Learning & Memory Flashcards

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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
Q

name 3 types of encoding and rank their effectiveness

A
  1. semantic encoding - putting information in a meaningful context
  2. acoustic encoding - store the way it sounds
  3. visual encoding - visualizing information
26
Q

self-reference effect

A

tendency to recall information best when we put it into the context of our own lives

27
Q

name 4 types of memory

A

sensory, short-term, working, long-term

28
Q

sensory memory

A

under 1 s; visual and auditory stimuli briefly stored

29
Q

short-term memory

A

about 30 s; fades quickly and limited in capacity to about 7 items

30
Q

long-term memory

A

lifetime; uses elaborative rehearsal to associate information to knowledge already stored in long-term memory

31
Q

working memory

A

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
Q

the two types of long-term memory are

A

implicit (unconscious), explicit (conscious)

33
Q

implicit memory is involved in…

A

procedural memory - skills and tasks, eg riding a bike

34
Q

explicit memory is involved in…

A

declarative memory - episodic memory (events and experiences) and semantic memory (facts, concepts)

35
Q

retrieval

A

the process of demonstrating that something that has been learned has been retained

36
Q

define three types of memory retrieval

A
  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
Q

semantic network

A

the brain organizes ideas and concepts based on similar meanings; eg red is associated with orange, green, fire trucks, and roses

38
Q

when a node of our semantic network is activated, other linked concepts are also consciously activated, a process known as ________

A

spreading activation

39
Q

priming

A

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
Q

context effects

A

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
Q

serial position effect

A

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
Q

Alzheimer’s disease

A

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
Q

Korsakoff’s syndrome

A

caused by thiamine deficiency in the brain; retrograde and anterograde amnesia; confabulation

44
Q

confabulation

A

creation of vivid but fabricated memories; possibly an attempt by the brain to fill in gaps of missing memories

45
Q

agnosia

A

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
Q

decay

A

memory loss as neurochemical trace of a short-term memory fades; Ebbinghaus’ Curve of Forgetting

47
Q

define interference, describe two types.

A

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
Q

misinformation effect

A

when presented with misinformation, people will remember things incorrectly

49
Q

source amnesia

A

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
Q

neuroplasticity

A

rapid change in neural connections in response to stimuli; drastically decreases with age

51
Q

synaptic pruning

A

weak neural connections are broken while strong ones are bolstered; increases the efficiency of our brain’s processing ability

52
Q

long-term potentiation

A

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