Unit 3 AOS 2 - How Do People Learn And Remember? Flashcards
Neural Plasticity
Neural plasticity the ability of the brain to physically change in response to experience
Synaptic plasticity
Synaptic plasticity a type of neural plasticity that refers to the ability of synaptic connections
to form, weaken or strengthen in response to activity and experience
long-term Potentiation
Long-term potentiation
the long-lasting and experience- dependent strengthening of synaptic connections
Long term depression
Long-term depression
the long-lasting and experience- dependent weakening of postsynaptic responses
Neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitter a chemical substance that carries information between neurons
Neurohormones
Neurohormone a chemical substance sent from neurons into the bloodstream
Glutamate
Glutamate the primary excitatory neurotransmitter
Adrenaline
Adrenaline (also known as epinephrine) a neurohormone that increases physiological arousal and contributes to the consolidation of emotionally arousing memories
Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning a model of learning in which organisms learn through the involuntary association of two or more stimuli
Neutral stimulus
Neutral stimulus (NS) a stimulus that does not initially elicit a response
Unconditioned stimulus
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) a stimulus that elicits a reflexive response
Unconditioned stimulus
Unconditioned response (UCR) a natural (unlearned) behavior to a given stimulus
Conditioned stimulus
Conditioned stimulus (CS) a stimulus that elicits a response due to its being paired with an unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned response
Conditioned response (CR) a response caused by the conditioned stimulus
Aquisition
Acquisition the period of initial learning in classical conditioning in which the learner begins to associate a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus will begin to elicit the conditioned response
Extinction
Extinction when the conditioned response no longer occurs for an extended period of time
Spontaneous recovery
Spontaneous recovery the return of a previously extinguished conditioned response
Stimulus discrimination
Stimulus discrimination the process in which an organism only demonstrates the conditioned response to the conditioned stimulus and not to stimuli similar to it
Stimulus generalisation
Stimulus generalisation a process in which the learner demonstrates the conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus
Conditioned emotional responses
Conditioned emotional responses an emotional response to a stimulus that doesn’t naturally produce that response, learned through the process of classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning learning through the association of a behaviour and the consequence it receives
Antecedent
Antecedent a stimulus that causes a voluntary behaviour to occur
Behaviour
Behaviour a voluntary action in response to an antecedent
Consequence
Consequence an event following an action that makes it either more or less likely to occur again
Reinforcement
Reinforcement a type of consequence that makes the behaviour more likely to occur again
Positive reinforcement
Positive reinforcement when a stimulus is added in order to encourage a behaviour to occur again
Negative reinforcement
Negative reinforcement when a stimulus is removed in order to encourage a behaviour to occur again
Punishment
Punishment a type of consequence that makes the behaviour less likely to occur again
Positive punishment
Positive punishment when a stimulus is added in order to discourage a behaviour from occurring again
Response cost
Response cost (also known as negative punishment) when a stimulus is removed in order to discourage a behaviour occurring again
Extinction
Extinction when the conditioned behaviour no longer occurs in response to an antecedent, for an extended period of time
Spontaneous recovery
Spontaneous recovery when the behaviour occurs in response to the antecedent again, following a period of extinction
Stimulus discrimination
Stimulus discrimination when the behaviour occurs in response to a specific antecedent only
Stimulus generalisition
Stimulus generalisation when the behaviour occurs in response to a similar, but different, antecedent
Observational learning
Observational learning
(also known as social learning, vicarious conditioning,
or modelling) a type of learning that occurs through watching the actions of a model and
the consequences that their actions receive
Model
Model the individual who is performing the behaviour that is being watched/observed
Attention
Attention the first stage of observational learning. Learners must actively focus on the model in order to learn
Retention
Retention the second stage
of observational learning. The learner must create a mental representation and remember (retain) the behaviour the model has demonstrated
Reproduction
Reproduction the third stage of observational learning. The learner must have the physical and mental capabilities to reproduce the observed behaviour
Motivation
Motivation the fourth stage
of observational learning. The learner must want to reproduce the behaviour in order for learning to occur
Reinforcement
Reinforcement the fifth stage
of observational learning. If the learner receives a desirable consequence for their behaviour, they are more likely to reproduce the behaviour again in the future
Memory
Memory the process of encoding, storing and retrieving learned information
Atkinson-shiffrin multi-store model of learning
Atkinson-Shiffrin multi-store model of memory a model
of memory which outlines the
flow of information in memory formation and retrieval through three separate stores of memory; sensory, short-term and long-term, each of which have a different function, capacity and duration
Encoding
Encoding the process of converting raw information from stimuli into a useable form which can be stored in the brain
Storage
Storage retaining converted information so it can be accessed and used in the future
Retrieval
Retrieval accessing information which has previously been stored in the brain
Sensory memory
Sensory memory store of memory which very briefly stores raw information detected by the senses
Echoic memory
Echoic memory a type of sensory memory which temporarily stores auditory information
Iconic memory
Iconic memory a type of sensory memory which temporarily stores visual information
Short term. memory
Short-term memory (STM)
store of memory which holds information that is consciously being attended to and actively manipulated
Long term memory
Long-term memory (LTM) store of memory in which a potentially unlimited amount of information is stored for a relatively permanent amount of time
Explicit memory
Explicit memory (also known as declarative memory) a type of long-term memory that can be consciously retrieved
Semantic memory
Semantic memory a type of explicit memory which consists of general knowledge or facts
Episodic memory
Episodic memory a type of explicit memory which involves a personal experience or event
Implicit memory
Implicit memory a type of long-term memory that is retrieved unconsciously
Procedural memory
Procedural memory a type of implicit memory which involves knowing how to carry out tasks, facilitated by motor skills
Classically conditioned memory
Classically conditioned memory
a type of implicit memory which involves an involuntary response, such as fear, to a stimulus which has repeatedly been associated with an emotionally arousing stimulus
Cerebral cortex
Cerebral cortex a brain structure where long-term memories are stored
Hippocampus
Hippocampus a brain structure which encodes explicit memories
Amygdala
Amygdala a brain structure involved in encoding and consolidating emotionally charged memories
Cerebellum
Cerebellum a brain structure which encodes and stores implicit procedural memories
brain trauma
Brain trauma any form of damage or injury to the brain
Brain surgery
Brain surgery the treatment of brain injury or disease with the use of medical instruments
Anterograde amnesia
Anterograde amnesia a condition where new explicit memories cannot be effectively consolidated after trauma to the hippocampus
Neurodegenerative disease
Neurodegenerative disease a disease characterised by the progressive loss of neurons in the brain
Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease a neurodegenerative disease that involves the progressive loss
of neurons in the brain and is characterised by memory decline
Amyloid plaques
Amyloid plaques fragments of the protein beta-amyloid that accumulate into insoluble plaques that inhibit communication between neurons
Neurofibrillary tangles
Neurofibrillary tangles an accumulation of the protein tau that forms insoluble tangles within neurons, which then inhibit the transport of essential substances throughout the neuron, eventually killing the neuron entirely
Retrieval cue
Retrieval cue stimuli that act as a prompt to access information from long-term memory
Context dependent cues
Context dependent cues stimuli in the physical environment where a memory is recalled that act as
a prompt to retrieve memories formed in that environment
State dependent cues
State dependent cues aspects of an individual’s psychological and physiological experience at the time a memory was formed that later act as a prompt to retrieve that memory
Maintenance rehearsal
Maintenance rehearsal repeating new information over and over again to functionally enhance the duration of short-term memory and transfer information to long- term memory
Elaborative rehearsal
Elaborative rehearsal encoding new information by meaningfully linking it to information already stored in long-term memory to enhance its storage and later retrieval
Serial position effect
Serial position effect a tendency for free recall to be superior for items at the end and beginning of a list compared to items in the middle
Primacy effect
Primacy effect enhanced recall
of information presented at the beginning of a list due to this information being rehearsed and transferred into long-term memory
Recency effect
Recency effect enhanced recall of information presented at the end of a list due to this information remaining in short-term memory
Recall
Recall a method of retrieving information from memory
Free recall
Free recall retrieving information from memory in any order without the use of a prompt
Cued recall
Cued recall retrieving information from memory with the use of a prompt
Serial recall
Serial recall retrieving information from memory in the order in which it was first encoded
Recognition
Recognition identifying information from memory amongst a list of alternatives
Relearning
Relearning learning information another time after having already learned this information in the past
Reconstruction
Reconstruction the process of reproducing and piecing together information from memory in
an attempt to form a coherent representation of a past event
or stimuli
Eye-witness testimony
Eye-witness testimony an account given by an individual of an event they have directly observed
Leading questions
Leading questions questions that contain information that imply or prompt a certain response
