Learning & Memory Flashcards
what is behaviourism?
the theory that psychology can be objectively studied through observable action. The idea that all behaviours are learnt through an interaction with the environment
what is classical conditioning?
a process of learning through involuntary associations between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus that results in a conditioned response
what is a stimulus?
event which causes a response (sound, smell, visual, temperature, object)
what happens in the before conditioning phase CC?
-The neutral stimulus has no associations and therefore doesn’t produce any significant response
-Unconditioned stimulus provides an unconscious response
-The unconditioned response is the naturally occurring behaviour in response to a stimulus
what happens in the during conditioning phase CC?
- the neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus which produces an unconditioned response
- sometimes the pairing is emotionally significant and therefore only takes one pairing
- The neutral stimulus must be presented first remaining until the unconditioned stimulus is presented within ½ a second
what happens in the after conditioning phase CC?
- The neutral stimulus has become the conditioned stimulus producing a conditioned response
- The conditioned stimulus is originally the neutral stimulus that produces a conditioned response after being repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus (NS -> CS)
- The conditioned response occurs involuntarily after the conditioned stimulus is presented, it is the learnt response after classical conditioning has taken place
what is operant conditioning?
Suggests that learning occurs through interacting with the external environment
what is the antecedent?
the stimulus or event that precedes and often elicits a particular behaviour, AKA ‘discriminative stimulus’
what is the behaviour?
the voluntary actions that occur in the presence of the antecedent, the learner plays an active role in the action.
what is the consequence?
the outcome of the behaviour, which determines the likelihood that it will occur again
what is a reinforcement?
consequence that increases the likelihood of a behaviour reoccurring
what is a punishment?
a consequence that decreases the likelihood of a behaviour reoccurring
what is a positive reinforcement?
the addition of a desirable stimulus, which increases the likelihood of a behaviour occurring
what is a negative reinforcement?
the removal of an undesirable consequence which, increases the likelihood of a behaviour reoccurring
what is a positive punishment?
the addition of an undesirable stimulus, which decreases the likelihood of a behaviour occurring
what is a negative punishment?
the removal of a desirable stimulus, which decreases the likelihood of a behaviour reoccurring
what are similarities between operant conditioning and CC?
- Both are behaviourist approaches to learning,
- that all behaviours are learnt through environmental interaction
- both are 3 phase processes of learning
What are differences between operant conditioning and CC
operant conditioning involves voluntary learning behaviour whereas classical conditioning involves learning as an involuntary behaviour
- learners are active during operant conditioning whereas learners are passive during classical conditioning
- operant conditioning requires a consequence whereas no consequence is needed during classical conditioning
what is observational learning?
Process of learning that involves watching the behaviour of a model and the associated consequence of that behaviour
what type of learning is observational learning?
social-cognitive approach
what is a model?
the individual who is performing the behaviour that the learner observes, in this way it can also be referred to modelling
what are the types of models?
live model, verbal model, symbolic model
what are the stages of observational learning?
attention, retention, reproduction, motivation, reinforcement
what happens in the attention stage?
Learner allocates cognitive energy and effort to notice the intricate details of the models behaviour
what happens in the retention stage?
Learner stores the mental representation (memory) in their long term memory (LTP) for later use
what happens in the reproduction stage?
Individual evaluates whether they have the physical or mental capabilities to replicate the behaviour, If the learner deems, they don’t have the capabilities the process stops
what happens in the motivation stage?
Individual must have a desire/ want to complete the behaviour, therefore there must be a positive consequence or reward
what happens in the reinforcement stage?
The individual receives a positive consequence making them more likely to produce that behaviour in the future
what is memory?
the process of encoding, storing and retrieving information that has been acquired through learning
what is encoding?
conversion of sensory information into a useable form so that it can be neurologically represented (manipulation of stimuli)
what is storage?
retention of the encoded information over time
what is retrival?
recovery of stored information for use when needed