Memory & Learning

Question 1

What is learning/conditioning

Answer 1

Relatively permanent change in behavior that is the result of experience or practice

Question 2

What is NOT learning

Answer 2

Behavior change due to maturation (getting stronger due to age etc)

Behavior change due to temporary conditions (tiredness etc)

Question 3

Types of learning (3)

Answer 3

Non-associative (habituation)

Associative (classical or instrumental conditioning)

Complex learning

Question 4

Classical conditioning

Answer 4

A behavior that results in Conditioned response:

Conditioning: repeated pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus (bell + food)

Conditioned stimulus: after conditioning the stimulus triggers a respons (salivating after hearing a bell)

Conditioned response: the result of conditioning (response to previous neutral stimulus)

Based on already existing responses (eg salivating when seeing food)

Question 5

Classic conditioning in new media, marketing, real life

Evaluative conditioning

Answer 5

A change in valence (liking) of a (initially neutral) stimulus that is due to the prior pairings of that stimulus with another stimulus

E.g. have a coke, have a smile

Or play a game while on facebook (you like facebook more because of the game)

Question 6

Generalization (classic conditioning)

Answer 6

Response generalization is behavioral response to a novel stimuli that is similar to familiar ones:

E.g. a higher or lower pitched bell

Very adaptive function in humans: we learn through generalization

Question 7

Second order conditioning

Answer 7

Pairing a neutral stimulus with a conditioned stimulus

Question 8

Extinction

Answer 8

The absence of the unconditioned stimulus (food) with repeated presentation of the conditioned stimulus (bell) alone will result in disappearance if the response

Question 9

Instrumental conditioning

Answer 9

Learning new things and the relationship between responses and outcomes

Question 10

Types of reinforcement (4)

Answer 10

Pleasant stimulus + Delivery of the stimulus following a response = positive reinforcement: reward

Unpleasant stimulus + Delivery of the stimulus following a response = punishment

Removal of the stimulus following a response + unpleasant stimulus = negative reinforcement relief

Removal of the stimulus following a response + pleasant stimulus = omission training, penalty

Question 11

Primary vs secondary reinforcers

Answer 11

Primary = satisfy basic biology drives (food for example)

Secondary = have been conditioned with a primary one (money, acknowledgement)

Question 12

Partial reinforcement

Answer 12

Random reinforcement for behavior: example: food only randomly is given and not every time a button is pushed

This leads to higher response rate (more frequent button pushing - gambling!)

Question 13

Partial reinforcement schedules: interval and ratio

Answer 13

Interval schedule: after a certain amount of time (could be fixed or variable)

Ratio schedule: after a certain amount of responses

fixed = always the same
Variable = unpredicted

Question 14

Types of (new media) rewards (pursuing good, preventing bad) (5)

Answer 14

1 Entertainment 
2 News
3 Alleviating negative mood (eg boredom) 
4 Social rewards
5 Likes/competition

Question 15

Memory definition

Answer 15

In cognitive psychology: the cognitive process through which new information is encoded (put new info into memory), stored (maintain in memory) and retrieved (retrieve from memory)

Question 16

Biased reconstruction

Answer 16

Human Memory is a biased reconstruction - that consists of an active process of association and reconstruction

Question 17

Primacy and recency biases in reconstructing memory

Answer 17

Better memory for events at start (primacy) and end (recency) of an experience

Eg: bad ending of otherwise good movie = remember as bad movie

Question 18

Memory biases: peak moments and duration neglect

Answer 18

Peak moment: highest intensity of emotion is remembered

Duration neglect: the duration of the total experience has no effect

Question 19

3 types of memory

Answer 19

Sensory memory: very brief, large capacity, resonates with sensory systems (iconic/visual, echoic/auditorial, haptic/tactile)

Short-term/working memory: < 30 seconds, limited capacity

Long-term memory: large capacity, relatively permanent

Question 20

Baddeley’s theory of working memory

Answer 20

Short term/working memory is not only for storage, but actively operating on the information

Working memory consists of phonological loop (storing and operating acoustic loop), visuo-spatial sketchpad (storing and operating on visual code) and central executive: controls the interaction of both systems (attention)

Question 21

Long term memory types (6) (EDESIP)

Answer 21

Explicit (conscious) - remembering WHAT
Is about:
Declarative memory
> 
Episodic: events, experiences
Or
Semantic: facts, concepts

Implicit (unconscious) - remembering HOW
>
Procedural (skills, tasks)