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Self MCAT > Learning and memory > Flashcards

Learning and memory Flashcards

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MCAT flashcards
1
Q

Define Habituation?

A

Decrease in response after repeated exposure to stimuli

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2
Q

Define Dishabituation?

A

Temporary recovery of OG response after habituation e.g. work in the morgue, fear of the dead goes away(habituate) take a week off and return with fear

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3
Q

What is Associative learning?

A

Two unrelated stimuli combined to provide same response when either one is presented

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4
Q

Define Classical conditioning?

A

Combine UCS with neutral stimuli to form a CR to a CS *involves instincts/ biological responses

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5
Q

Describe the classical conditioning pathway

A

UCS paired with neutral stimuli to cause innate/ reflexive response to produce UCR. Neutral stimuli by itself doesn’t cause UCR but with time, individual associates neutral stimuli (signaling stimuli) as conditioned stimuli resulting to a conditioned response.

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6
Q

What is acquisition?

A

Process of converting a neutral stimuli to a CS to produce a CR e.g. present meat (UCS), dog salivates (UCR), add bell (neutral stimulus). Dog salivates with bell ringing

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7
Q

What is extinction?

A

Loss of the CR from CS once not paired with UCS. eg. dog salivates with bell ringing but eventually stops salivating with bell.

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8
Q

What is spontaneous recovery?

A

Once extinct, a CS presented after some time elicits a weak conditional response

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9
Q

What is generalization?

A

Anything similar to original CS elicits a CR. eg. Little Albert feared rats then generalized fear to white furry bunnies and white bearded man

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10
Q

What is discrimination?

A

opp. to generalization. Individual able to differentiate similar stimuli and only reacts to the right kind of CS. eg OG fear of white cats leads only to fear of white cats and not black cats

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11
Q

What is Operant conditioning?

A

process of changing frequency of voluntary behaviors by reinforcement and punishment

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12
Q

Define Positive reinforcement

A

Giving incentive in order to promote frequency of behaviour

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13
Q

Define Negative reinforcement

A

Reducing unpleasant feeling in order to promote frequency of behaviour.

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14
Q

Define Positive punishment

A

add unpleasant experience in order to decrease occurrence of behaviour. e.g. flogging to prevent stealing

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15
Q

Define negative punishment

A

Removing something in order to decrease the occurrence of behaviour. eg. taking away cellphone to punish rebellion

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16
Q

What is escape learning?

A

reduce unpleasantness of something already there e.g. HA take ASA

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17
Q

What is avoidance learning?

A

prevents unpleasantness from occurring i.e. studying hard to avoid stress of failing exam

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18
Q

What is a primary reinforcer?

A

the natural causer of the behavioral change e.g. giving fish to a dolphin to promote behavior( do tricks), medication for an ailment etc

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19
Q

What is a secondary reinforcer?

A

It is the conditioned reinforcer i.e. CS that behaviour is now associated to. e.g dolphin performs tricks when trainer uses clicker

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20
Q

Describe discriminative stimuli

A

One that is used consistently to produce a desired response i.e. used because it produces the desired outcome

Dolphin sees trainer and thinks there’s possibility of reward

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21
Q

Fixed Ratio schedule (FR)

A

For every set number of repetitions of behaviour, a reward is given eg. rat presses bar and gets pellet every 3 presses

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22
Q

Continuous reinforcement (CFR)

A

Each time behavior is repeated, a reward is given- type of FR eg rat gets food with each bar press

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23
Q

Variable ratio schedule (VR)

A

Behaviour rewarded at varying number of repetitions with an average constant between rewards eg reward at 2 presses, then 4, then 6, then 8 (avg 2 in between)

e.g slot machines

best for learning behaviour with minimum extinction

VR=very rapid learning, Very resistant to extinction

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24
Q

Fixed Interval FI

A

Reinforcement occurs for the first response/repetition after a set time interval has passed.

Multiple responses in between don’t yield anything.

eg scheduled tests

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25
Q

Variable interval VI

A

Time varies in between repetition and rewarding. Time changes from trial to trial.

-Steady and moderate response.

eg study habits for pop quizzes

26
Q

Define shaping?

A

process of rewarding increasingly specific behaviour

27
Q

What is latent learning?

A

Accurately and spontaneously perfoming a task after reward has been introduced

eg rats that had been carried to the end of maze the rewarded were able to reach the end on their own

28
Q

Define preparedness

A

Having a natural predisposition to perform well at task being experimented on.

eg. in researching bird behavior, include tests that involve pecking at objects

29
Q

What is Instinctive drift?

A

Difficulty in leaving naturally acquired instinctual/reflexive behaviour

eg using babies for research and observing they put anything in the mouth

30
Q

Describe observational learning

A

Performed by A Bandura, children observed adults being mean to a Bobo doll. When left alone with the doll, they acted the same way towards the doll. Expt 2 showed the adults being ostracised for being mean to doll and children avoided being mean for fear of being ostracised. It showed behaviour can be reinforced or avoided.

31
Q

What are mirror neurons?

A

Neuronal networks found in the frontal and parietal lobes, they fire when we observe someone perfoming an action or when we imitate them.

32
Q

What is modeling?

A

Individuals imitate acceptable behaviours

33
Q

What are the processes of gaining memory?

A
  • Encoding
  • Storage
  • Retrieval
34
Q

What is automatic processing?

A

Learning with no conscious effort

35
Q

What is the process of actively memorizing information?

A

controlled/effortful processing

*with experience, controlled processing can become automatic

36
Q

How do we encode memories/learned info?

A

Thru

  • Visual
  • Acoustic
  • Semantic( contextual)

*semantic is best since it uses self-refernce effect

37
Q

Timed repetition of information in order to prevent us from forgetting is called?

A

Maintenance rehearsal- keep it in consciousness

38
Q

List some other ways of encoding information?

A
  • Mnemonics- phrases or acronynms
  • Method of loci- allot item in a building
  • Peg-word-associate number and word
  • Chunking/Clustering-grouping items to form meaningful words
39
Q

What is sensory memory?

A

iconic and echoic memory lasting very briefly. Stored in occipital and temporal lobes.

eg 3x3 array card, one can accurately give partial report (individual rows) but fail to give the all the letters at once (whole report)

40
Q

What is short term memory?

A

lasts less than 1min housed in hippocampus and limited to 7 items (7_+2)

Can become LTM with repetition

41
Q

What is working memory?

A

Conscious memory done by hippocampus, parietal and frontal lobes. eg simple math in head. Lasts longer than STM

42
Q

What is long term memory?

A

Memories from days old and longer moved from sensory and STM. Coordinated by hippocampus, then moved to cerebral cortex.

43
Q

Name types of LTM

A
  • Implicit/Nondeclarative/Procedural
  • Explicit/declarative memory
44
Q

What is implicit memory?

A

Type of LTM that involves skills, conditioned and emotional responses without conscious recall

eg. dog salivating, fear of snakes, playing instrument

45
Q

What is declarative/explicit memory?

A

LTM requiring active/ conscious recall

46
Q

Name two types of declarative memory

A
  • Semantic memory- facts/ concepts we know
  • Episodic memory- experiences/events we know
47
Q

How is information stored?

A

As semantic networks- interrelated ideas

*older people have more semantic networks from having more experiences and facts

48
Q

What is elaborative rehearsal?

A

way of storing LTM by using new information and tying it to old information in the memory.

49
Q

What is priming?

A

Process of retrieving info when a cue is given. Spreading activation occurs whereby areas related to the memory are unconsciously triggered.

50
Q

How does context affect memory retrieval?

A

being at the location where memory was first encoded makes it easier to recall.

51
Q

How does state-dependent effect affect memory?

A

the mental and emotional status of the person at the time of memory creation helps recall .

*ie study drunk= take test drunk; read while sad= better recall when sad

52
Q

Describe how serial position effect affects memory retrieval

A

People tend to recall things on the list that appear first and last few.

53
Q

What is primacy- recency effect?

A

Recency effect states that people recall best items of a list at the end of the list and also some at the beginning of the list (primacy)

54
Q

Briefly describe some brain disorders related to memory loss

A

Alzheimers

Brain disorder characterised by accumulation of ß-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Retrograde memory loss- recent to distant.

Korsakoff’s syndrome

  • caused by thiamine deficiency
  • Retrograde + anterograde amnesia + confabulation

Agnosia

Loss of ability to recognise at least one of these: objects, people, sounds.

-caused by CVA, TBI, MS etc

55
Q

What is decay of memory?

A

Process of naturally forgetting things

56
Q

What is interference effect?

A

Circumstance making it harder to form memories

  • proactive interference- things already there (old memories) interefere with new
  • retroactive interference- new information making old information to be forgotten
57
Q

What is prospective memory?

A

Helps plan and recall to perform task in the future

e.g old people get primed by trigger to do task- walk by grocery store= recall to buy milk.

time based PM not easily recalled- take meds at 9pm

58
Q

What is misinformation effect?

A

Recalling something that was not there.

59
Q

What is source-monitoring error?

A

Confusion between semantic vs episodic memory i.e recalls detail of event that happened to someone else by confused (on context)to think it happened to them

60
Q

Define neuroplasticity

A

Process by which brain physiology changes by formation of new nueronal connections.

* children have more plactic brains since they have many unused neurons which can connect and form new memories

61
Q

Define synaptic pruning

A

Process by which weak neuronal connections are broken and strong ones strengthened

62
Q

What is long term potentiation?

A

strengthening of STM stimulating neurons to form denser connections for LTM

Self MCAT (9 decks)

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