Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Social Influence

Flashcards covering the fundamentals of Classical and Operant Conditioning, Social Learning Theory, the Biological Approach, Memory Models, and Social Influence based on the lecture notes.

Classical conditioning

Learning by association where the brain links a stimulus to a response, as shown in Ivan Pavolor's study where a dog learned that a bell equals food.

Operant conditioning

Learning by consequences where behavior is shaped by rewards and punishments, such as studying to get good grades.

Negative reinforcement

A type of behavioral change that occurs before the consequence.

Punishment

A type of behavioral change that occurs after the consequence.

Social learning theory (SLT)

Learning by observing others, involving cognitive thinking processes and indirect or vicarious learning.

Vicarious reinforcement

A key concept of SLT where learning occurs from observing the rewards or punishments given to others.

Identification

A concept in SLT referring to the process of copying the behavior of similar people.

Mediational process

The internal cognitive process where thinking affects learning.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCs)

Something that automatically causes a reaction before any learning has taken place.

Unconditioned response (UC1)

The natural, automatic reaction that occurs before learning.

Conditioned stimulus (UCs)

Something that was neutral before but now triggers a reaction after learning has occurred.

Conditioned response ((1)7

The learned reaction that occurs after being conditioned to a stimulus.

Schema

A cognitive framework based on routines and experiences that helps individuals understand situations quickly but can lead to bias or stereotypes.

Skinners Box

A study of operant conditioning where a rat pressed a lever and received food, showing behavior is shaped by reinforcement.

Interference

A theory of forgetting where memory gets mixed up, making retrieval harder.

Natural selection

The process where individuals with helpful traits have better survival and reproduction, causing species to change over time.

Biological Approach

The perspective that behavior is influenced by biological factors such as genes, brain structure, hormones, and evolution.

Biopsychology

The study of the interaction between biology and behavior, focusing on the brain, nervous system, and hormones.

CNS

The Central Nervous System, which consists of the brain and the spinal cord.

PNS

The Peripheral Nervous System, which connects the body to the CNS for fast communication.

Neurons

Nerve cells that send messages using chemicals known as neurotransmitters.

Endocrine system

The system that produces hormones for slower communication, affecting stress, mood, and growth.

Obedience

Following direct orders from an authority figure.

Milgram (1963)

A study testing obedience where $40$ male participants were asked to deliver electric shocks from $15V$ to $450V$ to a learner.

Agency Theory

Milgram's theory explaining why people obey authority figures even when their actions may harm others.

Agentic state

A mental state where a person sees themselves as an agent carrying out the wishes of an authority figure and does not feel personally responsible.

Aschs Study (1951)

An investigation into whether people conform to a majority even when they know the majority is wrong, finding an average conformity rate of $37\,\%$ on critical trials.

Normative Social influence

Conforming to a majority opinion because of a desire to fit in and avoid being different.

Multi-Store-Model (MSM)

A model describing how information moves through the sensory register, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory Register (SR)

A memory store where information enters through the senses and stays for less than a second.

Short-term memory (STM)

A temporary storage that holds about $7\,12\text{ items}$ for approximately $18-30\text{ see}$.

Maintenance rehearsal

The process of repeating information over and over to transfer it from STM into LTM.

Long-term memory (LTM)

A store for information held for a very long time, possibly for life, with an almost unlimited capacity.

Working-Memory-Model (WMM)

Developed by Baddeley and Hitch, this model suggests STM is made of different components like the Central Executive and Phonological Loop.

Central Executive

The control center of working memory that focuses attention and coordinates other components but does not store information.

Phonological Loop

The component of the WMM that processes verbal and auditory information through rehearsal.

Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad

The component of the WMM that processes images, shapes, and locations.

Episodic Buffer

A component added in $2000$ that combines information from the WMM sub-stores and LTM into single episodes.

Proactive interference

Occurs when old information interferes with the learning of new information.

Retroactive interference

Occurs when new information interferes with the recall of old memories.

Context cues

External environmental factors, such as the place where learning occurred, that aid memory retrieval.

State cues

Internal factors, such as mood or physical condition, that were present during learning and aid memory.

Context-dependent failure (CDF)

Forgetting that occurs when the learning environment differs from the recall environment.

State-Dependent failure (SDF)

Forgetting that occurs when the internal state during learning and recall is different.