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Learning & Memory Flashcards

1
Q

Name two types of associative learning.

A

Classical and operant conditioning

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2
Q

Classical conditioning

A

a type of associative learning that takes advantage of instinctual responses to create association btw two unrelated stimuli. (Pavlov’s dogs - turning a neutral stimulus into a conditioned stimulus that causes a conditioned response through a process called acquisition)

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3
Q

Operant conditioning

A

a type of associative learning that modifies the frequency of a behavior using reinforcement (increases behavior) or punishment (decreases behavior)

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4
Q

Habituation

A

Repeated exposure to the same stimulus can cause a decrease in response

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5
Q

Reinforcement

A

process of increasing likelihood of a behavior; can be positive or negative

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6
Q

Positive reinforcer

A

increase a behavior by adding a positive consequence; eg working hard to earn money increases likelihood of working hard

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7
Q

negative reinforcer

A

increase a behavior by removing a negative stimulus; eg taking aspirin to relieve headache increases likelihood of taking aspirin

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8
Q

Name two types of negative reinforcers

A

escape learning, avoidance learning

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9
Q

Define escape learning

A

the role of the behavior is to reduce the unpleasantness of something that already exists

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10
Q

Define avoidance learning

A

the role of the behavior is to prevent the unpleasantness of something that has not yet happened

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11
Q

Give examples of a primary and secondary (conditioned) reinforcer

A

Using a clicker to train dogs: primary reinforcer is the treat; secondary reinforcer is the clicker associated with receiving a treat

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12
Q

Define punishment

A

Uses conditioning to reduce the likelihood of a behavior

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13
Q

Positive punishment

A

Adds an unpleasant stimulus; eg a thief is arrested for stealing

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14
Q

Negative punishment

A

Removes a pleasant stimulus; eg loss of TV privileges for not doing homework

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15
Q

The 4 types of reinforcement schedules are… describe each.

A
  1. Fixed-ratio (FR) - reinforces after a specific number of times behavior is performed
  2. Variable-ratio (VR) - reinforces after a varying number of times behavior is performed, most effective
  3. Fixed-interval (FI) - reinforce the first instance of behavior after a specified time period has passed
  4. Variable-interval (VI) - reinforce the first instance of behavior after a varying interval of time
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16
Q

Define shaping

A

the process of rewarding increasingly specific behaviors (“take care of the baby” dog)

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17
Q

Latent learning

A

learning that occurs without a reward but is spontaneously demonstrated when a reward is introduced. eg, rats carried through a maze can complete the maze on their own when incentivized

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18
Q

Preparedness

A

predisposition for an animal to learn a behavior that coincides with its natural behaviors; eg birds naturally peck, so rewarding them in response to a pecking-based behavior works well.

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19
Q

Instinctive drift

A

difficulty in overcoming instinctual behaviors. eg being unable to teach raccoons to place coins in a piggy bank because raccoons would rub coins together and dip them in the bank similar to food.

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20
Q

Observational learning

A

learning a new behavior by watching others - think of Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment of assaulting clown toys in the presence of children

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21
Q

mirror neurons

A

located in frontal and parietal lobes of cerebral cortex; fire when we perform an action and when we see someone else perform that action. mostly involved in motor processes and imitative learning.

22
Q

modeling

A

people learn what behaviors are acceptable by watching others perform them.

23
Q

the formation of memories can be divided into these three processes

A

encoding, storage, retrieval

24
Q

define encoding and name two types of processing

A

the process of putting new information into memory; automatic processing occurs without effort while controlled (effortful) processing requires work

25
name 3 types of encoding and rank their effectiveness
1. semantic encoding - putting information in a meaningful context 2. acoustic encoding - store the way it sounds 3. visual encoding - visualizing information
26
self-reference effect
tendency to recall information best when we put it into the context of our own lives
27
name 4 types of memory
sensory, short-term, working, long-term
28
sensory memory
under 1 s; visual and auditory stimuli briefly stored
29
short-term memory
about 30 s; fades quickly and limited in capacity to about 7 items
30
long-term memory
lifetime; uses elaborative rehearsal to associate information to knowledge already stored in long-term memory
31
working memory
closely related to short-term memory; enables us to keep a few pieces of information in our consciousness and also to manipulate that information. eg math problems
32
the two types of long-term memory are
implicit (unconscious), explicit (conscious)
33
implicit memory is involved in...
procedural memory - skills and tasks, eg riding a bike
34
explicit memory is involved in...
declarative memory - episodic memory (events and experiences) and semantic memory (facts, concepts)
35
retrieval
the process of demonstrating that something that has been learned has been retained
36
define three types of memory retrieval
1. recall - ability to retrieve and state learned info 2. recognition - identifying a piece of info that was previously learned 3. relearning - info is relearned quickly, although unavailable for recall
37
semantic network
the brain organizes ideas and concepts based on similar meanings; eg red is associated with orange, green, fire trucks, and roses
38
when a node of our semantic network is activated, other linked concepts are also consciously activated, a process known as ________
spreading activation
39
priming
a retrieval cue in which recall is aided by first being presented with a word or phrase that is close to the desired semantic memory
40
context effects
a retrieval cue in which memory is aided by being in the same location or situation where encoding took place; also applies to mental-state in state-dependent memory
41
serial position effect
primacy and recency; a person will remember the first items of a list best, and the last items are briefly stored in working memory
42
Alzheimer's disease
neurodegenerative disease linked to a loss of ACh in neurons that link to hippocampus; dementia; memory loss; NFTs and amyloid plaques; sundowning (increase in dysfunction in the late afternoon and evening)
43
Korsakoff's syndrome
caused by thiamine deficiency in the brain; retrograde and anterograde amnesia; confabulation
44
confabulation
creation of vivid but fabricated memories; possibly an attempt by the brain to fill in gaps of missing memories
45
agnosia
loss of ability to recognize objects, people, or sounds - typically only one of the three. caused by physical damage to the brain, often due to a stroke or neurological disorder such as MS
46
decay
memory loss as neurochemical trace of a short-term memory fades; Ebbinghaus' Curve of Forgetting
47
define interference, describe two types.
retrieval error caused by the existence of other, usually similar, information. proactive interference is when old info interferes with new learning (eg learning a new address). retroactive interference is when new info causes forgetting of old info (eg a teacher learns new students' names and forgets old students)
48
misinformation effect
when presented with misinformation, people will remember things incorrectly
49
source amnesia
a memory construction error: a person remembers the details of an event but confuses the context under which the details were gained. often happens when a person hears a story of something that happened to someone else, and later recalls the story as having happened to himself.
50
neuroplasticity
rapid change in neural connections in response to stimuli; drastically decreases with age
51
synaptic pruning
weak neural connections are broken while strong ones are bolstered; increases the efficiency of our brain's processing ability
52
long-term potentiation
the strengthening of synapses; as a stimulus is repeated, the stimulated neurons become more efficient at releasing NTs and the receptor sites on the postsynaptic neuron increase

Psych/Soc (11 decks)

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