)

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