Q1 Flashcards
nativism
humans are shaped primarily by their inherited nature
fixed at birth
empiricism
humans are primarily shaped by their experiences - nurture
behaviorism
focus on behavior bc it’s observable, quantifiable, and objective
nature vs nurture
nature: what we’re born with
nurture: shaped by experience
Learning
the process by which changes in behavior arise as the result of experience interacting with the world
Memory
the record of our past experiences, which are acquired through learning
hippocampus
- memory consolidation to LTM
- learning new facts
amygdala
controls the impact of emotions on memory
- emotional memory
MRI vs fMRI
MRI: detects water density
fMRI: detects blood flow activation
neural plasticity
the brain is always changing
- adapts to make up deficits
Subcortical structures (3)
- basal ganglia
- hippocampus
- amygdala
Basal ganglia
- planning
- movement
Cerebral cortex
very thin layering of cells on the outer surface of the brain
- plays a role in most voluntary behaviors.
lobes (4)
- Frontal lobes – planning and performing complex actions
- Parietal lobes – touch, feeling, sense of space
- Occipital lobes – vision
- Temporal lobes – hearing and remembering
measuring brain structures
MRI: detects water density
measuring brain activity (2)
- PET: injects a radioactive tracer to the blood
- fMRI: detects blood flow activation
ways neurons process info (3)
- Collect information
- Process/Integrate information
- Output information
neuron parts (3)
- Dendrites – collect info
- Soma (cell body)
- Axon – integrate and output information
synapse
specialized for chemical communication between axon and dendrite, where the two cells draw very close but don’t quite touch
- increase/decrease neurotransmitters
Presynaptic side
axon has vesicles loaded with neurotransmitters
Postsynaptic side
dendrite is studded with receptors to detect the transmitter
neural plasticity
re-wiring of the brain based on experience
- make more/less transmitter
- Have more/less receptors
- Make synapses bigger/smaller
- Eliminate synapses/make new synapses
Neural Plasticity types (2)
- LTP – long-term potentiation
- LTD – long-term depression
LTP
when two neurons fire at same time repeatedly, synapses between them get stronger
(fire together, wire together)
- sprouting of new synaptic contacts between co-activated neurons
LTD
when two neurons fire out of sync, synapses between them get weaker
(out of sync, lose link)
- retraction/dismantling of synaptic contacts between non-cooperating neurons
Neural Plasticity and Learning
- Experience provokes neural plasticity
- This neural plasticity alters the way the brain processes information
- On the next experience, behavior will be altered
ex. in rats raised in enriched environments, neurons make more synaptic contacts
classical conditioning steps (2)
- Begins with an innate (unlearned) reflex
- Unconditioned stimulus (US): food
- Unconditioned response (UR): salivation - A neutral stimulus (CS) is then repeatedly presented before the reflex is triggered, producing a new reflex
- Conditioned stimulus (CS): bell
- Conditioned response (CR): salivation
Appetitive Conditioning
new reflex prepares to obtain the US
Aversive Conditioning
new CS->CR reflex helps avoid noxious US
- works after 1 trial
ex get food poisoning from fish -> never eat fish again
conditioned compensatory response
CR that is the opposite of the UR, helping to balance/correct for the US-UR reflex
- Inject adrenaline (US) -> heart rate increase (UR)
- Repeat procedure in same testing chamber (CS)
Eventually, CS comes to produce a decrease in heart rate (CR) that helps maintain homeostasis (balance) against expected adrenaline injection = tolerance - testing chamber evokes a CR that weakens the overall effects of the drug
extinction
Breaking the association between the CS and US can extinguish the new CS->CR reflex:
- Present the CS alone repeatedly.
- Initially, CS evokes strong CRs.
- With repetition, however, CS becomes less effective, similar to beginning of training
classical conditioning rules (4)
- Timing
- Blocking
- Latent inhibition
- Associative bias
timing
- Delay conditioning: best learning
- Trace conditioning: optimal interstimulus interval (ISI) with less learning at delays too short or too long
blocking
previous learning inhibits new learning
Latent Inhibition
- Pre-expose to CS repeatedly
- Then pair CS with US
- Learning is inhibited
Animal has learned that the CS is useless, has stopped paying attention
Associative Bias
bias towards building associations
- When tone + taste paired with poison, only taste provokes CR
- When tone + taste paired with shock, only tone provokes CR
In nature, tastes go with getting sick, sounds with getting hurt
Operant Conditioning
S->R->O
context->response->outcomes
- law of effect
Law of Effect
- behaviors with positive effects are repeated
- behaviors with negative effects are not
O: outcomes
determine change in behavior
Positive Reinforcement
If it leads to positive effects, do it more
ex. Study-> get a good grade
Study more
Positive Punishment
If it leads to negative effects, do it less
ex. Arrive late -> Points off
Arrive late less often
Negative Reinforcement (escape)
If it ends/avoids a negative effect, do it more
- do something to end behavior
ex. Take aspirin -> Headache ends
Take aspirin for pain more often
negative punishment (omission)
If it ends/avoids a positive effect, do it less
ex. miss curfew -> phone gets taken away
miss curfew less often
R: response - Behavioral Unit
class of behaviors producing an effect
- using any mean to get to an end: goal or intention
S: Discriminative Stimulus (Context)
tell us which contingencies are in effect
If S, R->O (ex. if I push a lever when light is on, I’ll get food)
If no S, R does nothing (if light is off, no food)
shaping
shaping behavior by building associations to produce response
shaping steps
- Initially, contingency is introduced for simple behavior, R
- As rate of R improves, contingency is moved to a more complex version of R
- Gradually builds a complex R that the animal would never spontaneously produce
punisher
outcome that decreases the frequency of the behavior
Making Punishment Effective
Need to start with strongest punishment and immediately
- weak punishers habituate, which escalates punishers to habituate more
- Longer delay between R and S, leads to weaker effect of punishment
effectiveness of operant conditioning is determined by: (2)
- Timing from behavior to consequence
- Relationship between behavior and consequence (schedule)
timing
if behavior and consequence are closer in time, the better the learning of behavior
Schedules of Reinforcement (4)
- fixed ratio (FR)
- fixed intervals (FI)
- variable ratio (VR)
- variable interval (VI)
Schedule
the pattern of behavioral contingency
ex. If 10 Rs, then O
ex. If 10 minutes and then R, then O
Fixed Ratio (FR)
Every X Rs produces 1 O
Variable Ratio (VR)
Every X Rs produces 1 O, but X changes with each reinforcer (gambling, sports)
- Identified by average number of Rs per O
Fixed Interval (FI)
After Y amount of time passes (seconds, min, hours), 1R produces 1O
Behavior before interval expires has no consequence
Variable Interval (VI)
After Y amount of time passes (seconds, min, hours), 1R produces 1O, but Y changes after each O.
- Behavior before interval expires has no consequence.
VR vs VI
VR: more responses = more reinforcers (got to play to win!)
VI: more responses ≠ more reinforcers (only need to check in)
CC vs OC
OC:
1. Animal operates on the environment
2. Stimulus evokes a response to produce an outcome (S->R->O)
3. Animal connects context, behavior, and outcome
CC
1. Environment operates on the animal
2. Stimulus evokes Response (S->R)
3. Animal learns CS predicts US
punishment consequences?
- discriminative stimuli for punishment can encourage cheating - certain situations can determine whether a person will get punished or not (not speeding when cops are around but speeding other times)
- The effects of punishment can be counteracted if reinforcement occurs along with the punishment (getting punished for talking in class but will cont to do so if get approval from classmates)
- initial intensity matters. Punishment is most effective if a strong punisher is used from the outset—from the initial exposure (expulsion won’t have the same effect if it comes after a waring and detention b/c they were milder punishments)
2 parts of the brain that are important for learning and memory
- hippocampus - process machine that takes in new info and consolidates it
- cerebral cortex
