PSYCH Chp. 3 Learning & Memory Flashcards
What causes habituation?
repeated exposure to the same stimulus that causes a decrease in response
What is dishabuation?
the recovery of a response to a stimulus after habituation has occurred, usually when a different stimulus has been presented. it is temporary and always refers to changes in response to the original stimulus, not a new one.
What is associative learning?
the creation of a pairing, or association, either between 2 stimuli or a behavior and a response
What is an unconditional stimulus and response?
any stimulus that brings about an instinctual or reflexive response
What is an unconditional response?
The innate reflective response to an unconditional stimulus
What is a neutral stimulus?
a stimuli that does not produce a reflective response
What is a conditioned stimulus?
a neutral stimulus that through association causes a reflective response called a conditioned response
What is classical conditioning?
the process of taking advantage of a reflexive, unconditioned stimulus to turn a neutral stimulus into a conditioning stimulus
How does spontaneous recovery occur?
if an extinct conditioned stimulus is presented again, a weak conditioned response can sometimes be exhibited
What is discrimination?
being able to distinguish between 2 similar stimuli
What is operant conditioning?
links voluntary behaviors with consequences in an effort to alter the frequency of those behaviors
What is behaviorism?
the theory that all behaviors are conditioned
What is reinforcement?
the process of increasing the likelihood that an individual will perform a behavior
What is the diff b/w pos and neg reinforcers?
positive reinforcers increase a behavior by adding a positive consequence or incentive following the desired behavior. negative reinforcers increase the frequency of a behavior by removing something unpleasant.
What is the diff b/w negative reinforcement and positive punishment?
negative reinforcement is the removal of an unpleasant stimulus to encourage a behavior; positive punishment is the addition of an unpleasant stimulus to reduce a behavior. An example of positive punishment is spanking
What is escape and avoidance learning?
the role of escape learning in behavior is to reduce the unpleasantness of something that already exists, whereas avoidance learning is behavior that is meant to prevent the unpleasantness of something that has yet to happen
What is negative punishment?
the reduction of a behavior when a stimulus is removed
What is the frequency of reward in a fixed-ratio schedule?
reinforces a behavior after a specific number of performances of that behavior
What is the frequency of reward in a continuous reinforcement schedule?
a fixed-ratio schedule in which the behavior is rewarded every time it is performed
What is the frequency of reward in a variable-ratio schedule?
reinforces a behavior after a varying number of performances of the behavior, but such that the average number of performances to receive a reward is relatively constant
What is the frequency of reward in a fixed-interval-ratio schedule?
reinforces the first instance of behavior after the fixed interval has elapsed
What is the frequency of reward in a variable-interval schedule?
reinforces a behavior the first time that behavior is performed after a varying interval of time
Which of the reward schedules works best?
the variable ratio works best for learning new behavior and is also most resistant to extinction
When is operant conditioning most efficient?
it allows for the training of extremely complicated behaviors
What is latent learning?
learning that occurs without a reward but is spontaneously demonstrated once a reward is introduced
Where are mirror neurons located?
in the frontal and parietal lobes of the cerebral cortex
What are the diff b/w maintenance and elaborative rehearsal?
maintenance rehearsal is the repetition of a piece of info to keep it in working memory to prevent forgetting or to store it in short-term memory and eventually long-term memory. elaborative rehearsal is the association of info to other store knowledge and Is a more effective way to move info from short to long-term memory
When is observational learning strongest?
when the model’s words are consistent with their actions
What is the method of loci?
associating each item on a list with a location along the route through a building already memorized.
What is the peg-word system?
associates numbers on an alist with images
What is chunking/clustering?
taking individual elements of a large list and grouping them into groups of elements with related meaning
Where is short-term memory housed and consolidated into long-term memory?
in the hippocampus
Which memory allows us to do math in our head?
working
What are the limitations of short-term memory?
limited in duration, limited to a capacity of 7 items (7 +/- 2 rule), and based on neurotransmitter activity
Where are long-term memories stored?
in the back of the cerebral cortex
What is the diff b/w implicit nondeclarative and explicit declarative memory?
implicit memory consists of skills and conditioned responses. explicit memory consists of memory that requires conscious recall such as facts we know (semantic) and stories (episodic)
What are the primacy and recency effects?
the tendency to remember early and late items on a list
What causes Alzheimer’s disease?
a loss of acetylcholine in neurons that link to the hippocampus, neurofibrillary tangles, and B-amyloid plaques (incorrect folding of amyloid proteins forming insoluble beta sheets)
What is sundowning in middle to late-stage Alzheimer’s?
an increase in dysfunction in the later afternoon and evening
What is Korsakoff’s syndrome?
a form of memory loss caused by thiamine deficiency in the brain. it is marked by confabulation, anterograde, and retrograde amenia
What is retro and anterograde amenia?
retrograde amnesia - the loss of previously formed memories
anterograde amnesia - the inability to form new memories
What is confabulation?
the process of creating vivid but fabricated memories
What is agnosia?
memory loss caused by physical damage to the brain such as that caused by a stroke or a neurological disorder such as multiple sclerosis. It is marked by the loss of the ability to recognize objects people, or sound.
What is decay?
memory loss causes naturally
What is interference?
a retrieval error caused by the existence of other, usually similar, information
What is the diff b/w retroactive and proactive interference?
proactive interference is when old information interferes with new learning. retroactive interference is when new info causes forgetting of old information
What happens to memory as we age?
prospective memory - remembering to perform a task at some point in the future remains intact when it is event-based. on the other hand, time-based prospective memory such as remembering to take a medication every day at 7a declines with age
What is a source-monitoring error?
involves confusion b/w semantic and episodic memory. it often occurs when someone hears a story of something that happened to someone else, and later recalls the story as having happened to him or herself
What is the neuroplasticity phenomenon?
the rapid formation of neural connections from response to stimuli. decreases as we age
What is synaptic pruning?
the removal of weak neural connections, and strengthening long-term potentiation through increased neurotransmitter release and receptor density, increasing the efficiency of our brain’s ability to process info
What is the pathway of memory formation in the brain?
sensory memory in the projection areas of the brain –> short-term memory in the hippocampus in the temporal lobe –> working memory while in the hippocampus in tandem with the frontal and parietal lobes –> stored for later recall –> long-term memory is moved from the hippocampus to the back of the cerebral cortex
What is encoding?
the process of putting new information into memory either through semantic, acoustic, or visual encoding
Which is stronger, recall or recognition?
recognition of information
How are facts stored?
via semantic networks
What is generalization?
the process by which similar stimuli can produce the same conditioned response
What is semantic encoding?
encoding based on the meaning of the information. it is the strongest method of encoding
What are semantic networks?
the associations of similar concepts in the mind to aid in their retrieval
