Learning, Memory, and Behaviour Flashcards
Nonassociative learning
occurs when an organism is repeatedly exposed to one type of stimulus, occurs in the absence of forming associations with specific stimuli, two types are habituation and sensitization
habit
an action that is performed repeatedly until it becomes automatic
habituation
the process of forming a habit
dishabituation
occurs when the previously habituated stimulus is removed
sensitization
increase in responsiveness due to either a repeated application of a stimulus or a particularly aversive or noxious stimulus
desensitization
occurs when a stimulus that previously evoked an exaggerated response (something that we were sensitized to) no longer evokes an exaggerated response
associative learning
a process of learning in which one event, object, or action is directly connected with one another
classical (respondent) conditioning
a process in which two stimuli are paired in such a way that the response to one of the stimuli changes
what are the components of classical conditioning?
neutral stimulus, unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, conditioned response
acquisition
the process of learning the conditioned response
extinction
occurs when the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli are no longer paired, so the conditioned response eventually stops occurring
spontaneous recovery
when an extinct conditioned response occurs again when the conditioned stimulus is presented after some period of time
generalization
the process by which stimuli other than the original conditioned stimulus elicit the conditioned response
discrimination
the opposite of generalization, and occurs when the conditioned stimulus is differentiated from other stimuli
what are the two types of associative learning?
operant/instrumental conditioning, classical/respondent conditioning
operant/instrumental conditioning
uses reinforcement (pleasurable consequences) and punishment (unpleasant consequences) to mold behaviour, associate with B.F. Skinner
reinforcement
anything that will increase the likelihood that a preceding behaviour will be repeated, can be positive or negative
positive reinforcement
some sort of desirable stimulus that occurs immediately following a behaviour
negative reinforcement
some sort of undesirable stimulus that is removed immediately following a behaviour
what brain structure is particularly important for negative conditioning?
amygdala
what brain structure is particularly important for positive conditioning?
hippocampus
primary (unconditioned) reinforcers
innately satisfying or desirable, generally integral to our survival
secondary (conditioned) reinforcers
learned to be reinforcers, neutral stimuli that are paired with primary reinforcers to make them conditioned
what does operant conditioning rely on?
a reinforcement schedule which can be continuous or intermittent
continuous reinforcement will result in:
rapid behaviour acquisition but also rapid extinction when reinforcement ceases
intermittent reinforcement will result in:
slower acquisition, but greater persistence or resistance to extinction over time
what are four times of intermittent reinforcement schedules?
fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, variable-interval
behaviour pattern of continuous reinforcement
SLOW response rate, FAST extinction rate, BEST WAY TO TEACH NEW BEHAVIOUR, but has the fastest rate of extinction
behaviour pattern of fixed ratio schedule
FAST response rate, MEDIUM extinction rate, post-reinforcement pause may be an analogue to procrastination
behaviour pattern of fixed interval schedule
MEDIUM response rate, MEDIUM extinction rate, long pause in responding following reinforcement, followed by accelerating rate
behaviour pattern of variable ratio schedule
FAST response rate, SLOW extinction rate, SLOWEST RATE OF EXTINCTION (behaviour persists longest despite lack of reinforcer)
behaviour pattern of variable interval schedule
FAST response rate, SLOW extinction rate, tends to produce a low to moderate steady state of responding
punishment
the process by which a behaviour is followed by a consequence that decreases the likelihood that the behaviour will be repeated, can be positive or negative
positive punishment
involves the application, or pairing, of an undesirable stimulus with the behaviour
negative punishment
involves the removal of a desirable stimulus after the behaviour has occurred
escape
an individual learns how to get away from an aversive stimulus by engaging in a particular behaviour
avoidance
occurs when a person performs a behaviour to ensure an aversive stimulus is not presented
behaviorism
all psychological phenomena are explained by describing the observable antecedents of behaviours and its consequences, most strongly associated with Skinner
cognitive psychology
focus on the brain; cognitions (thoughts) and their effects on how people navigate the world, do not see learning as simply due to stimulus pairing and reinforcement (there is thought involved in learning), supported by insight and latent learning
insight learning
describes when previously learned behaviours are suddenly combined in unique ways
latent learning
previously unseen behaviour can manifest quickly when required
what is the main difference between classical and operant conditioning
classical conditioning results in an involuntary/automatic response, operant conditioning results in a voluntary response
short-term memory
lasts for seconds to hours, can potentially be converted into long-term memory by consolidation
long-term potentiation
following brief periods of stimulation, an increase in the synaptic strength between two neurons leads to stronger electrochemical responses to a given stimuli, involves both pre- and post- synaptic neurons
observational/social/vicarious learning
learning through watching or imitating others
modeling
one of the most basic mechanisms of observational learning, an observer sees the behaviour being performed by another person and later imitates the behaviour observed ex. Albert Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment
mirror neurons
present in various parts of the human brain (premotor cortex, supplementary motor area, primary somatosensory cortex, inferior parietal cortex), fire when performing task or observing another performing the task, may be responsible for learning by imitation and vicarious emotions (empathy)
persuasion
one method of attitude and behaviour change, a means of influencing what people think and do
elaboration likelihood model
explains when people will be influenced by the content of the speech vs. when they will be influenced by more superficial characteristics such as appearance of orator or length of speech
what are the 3 key elements of the persuasiveness of a message?
1) message characteristics - includes logic of argument as well as the superficial length of speech and grammatical complexity
2) source characteristics
3) target characteristics of the person receiving the message
what are the two cognitive routes that persuasion follows under the elaboration likelihood model?
central route = people are persuaded by the content of the argument, longer-lasting persuasive outcomes, occurs when people are both interested and motivated to listen and focus on logic of argument
peripheral route - people focus on superficial or secondary characteristics of the speech or the orator
social cognitive theory
a theory of behaviour that emphasizes the interactions between people and their environment, behaviour (environment influences us) and cognition (how we process our environment) is important in determining behaviour, focus on how we interpret and respond to external events and how our past experiences/memories/expectations as well as social factors influence our behaviours
reciprocal determinism
the interaction between a person’s behaviour (conscious actions), personal factors (individual motivational forces or cognitions) and environment (situational factors), people both shape and are shaped by the environment
what are the 3 different examples of reciprocal determinism?
1) people choose their environments which in turn shapes them
2) personality shapes how people interpret and respond to their environment
3) a person’s personality influences the situation to which they then react
behavioural genetics
determines the role of inheritance in behaviour traits; the interaction between heredity and experience to determine an individual’s personality and social behaviour
transgenesis
the introduction of an exogenous or outside gene or knockout genes to alter genotype while controlling for environment
Francis Galton’s theory of intelligence
first proposed a theory of general intelligence in the mid 1800s, believed intelligence had a strong biological basis and could be quantified by testing certain cognitive tasks
Alfred Binet (1900)
created the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) test
Charles Spearman (1900)
first coined the term general intelligence (g), believed that intelligence can be strictly quantified through cognitive tests
Raymond Cattell (1950)
proposed two types of intelligence: fluid intelligence (Gf) “ability to think on your feet” and crystallized intelligence (Gc) “ability to recall and apply already-learned information”
Howard Gardner (1980)
theory of multiple intelligences (8 different modalities: logical, linguistic, spatial, musical, kinesthetic, naturalist, intrapersonal, interpersonal)
Edward Thordike (1920)
first proposed the idea of social intelligence
developmental psychology
the study of how humans develop physically, cognitively, and socially, throughout their lifetime
reflexes in newborns, originate in the CNS and are automatic behaviours:
moro (startle), rooting, sucking, Babinski, Tonic, Palmar grasp, Walking/stepping
what is the outline of motor development throughout a lifetime
reflexive movement, rudimentary movement, fundamental movement, specialized movement, application of movement
reflexive movements
primitive, involuntary movements that serve to “prime” the neuromuscular system and form the basis for more sophisticated movements to come
rudimentary movements
birth-2, the first voluntary movement performed by a child, “pre-programmed” by genetics
fundamental movement
2-7, learning to manipulate his or her body through actions such as running, jumping, throwing, catching, highly influenced by environment
specialized movement
7-14 learns to combine fundamental movements and apply them to specific tasks, can be broken down into transitional substage (combination of movements occur) and application substage (conscious decisions to apply these skills to specific types of activity)
lifelong application stage
14+, movements are continually refined and applied to normal daily activities as well as recreational and competitive activities
neural networks
codified routes for information processing (the types that are generated in response to learning and experience throughout a lifetime)
maturation
the sequence of biological growth processes in human development, largely genetic but still influenced by environment
infantile amnesia
inability to remember much before 3.5 years old
stranger anxiety
from 8-12 months of age, infants have developed schemas for familiar faces in this time, and when new faces do not fit an already developed schema, the infant becomes distressed. demonstrates importance of infant-parent attachment bonds as a survival impulse. peaks at 13 months and then declines
Harlow experiments on social development in monkeys
infant monkeys were separated from mothers at birth, attached to blanket, demonstrated attachment was not a result of need for nourishment, rather there was a psychological/social element to infant/mother bonding
Ainsworth’s strange situation experiments
mothers leave infants in an unfamiliar environment, securely attached infants will become distressed if mother leaves but will play and explore if mother is present, insecurely attached infants will be unlikely to explore if mother is present and become terrified if mother is not present
what are the three types of parenting styles?
1) authoritarian-involves attempting to control children with strict rules that are expected to be followed unconditionally
2) permissive - few rules and demands, very responsive and loving but rather lenient
3) authoritative - listen to their children, encourage independence, place limits on behaviour and consistently follow through with consequences when behaviour is not met
adolescence
the transitional stage between childhood and adulthood
what are three major changes in the brain during adolescence?
cell proliferation in certain areas (prefrontal lobes and limbic system), synaptic pruning (of unused or unnecessary connections) and myelination (which strengthens connections between various regions)
encoding
the process of transferring sensory information into our memory system
serial position effect
occurs when someone attempts to memorize a series, the individual is more likely to recall the first (primacy effect) and last items (recency effect) on the list
mnemonic
any technique for improving retention and retrieval of information from memory
rehearsal
a simple process that aids memory through the use of the phonological loop
chunking
a strategy in which information to be remembered is organized into discrete groups of data
depth of processing
suggested to be important for encoding memories; where information thought about at a deeper level is better remembered
dual coding hypothesis
indicates that it is easier to remember words with associated images than either words or images alone
method of loci
an aid for memory, involves imagining moving through a familiar place and leaving a visual representation o a topic to be remembered
self-reference effect
it is easier to remember things that are personally relevant
sensory memory
the initial recording of sensory information in the memory system, a very brief snapshot that quickly decays
what are the two types of sensory memory?
iconic memory and echoic memory
iconic memory
brief photographic memory for visual information, which decays in a few tenths of a second
echoic memory
memory for sound, which lasts about 3-4 seconds
short-term memory
limited in duration and in capacity (7 plus or minus 2 items), retained for about 20 seconds or processed so that it can be transferred into long-term memory
long-term memory
information that is retained sometimes indefinitely; it is believed to have an infinite capacity
what is the distinction between short-term and working memory
short-term memory is correlated with hippocampus, working memory is correlated with prefrontal cortex
implicit/procedural memory
refers to conditioned associated and knowledge of how to do something , memory without conscious recall
explicit/declarative memory
involves being able to “declare” or voice what is known, can be subdivided into semantic and episodic memory, memory with conscious recall
semantic memory
a type of explicit memory; memory for factual information
episodic memory
a type of explicit memory; autobiographical memory for information of personal importance
it is believed that long-term memory is stored in a network where individual ideas exist as:
nodes which are connected by associations of varying strength (strength is related to how frequently and deeply this connection is made)-processing material in different ways leads to establishment of multiple connections
response threshold
a threshold that all input signals must reach before a node becomes activated, respond threshold is reached by summation of input signals from multiple nodes
spreading activation
the activation of a few nodes that leads to a pattern of activation within the network that spreads outwards
recall
the ability to retrieve information
free recall
retrieving the item without cues or clues
cued recall
involves retrieving the information when provided with a cue
recognition
involves identifying specific information from a set of information that is presented
relearning
involves the process of learning material that was originally learned
priming
prior activation of these nodes and associations, hints may activate a closely related node
what retrieval cues are most effective?
contextual cues that had associations formed at the time that the memory was encoding
mood-dependent memory
a phenomenon in which what we learn in one state is most easily recalled when we are once again in that emotional state
prospective memory
a type of recall where one remembers to do things in the future, stronger when there are cues in the environment
role of hippocampus in memory
plays a role in the encoding of new explicit memories
cerebellum role in memory
encoding implicit memories
role of amygdala in memory
helping to tie emotion to memories
anterograde amnesia
an inability to encode new memories
retrograde amnesia
an inability to recall information that was previously encoded
memory decay results in:
a failure to retain stored information
retention interval
the time since the information was learned
describe the forgetting curve
the longer the retention interval, the more information will be forgotten, with the most forgetting occurring rapidly in the first few days before levelling off
what is the result of interference
failure to retrieve information that is in storage
proactive interference
happens when information previously learned interferes with the ability to recall information learned later
retroactive interference
when newly learned information interferes with the recall of information learned previously
positive transfer
when old information facilitates the learning of new information
schema
a mental blueprint containing common aspects of some part of the world
misinformation effect
a tendency to misremember when exposed to subtle misinformation
false memories
inaccurate recollections of an event, may be the result of implanting of ideas or repeatedly imagining that one did something
error in source monitoring
when people forget the source of information when recalling information
neural plasticity
refers to the malleability of the brain’s pathways and synapses based on behaviour, the environment, and neural processes
neurogenesis
the birth of new neurons, has been found to occur in a small extent in the hippocampus and cerebellum
schachter-singer theory of emotion
describes an event followed by a physiological response which is interpreted as emotion and perceived
cannon-bard theory of emotion
describes an event which elicits simultaneous physiological response and perception of emotion
james-lange theory of emotion
describes an event which elicits physiological response, interpretation of physiological response determines perception of emotion
lazarus theory
interpretation happens before the simultaneous perception of emotion and physiological arousal
extinction burst
original behaviour spikes dramatically
preparedness
how predisposed a species is to learn a behaviour (i.e. birds naturally peck when looking for food, so rewarding them with food when they peck is natural for them, they were “prepared already”)
instinctive drift
opposite of preparedness, difficulty in overcoming instinctual behaviours which goes against the response being encouraged
social learning theory
analogous to observational earning and social cognitive theory, it is a type of learning theory that states that people will learn within a social context, and it emphasizes the importance of observing and modeling
