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MCAT Psychology/Sociology > Learning, Memory, and Behavior > Flashcards

Learning, Memory, and Behavior Flashcards

1
Q

Nonassociative learning

A

occurs when an organism is repeatedly exposed to one type of stimulus

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2
Q

Habit

A

an action that is performed repeatedly until it becomes automatic

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3
Q

Dishabituation

A

occurs when the previously habituated stimulus is removed; the person is no longer accostumed to the stimulus

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4
Q

Sensitization

A

there’s an increase in responsiveness due to either a repeated application of a stimulujs or a particularly aversive or noxious stimulus; stimulus produces a more exaggerated response

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5
Q

Associative learning

A

process of learning in which one event, object, or action is directly connected with another. 2 types

  1. classical conditioning
  2. operant conditioning
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6
Q

Classical (respondant) conditioning

A

2 stimuli are paired in such a way that the response to one of the stimuli changes. ex) Pavlov’s salivating dogs

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7
Q

Neutral stimulus (NS)

A

stimulus that initially doesn’t elicit any intrinsic response

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8
Q

Unconditioned stimulus (US)

A

stimulus that elicits an unlearned response; like a reflex

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9
Q

Unconditioned Response (UR)

A

more of a reflex; biological response

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10
Q

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

A

an originally neutral stimulus that is paired with an unconditioned stimulus until it can produce the conditioned response.

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11
Q

Conditioned response (CR)

A

the learned response to the conditioned stimulus; occurs without the unconditioned stimulus

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12
Q

Processes of classical and operant conditioning

A 
acquisition
extinction
spontaneous recovery
generalization 
discrimination
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13
Q

Acquisition

A

process of learning the CR; US and CS are always paired

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14
Q

Extinction

A

CS and US are no longer paired; CR eventually stops occurring

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15
Q

Spontaneous recovery

A

when extinct CR occurs again when the CS is presented after some period of time

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16
Q

Generalization

A

stimuli other than the original CS elicit the CR

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17
Q

Discrimination

A

occurs when the CS is differentiated from other stimuli; CR occurs only after CS

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18
Q

Taste-aversion

A

caused by nausea and/or vomiting; learned association that’s adaptive in nature

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19
Q

Operant (instrumental) conditioning

A

uses reinforcement and punishment to mold behavior and eventually cause associative learning

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20
Q

B.F. Skinner

A

“Skinner box”; operant conditioning chamber experiments with rats

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21
Q

Reinforcement

A

anything that will INCREASE the likelihood that a preceding behavior will be repeated.
instructs what TO do

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22
Q

+ reinforcement

A

+ stimulus that occurs immediately following a behavior; adds something desirable
hippocampus involved

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23
Q
  • reinforcement
A

removes a negative stimulus immediately following a behavior

amygdala involved

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24
Q

Unconditioned (primary) reinforcers

A

integral for survival; innately satisfying/desirable; ex) food as + reinforcer, and removing pain as - reinforcer

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25
Conditioned (secondary) reinforcers
learned to be reinforcers through classical conditioning
26
Reinforcement schedule
operant conditioning relies on this; can be: continuous intermittent
27
Continuous reinforcement
results in rapid aquisition and rapid extinction
28
Intermittent reinforcement
results in slower aquisition and great resistance to extinction
29
4 intermittent reinforcement schedules
fixed-ratio variable-ratio fixed-interval variable-interval
30
Fixed-ratio schedule
reinforcement given after set # of instances of the behavior | subject will demonstrate a high rate of response
31
variable-ratio schedule
reinforcement given after unpredictable # of responses | subject will demonstrate a high rate of response
32
fixed-interval schedule
reinforcement given after a set period of time that is constant subject's behavior will increase as the time frame nears
33
variable-interval schedule
reinforcement given after an inconsistent amount of time | slow, steady behavior produced from subject
34
punishment
the process by which a behavior is followed by a consequence that DECREASES the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated instructs what NOT TO do
35
+ punishment
pairing of a negative stimulus with the behavior; adding something negative
36
- punishment
the removal of a reinforcing stimulus after the behavior has occurred.
37
Escape operant learning
an individual learns how to get away from an aversive stimulus by engaging in a particular behavior; type of - reinforcement ex) temper tantrum when kid is given veggies to eat
38
avoidance operant learning
when a person performs a behavior to ensure an aversive stimulus is not presented; type of - reinforcement ex) kid pretends to be sick to avoid eating veggies
39
observational learning/social learning/vicarious learning
learning through watching and imitating others
40
modeling
basic mechanism of observational learning; observer sees the behavior being performed by another person. Later, w/ the model in mind, the observer imitates the behavior observed.
41
Albert Bandura
Bobo doll experiments
42
Persuasion
one method of attitude and behavior change.
43
Elaboration likelihood model
``` when people will be influenced by the content of a speech, and when people will be influenced by the superficial characteristics of a speech 3 element: 1. message characteristics 2. source characteristics 3. target characteristics ```
44
cognitive persuasion routes (2)
``` central route (when ppl are persuaded by the content of the speech) peripheral route(fxns when ppl focus on superficial ccharacteristics of a speech or orator) ```
45
Social cognitive theory
theory of behavior change that emphasizes the interactions between people and their environment. Focuses on how we interpret and respond to external events, and how our past experiences, memories, and expectations influence our behavior
46
social factors
observational learning
47
Reciprocal determinism
1. ppl choose their environments which in turn shape them 2. personality shapes how ppl interpret and respond to their environment 3. a person's personality influences the situation to which he/she then reacts
48
behavioral genetics
attempts to determine the role of inheritance in behavioral traits; nature vs. nurture
49
moro (startle) infancy reflex
infant startled after a loud noise or sudden movement
50
rooting infancy reflex
baby turns head towards nipple when stroked on cheek
51
sucking infancy reflex
baby starts sucking when something touches roof of mouth
52
babinski infancy reflex
baby's big toe moves up other toes fan out after bottom of foot is stroked
53
tonic neck infancy reflex
when baby's head is turned to one side, arm will stretch out to that side while other arm bends at elbow
54
palmar grasp infancy reflex
baby's hand will grasp when palm is stroked
55
walking/stepping infancy reflex
baby will attempt to walk when feet are touching a flat surface
56
reflexive movements
primitive, involuntary movements that serve to 'prime' the neuromuscular system
57
rudimentary movements
first voluntary movement performed by a child; 'pre-programmed' movements ex) sitting, rolling, crawling
58
fundamental movements
child learns to manipulate their body through actions such as running, jumping, throwing, and catching. highly influenced by environment
59
specialized movements
children learn to combine fundamental movements to apply them to specific tasks. 2 substages 1. transitional (combo of movements occur) 2. application ( conscious decisions to apply skills to a specific activity)
60
lifelong application stage
movements are continually refined and applied to normal daily activities as well as recreational and competitive activities.
61
infantile amnesia
inability to remember much of what happened before 3.5 years of age.
62
Harry and Margaret Harlow
monkey experiments; cloth monkey mom vs. wire monkey mom with food
63
Mary Ainsworth
experiments involving insecure/secure attachment between moms and babies
64
Securely attached infants
play and explore in presence of mom; stress when mom leaves; seek contact with mom when she returns
65
Insecurely attached infants
cling to mom instead of play and explore; cry when mom leaves or are indifferent when she leaves; cry when mom returns or are indifferent when she returns
66
encoding
process of transferring sensory info into our memory system
67
serial position effect
when memorizing a series, the first (primacy) and last(recency) parts can be immediately recalled
68
mnemonic
any technique for improving retention and retrieval of info from memory
69
rehearsal
memory aid using phonological loop
70
chunking
strategy to remember info by organizing it into discrete groups of data. can memorize up to 7 individual items at a time.
71
memorizing with hierarchy strategy
categorizing different info by what it all has in common
72
dual coding hypothesis
it's easier to remember words with associated images than either words or images alone
73
method of loci
physical location of where learning certain info happened, and imagining going back to that place
74
sensory memory
very brief snapshot that quickly fades
75
iconic memory
brief photographic memory
76
echoic memory
sound memory
77
short term memory
when new information sought to be remembered temporarily resides in the hippocampus and is then encoded into long term memory or is decayed
78
long term memory
info that's retained
79
implicit (procedural) memory
refers to conditioned associations and knowledge of how to do something; muscle memory; takes practice
80
explicit (declaritive) memory
involves being able to regurgitate info; 2 subdivisons 1. semantic 2. episodic
81
semantic memory
memory for factual info
82
episodic memory
autobiographical memory for info of personal importance ex) a first kiss
83
brain structures involved in memory
hippocampus (encoding of new explicit memories) cerebellum (learning skills and conditioned associations/implicit memory) amygdala (associating emotion with memories)
84
anterograde amnesia
inability to encode new memories
85
retrograde amnesia
inability to recall info that was previously encoded
86
proactive interference
happens when info previously learned interferes with the ability to recall info learned later
87
retroactive interference
happens when newly learned info interferes with the recall of previously learned info
88
positive transfer
when old info facilitates learning of new info and vice versa
89
schema
a mental aspect of how things are; when we construct a memory, we tend to fill in the gaps by adding details that may not have been present at the time.
90
source monitoring
how reliable the information's source is

MCAT Psychology/Sociology (5 decks)

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