Psych/Soc Class 6 Flashcards
Right hemisphere
Processes visual & spatial info
Left hemisphere
Typically for language processing
Damaga to Broca’s area
If damaged, leads to expressive aphasia or loss of ability to speak
Damage to Wernicke’s area
If damaged to left temporal lobe, results in receptive aphasia or inability to comprehend speech
Contralateral processing
See things in left visual field but unable to visual process b/c of right hemisphere not connected (vice versa except can’t communicate)
Limbic System
Consists of hypothalamus, hippocampus & amygdala
- primarily responsible for emotions & forming memories, motivation
Thalamus
- Relays sensory information (eg. arousal) & motor information
Receives & relays info from visual & auditory centers - plays an important role in regulating consciousness and alertness
Hippocampus
Involved in processing & integrating memories
- Damage does not affect existing memories because those are stored in cortex, instead it prevents formation of new memories
- important in converting STM –> LTM
Anterograde amnesia
Loss in ability to create new memories after the event that caused the amnesia, leading to partial or complete inability to recall the recent past while LTM from before are intact
Retrograde amnesia
Loss of access to events that occurred before onset of disease
Amygdala
Expresses anger & frustration primarily
Hypothalamus
Controls water & temperature balance in body, as well as hunger & sex drive
- activated endocrine system & SNS
Working memory rehearsal buffer capacity
7 +/- 2
LTM pathway
- Sensory information goes to thalamus
- If no further processing, thalamus filters out sensory info
- If processing needed, goes to visual cortex in occipital lobe
- Then gets encoded in hippocampus
- Then goes to amygdala
Functional techniques of brain
PET
- produces images through diffusion of radioactive glucose
- the more active the area in the brain is in use, the more glucose used because glucose is a primary fuel for brain cells
fMRI
- able to view brain as it’s working
- rapid sequencing of MRI images
EEG
- measures sudden changes in brain electrical activity through electrodes placed on head
- data can be filtered mathematically to yield volt potentials which allow for localization functions of brain
- gives electrical image during cognitive states/tasks
Structural techniques of brain
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
- uses extremely powerful electromagnets & radiowaves to get 3D structural information from brain
CT Scan (CAT scan) - generates cross-sectional images of brain using series of x-ray pictures from different angles
Neural plasticity
Changes in brain due to learning, thinking, behaviour, emotions, etc
- change occurs from cellular to anatomical level
Long-term potentiation
Connections between neurons strengthen
- persistant strengthening of synapses (more frequent signals = more stronger)
- the stronger the connection = the more we retrieve for memory & learning
Systems consolidation (memory consolidation)
- converts STM to LTM
- 30 second stored in STM and by rehearsing info over and over again, neural connections become strengthened
Memory
Encoding
- transfer sensations into memory system
Storage
- retaining information in ST/LTM
Retrieval
- extracting information that’s been stored
Multi-store model
Store 1 - sensory memory
Store 2 - working memory/STM
- Sensory input goes through sensory memory (any information not attended will be lost)
- Attended information goes to STM
- Rehearsal occurs, and if it is not rehearsed it is lost
- Goes through consolidation to LTM
- If it is used it will be retrieved and go through consolidation again, if not used you will lose the information over time
Baddeley’s model of working memory
Central executive (responsible for coordination of sub-systems, shifting between tasks & selective attention & inhibition)
Divided into:
1. phonological loop –> Semantic verbal memory
- ST phonological store with auditory rehearsal
- Visuospatial Sketchpad –> Semantic Visual memory
- temporary storage & manipulation of spatial and visual info - Episodic Buffer –> Episodic memory
- information integration & linking to LTM
Serial position effects
Words in the middle are forgotten
Primacy effect
Words in the beginning are remembered
Recency effect
Words in the end are remembered
Encoding
Process of transforming information into a form that’s more easily stored in our brains
- four kinds: semantic (meaning), acoustic (sound), elaborative (association with previous LTM), visual (images
Encoding strategies
Rehearsal
- repetition of information leading to retention
Chunking
- grouping related information together into chunks
Elaboration
- intertwining information to be remembered with well entrenched pre-existing long term spatial, visual acoustic or semantic memories
Self-reference
- making information to be remembered personally relevant
Spacing
- memory works better when reviewed material is spaced out over time
Mnemonics
- any technique for improving retention of information
Method of loci
- Uses visualization to recall information
- Also called “memory palace”, “Mind palace” or “Memory journey”
Peg word
Memory technique where you connect words to numbers and create association to improve retention
Example : 1-2 buckle my shoe
LTM
LTM branches into Explicit or Implicit Memory
Explicit memory (declarative memory) - conscious recall
Divided into:
1. Episodic memory (events you’ve personally experienced)
2. Semantic memory (your general knowledge)
Implicit memory (non-declarative memory) - unconscious recall
Divided into:
1. Procedural memory (learning motor skills, physical actions)
2. Classical conditioning (associating neutral stimuli with another stimulus)
3. Priming (activation of knowledge & the influence of behaviour)
How long each memory stays
- > iconic memory
- > echoic/acoustic
- > STM
- > LTM
Iconic - < 1 second
Echoic - 2-4 seconds
STM - 15-30 seconds
LTM - permanent storage with unknown upper limit to capacity
Semantic networks
Organize acquired information in our memory
*unique to each person (used to be thought
Spreading activation
As one node is activated, it triggers other nodes to activate
Retrieval
Process of finding information stored in memory
Types of retrieval
Free Recall - random recall of info
Cued Recall - giving a list of states & asking for each capital
Recognition - multiple choice
Relearning - you use it or lose it
Retrieval Cue
Any stimulus that assists in memory retrieval
Priming
Occurs when exposure to one stimulus influences response to another stimulus
Positive priming - speeds up processing
Negative priming - slows down processing
Context-dependent Memory (Context effect)
Better at retrieving information in the same environmental context which the info was learned
State-dependent memory (state dependency effect)
Better at remembering when we are in the same internal state (Drug, comfort, pain, mood) that we were when we info was encoded
Types of Memory
Flashbulb memory Eidetic memory (photographic memory) Reproductive memory Prospective memory Dual coding theory Levels of Processing Model Reminiscence Bump Practice Effects Method of Loci Peg Words
Eidetic Memory
Able to vividly recall images from memory after only few instances of exposure with high precision for a brief time after exposure without using a mnemonic device
Flashbulb Memory
People can (or claim to) remember great detail about their episodic memories of particularly emotionally arousing events
Reproductive Memory
Accurate retrieval of information from memory, without significant alteration
Prospective Memory
Remembering to perform a planned action or recall a planned intention at some future point in time
Ex. remembering to do next assignment before next class
Dual Coding Theory
Theory that holds that combo of words with visuals provides us with two different channels for later recall, which assists in memory retrieval. Thus learning is better when words are presented with relevant images or such images are imagined by the learner
Levels of Processing Model
Focuses on the depth of processing involved in memory
- Predicts the deeper info is processed, the longer a memory trace will last
Reminiscence Bump
Older adults generally remember events they experiences from 10-30 yrs old better than any other time period, including more recent time periods
Practice Effects
Improvement that would be expected to occur simply from repeated exposure to a specific memory test
- imp to consider when longitudinally testing a subject with progressively debilitating memory disorder sing the same memory test
Intrusion Error
Substitution of an often semantically meaningful word during free & serial recall of word lists
- can also occur in episodic memories
Reconstructive process
Theorize that memory is a reconstructive process because each time a memory is retrieved, the memory trace is strengthened, but also potentially altered
Displacement
occurs in STM when one item in the list to be remembered bumps out another
Forgetting (Sensory memory, STM, LTM)
Sensory memory –> decay
STM –> decay, displacement, intrusion errors
LTM –> decay, interference, retrieval failure
Interference
When competing material make it difficult to encode or retrieve information
Proactive Interference vs Retroactive interference
Proactive - prior learning interferes with new learning so makes it difficult to encode new memories
Retroactive - recent learning interferes with old learning
Memory Errors
Source Monitoring Errors False memories Misinformation effect Anterograde amnesia Retrograde amnesia Korsakoff's Syndrome
Source Monitoring Error
- also called source amnesia
- misidentify origins of knowledge
- source info stored in source memory
False memories
Inverted or distorted recollection of episodic event that did not actually happen
Misinformation Effect
When episodic memories become less accurate because post-event information works backwards in time to distort memory of original even through retroactive interference
Korsakoff’s syndrome
Chronic memory disorder caused by severe deficiency of thiamine(vitamin b1); most commonly caused by alcohol misuse
Memory & Cognition in normal aging
Improves
- Semantic memory improves up until 60 then stabilizes
- emotional intelligence
Stable
- Implicit memory
- Crystallized intelligence (ability to retrieve general info)
Declines
- Source memory
- Episodic memory
- Processing speed
- divided attention
- operational span in working memory
Nonassociative learning
When an organism changes the magnitude of its response due to repeated exposure to particular stimulus
Different responses of nonassociative learning
- Habituation
- occurs when response diminishes as the organism becomes accustomed to repeated stimulus - Dishabituation
- occurs when organism that had become habituated to stimulus recovers its responsiveness b/c of removal and/or different stimulus - Sensitization
- occurs when instead of exhibiting habituation, organism demonstrates increasing responsiveness to repeated stimulus
- usually associated with increased arousal
Associative learning (classical conditioning)
Process in which 2 stimuli are paired in which response to one stimuli changes
Signalling stimulus
Either a neutral or conditioned stimulus (eg. the bell in Ivan Pavlov’s experiment)
Generalization vs Discrimination
Generalization is when stimuli other than the original conditioned stimulus elicit CR
Discrimination occurs when CS is distinguished from other similar stimuli & is only thing that elicits CR
Associative learning (Operant conditioning)
Process in which reinforcement (pleasurable consequence) & punishment (unpleasant consequence) are employed to mold behavioural responses
- demonstrates that behaviour that is reinforced tends to be repeated while behaviour that is not is extinguished
Positive vs Negative Reinforcement
Positive - adding something desirable to increase likelihood of behaviour
Negative - taking away something undesirable to increase likelihood of behaviour
Positive vs Negative punishment
Positive - Adding something undesirable to decrease likelihood of behaviour
Negative - Taking away something desirable to decrease likelihood of behaviour
Dopamine Reward Pathway
- Begins in Ventral Tegmental Area and connects to nucleus accumbens
- Rewards activate this pathway and dopamine is released in nucleus accumbens
Primary vs Secondary punisher
Primary punisher
- something that is innately undesirable
eg. spanking
Secondary punisher
- something that has been condition to be undesirable
Eg. bad grades
Primary reinforcer/punisher
Change the rate of response without previous learning
Secondary reinforcer/punisher
Stimuli learned to be rewarding or punishing (conditioned)
Primary vs Secondary reinforcement
Primary reinforcement
- something that is innately desirable
Eg. affection
Secondary reinforcement
- Something that is conditioned to be desirable
Eg. good grades
Token Economy
Behaviours are reinforced with tokens (secondary reinforcers) & can later be exchanged for desirable stimuli eg. playing time
Token economy vs World economy
Go to school & complete tasks —> initial outcome: earn tokens —> Final outcome: Exchange tokens for activities & tangible items
Go to work: complete job tasks —> Initial outcome: earn money —> Final outcome: exchange money for activities & tangible items
Reinforcement Schedules
Variable ratio
Fixed Ratio
Variable Interval
Fixed Interval
Variable ratio
Provides reinforcement after an unpredictable # of behaviours
- Response rate: fast
- Extinction Rate: slow
- Slowest extinction rate! Behaviour persists despite lack of reinforcer
Fixed ratio
Provides reinforcer after a predictable # of behaviours
-Response rate: Fast
-Extinction rate: medium
Post reinforcement pause is analogous to procrastination
Continous
Reinforce given after every single response
- Response rate: slow
- Extinction time: fast
- Best way to teach new behaviour but has fastest extinction rate
Variable Interval
Provides reinforcement after an inconsistent period of time
- Response rate: Medium/fast
- Extinction time: slow
- tends to produce a low to moderate rate of response
Fixed Interval
Provides reinforcement after a consistent period of time
- Response rate: medium
- Extinction time: fast
- long pause in responding following reinforcement, followed by accelerating rate
Acquisition
Rate of reinforced response increases
Extinction
Rate of previously reinforced responses decrease when reinforcement ceases
Shaping
Rewarding of successive, closer approximations of desired behaviour
Extinction burst
The increase in response rate that typically occurs when a previously reinforced response is initially no longer paired with any reinforcement
- esp likely to occur when continuous reinforcement is removed abruptly
Biological processes that affect associative learning
Biological predisposition
- much easier to condition an organism to perform a response that’s similar to behaviours that it’s biologically inclined to perform
Instinctive drift
- tendency for certain conditioned behaviours to trigger similar instinctive behaviours
- the closer the similarity between the conditioned behaviour and innate behaviour, the more likely the underlying innate behaviour will be substituted for desired conditioned response
Biological processes that affect observational learning
Mirror neurons
- Many brain neurons fire in same pattern when we see another person perform a known action
- these neurons are imp for observational learning of motor skills & understanding the actions, intentions & emotions of others
- differences in the fxs of these neurons can explain social deficits
Vicarious emotions
- mirror neurons appear to be activated when we “feel” the emotional response of others
- empathy requires vicarious and role taking
Insight learning
Process in which solution to problem suddenly comes to us in what we describe as “flash of insight”
Wolfgang kohler experiment
Showed insight learning by showing food out of reach to monkeys
Latent learning
Process in which learning occurs without any immediate expression or obvious reinforcement, later when helpful, this learning demonstrates itself
Decay theory
Information that is not rehearsed will be forgotten
Prefrontal cortex
- Serves to process cognitive experiences of emotion
- plays a role in executive functions—higher order thinking processes such as planning, organizing, inhibiting behaviour, and decision making
- Damage to this area may lead to inappropriateness, impulsivity, and trouble with initiation
- not fully developed until mid 20’s
Parietal lobe
Found at the top of the brain for sensation & language
Medulla
brain stem structure that is primarily responsible for autonomic processes such as breathing and maintaining a heartbeat
