psychology exam 3 : Rutgers University :keiko brynildsen

What is classical conditioning?

Learning to respond to a new stimulus that has been associated with another stimulus that normally produces the response

- New automatic responses to new senses

How did Pavlov study classical conditioning?

Noticed that dogs salivated at mere sight of food dish - learned to associate dish with food

1.) Dish neutral stimulus

Could dogs be taught to associate food with other things

- presented food with a neutral stimulus (bell)

What is the unconditioned response?

- You automatically produce a response with out prior conditioning

- is not learned, is innate.

- As Haku hears a song on the radio, she feels anxious. The song was very popular at a time when her parents were going through a divorce. During this time, they yelled a lot at each other, causing Haku intense anxiety.

UR is anxiety in response

What is the unconditioned stimulus?

the thing that elicits the unconditioned response. does not require learning

Ex: hamster loves carrots

What is a conditioned stimulus?

- previously neutral stimulus that now elicits a conditioned response due to its association with unconditioned stimulus

Ex: (Same scenario as the first one)

US is parents fighting

What is a conditioned response?

previously neutral stimulus that now elicits a conditioned response due to its association with unconditioned stimulus

Ex: (Same scenario as the first one)

The song

CR and CS go together → learned after conditioning

What is acquisition?

Stage of conditioning in which the association between the 2 stimuli (US and CS) is learned

the phase of classical conditioning when the CS and the US are presented together

Won't associate if too far apart

What is generalization?

Conditioned response to stimuli that are the conditioned stimuli (but are similar to the CS)

Ex: Bitten by a shih tzu → afraid of getting bitten by other dogs (afraid of dogs in general)

Ex: Eat a berry → avoid berries in general

What is discrimination?

Conditioned response occurs only specific stimulus

What is extinction?

Failure to exhibit the CR to the CS (because the CS no longer predicts the US)

Ex: Pavlov rings bell → bell, food, bell, food → 100 times without food (dog will salivate) → 1000 times without food (dog will not salivate)

Not gone forever

What is spontaneous recovery?

Reappearance of the CR to the original CS after extinction

- tends to be short lived

What is second-order (higher-order) conditioning?

New stimulus becomes associated with previously conditioned stimulus —- becomes new CS

Tends to be weaker than first-order conditioning

Ex: Lights signals bell → bell signals food → light becomes new CS

What is a conditioned aversion? What are some examples of conditioned aversions in use (e.g., wolves and coyotes)?

Classical conditioning association between a CS and a US that causes an unpleasant

John Garcia (1966)

Discovered conditioned aversions to flavored water in rats

Ex: Consumed too many pistachios → felt really sick and never wanted to eat it again

What was Watson and Raynor's study with Little Albert?

Little Albert got scared of the rat because they made banging noises every time the rat appeared

Albert generalized fear to other fuzzy objects

What is counterconditioning (i.e., Mary Cover Jones's study)?

Replacing unwanted CR with wanted response (Mary cover jones)

Pair rabbit (CS) with stimulus (ex: cookies) that produces pleasant feelings that are incompatible with fear response

Person has a fear of rabbit → cookie is paired with rabbit since cookie is an unconditioned stimulus to evoke pleasant feeling → eliminates unwanted fear of rabbit over time

Purpose

To eliminate unwanted response

What is operant conditioning?

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

instrumental conditioning

Behavior happens first and then response to behavior (opposite of classical conditioning)

What is Thorndike's law of effect? What was Thorndike's puzzle box?

The tendency of an organism to produce a behavior depends on the effect the behavior has on the environment

Puzzle box

Hungry cat in the box → outside of box is food → cat wants food → cat does random behaviors (standing up, paws out, etc.) → random behaviors → box opens up → cat doesn't know how to get out the next time but gets out faster (narrowing of behaviors)

Cat does more things that get it closer to getting out and avoids actions that take longer for it to get out

What is a Skinner box?

"Radical behaviorism" — behavior is controlled by its consequences

Hungry animal placed in a box

Presses bar → receives food pellet (reinforcer) → increases bar pressing

— > skinner changed it later to pressing it 5 times to get one food pellet (changed the schedule)

What are reinforcements?

Consequences of behavior that increases the probability that the behavior will occur

EX : Nice to brother and your parents praise you; you will be nice more often to brother

What are punishments?

consequences of behavior that decreases the probability that the behavior will occur

EX : mean to brother and parents will scold/yell at you; will decrease being mean to brother

What is shaping? What is successive approximations?

Reinforcing closer and closer approximations of the desired response.

—> uses successive approximations : responses that are increasing similar to the desired response.

Break down the final behavior into steps

Ex: Fish can go toward the aquarium by giving it food → will go over there often to get food → learn to teach it to go to two different locations → now knows to get to two locations → instead of waiting for the final behavior to happen, it has to happen in steps (getting closer and closer to the final behavior)

What are positive reinforcements?

presentation of a pleasant stimulus after a behavior

--> increases probability of behavior

presence of something

- ex : studying a certain way and getting a good grade --> you will continue to study like that

Ex: Elementary school teacher, gives problems to students and give stickers to them for doing the problems → students will do problems more often since they will receive stickers

What is negative reinforcement?

removal of an unpleasant stimulus after a behavior --> increases probability of behavior

Ex: Shae, who has test anxiety , finds that when she meditates before a test, her anxiety level decreases; thus, she continues meditating before every test

—> removes the anxiety

What is positive punishment?

unpleasant stimulus for behavior --> decreases probability of behavior

Ex: Sansa's father wants Sansa to stop leaving his dirty laundry on the floor. He tells Sansa that every time he leaves his laundry on the floor, he will have to mop the floor, a chore that Sansa hates

What is negative punishment ?

removal of pleasant stimulus after a behavior

--> decreases probability

Ex: Bronn's driver's license was suspended because he was driving under the influence of alcohol

What is generalization?

after a behavior is reinforced in one situation, it is preformed in a different situation

- ex; when dog was scared of being chased by a red blanket it became afraid of any blanket and coats because it looks like a blanket

What is discrimination ?

after a behavior is reinforced in one situation, it is preformed in a different situation

- learning to behave a certain way in specific situation

Ex: Act in a silly way and friends smile at you → will only act silly with your friends and not in the public with random people

Ex: Service dog learns service dog behaviors while wearing a vest → vest is taken off and won't learn service dog behaviors

What is extinction?

After the reinforcer is withdrawn the behavior decreases

Ex: Skinners work → teaches pigeon to peck to receive food → food pellets stop coming out and pigeon will stop pecking

What is spontaneous recovery?

After extinction the behavior reappears

What are continuous reinforcement?

The response is reinforced every time

- every-time i finish math hw my mom gives me candy but I know im gonna get that candy

What is intermittent (partial) reinforcement?

Responses are sometimes reinforced

- if i finish my math homework I will eventually get candy but idk when

What is better for learning continuous and intermittent (partial) reinforcement?

Intermittent (partial) reinforcement is better for learning since it makes extinction less likely to happen

What are the schedules of reinforcement?

fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval, variable interval

What is fixed-ratio?

reinforcement for a fixed proportion of responses emitted

- you know exactly how many responses or assignments you need to get that sweet treat

(This is about number of responses)

What is variable-ratio?

reward for some percentage of responses, but unpredictable number of responses required before reinforcement

reinforcement comes at a variable number of responses emitted (e.g. you get the piece of candy after 3 HW assignments, but next time only after 8 HW assignments)

What is fixed-interval?

Reinforcement for responses after a fixed amount of time

(This one is about the clock! (Time)

What is Variable-interval?

Reinforcement for responses after an amount of time that is not constant

Kitchen inspection for restaurants the restaurant will make sure its clean —> don't know when they'll come so they'll keep it clean

What are some problems with punishment?

- May be difficult to identify which behavior is being punished

- individuals may come to fear person who is giving harsh punishment

- punishment may not eliminate existing rewards for the behavior

- harsh punishment can model aggression

What is intrinsic motivation ?

pursuit of activity for its own sake

What is extrinsic motivation?

pursuit of goal for external rewards

What is over justification effect ?

too much reward undermines intrinsic motivation

What is observational learning?

learning by observing the behavior of others

What is modeling?

imitating (copying) others behavior

What was Bandura's Bobo doll study?

Clown doll weighted on the bottom

Brought children into a lab and assigned 3 conditions

First condition was the adult beating up the doll

The second condition was the adult being peaceful around the doll

Third condition was the adult being peaceful

Then the kids copied what the adults did —> they were ether being aggressive or not

What are the implications of observational learning for aggressive and prosocial behavior?

When people see aggressive behaviors they are likely to become aggressive

Pro social behavior - - observation of others providing help —> more likely to help

Sesame street —> when kids watch people being helpful then they are more likely to be helpful

What are encoding?

getting information into memory

—> bringing in information into brain

What is storage?

maintaining encoded information over time

—> keep information in mind (EX; STUDYING)

What is Retrieval?

pulling previously encoded and stored information

— TO use/apply

What is sensory memory?

holds sensory information (eg; for a very brief time after the stimulus disappears)

— memory of senses

—- very short

—- system that hold sensors information for a very brief time after the stimulus disappears

Short term memory

for information that is availed to consciousness for about 20-30 seconds

—-> example Wi-Fi password of cafe you can only remember it until you go back to your computer and put the password in

What is long term memory?

relatively permanent memory

No expiration data

What is iconic memory?

visual sensory memory

— very brief

— physical representation: writing words with a sparkler (disappears right after leave a brief light trace)

What is echoic memory?

auditory sensory memory

— lasts longer than iconic

— 3-4 seconds

—- hear something, can still hear it for a few seconds

How did Sperling study iconic memory?

Flashed 12 letters for 1/20 sec then signaled participants to recall top, middle, or bottom row

— If asked to remember all, iconic memory would disappear

Only remembered 4-5 letters

— Asked to remember specific row

— Could name all letters in row

What are explicit memory?

Conscious recollection of material from long-term memory

— Declarative

— Conscious knowledge

What is implicit memory?

— Not brought to mind consciously, but expressed in behavior

— Nondeclarative

— Not consciously aware of it

Ex : Riding a bike or tying your shoelaces. You don't consciously think about every step, you just do it.

What is semantic memory?

memory of general knowledge

Ex : facts, trivia, information

What is episodic memory?

memory of personally experienced events

— Autobiographical

What are the 3 types of implicit memory?

Procedural memory

Priming

Classically conditioned associations

What is procedural memory?

memory for the performance of skills

— can't explain it —> don't think about doing it

Ex : riding a bike or driving

What is priming ?

prior exposure to a stimulus affects responses to later stimulus

Past experiences dictate behavior

—> EX : more likely to buy ad products, even when we don't remember the specific ad

EX : read a story : one version had rude words; the other didn't

——> rude word group : acted rudely

What are classically conditioned associations?

conditioned

Not conscious behavior

What is recall?

producing memories using minimal retrieval cues

Ex: open-ended questions

No options of cues

What is Recognition?

knowledge of whether one has previously been exposed to information

Given choices

Don't have to produce answers

Multiple choice questions

(Like menti questions in psych!!)

What is Relearning?

learning occurs more quickly the second time its learned

—> remembering information easier/better

What is chunking ?

organizing information into smaller, meaningful pieces to facilitate memory

Grouping information in order to make it easier to remember

Ex: FBIIRSCIAEPA → FBI IRS CIA EPA

What is Mnemonics?

strategies and tricks for improving memory

Acronyms - words made from the first letter of the words

What is maintenance rehearsal?

rote repetition of material

Not processing thinking deeper

Less able to apply information

Example repeating a phone number over and over in ur head to remember it temporality. It helps keep the information in your short term memory, it doesn't involve much analysis or understanding of the material

What is elaborative rehearsal?

thinking about the meaning of information

Build upon something you know

Organizing info

Takes longer and more effort

More processing and better to remember

What are Craik and Tulving's (1975) levels of processing theory?

Information can be processed at different depths, from shallow to deep

What are shallow and deep processing?

Shallow processing - Superficial features such as physical appearance

Deep processing - meaning (when you process things at a deeper level you understand the meaning of it rather than solely the physical appearance of the thing)

What are shallow and deep processing?

Shallow:

— Superficial features, such as physical appearance

—. Least likely to remember

—- What do words look like?

Intermediate:

—- In the middle

—- Auditory: say it out loud

—- Better, not best

Deep:

—- Meaning

—- Think about meaning of information

—- Explains why elaborative rehearsal is better

What was their study with CHAIR, etc?

Shown words one at a time → asked to recall

Elicited encoding depth by asking different types of questions

Is the word in capital letters? → shallow processing

Does the word rhyme with train? → intermediate processing

What does the word sound like?

Would the word fit into this sentence? → deep processing

Have to process meaning of the word

Words presented, recognition tested

Remembered words processed in deep way more

What is context-dependent memory?

environment in which something is learned serves as cue for retrieval (external)

What environment you learned in affects memory/ serves as a cue

Ex: best to take exams in same place information was learned

What is state-dependent memory?

physical or mental state in which something is learned serves as a cue for retrieval (internal)

Ex: how tired, what mood, how caffeinated

What is encoding failure ?

memory fails to form due to lack of attention processing (fails to bring in information to begin with; when your nervous or focused on something else)

Fail to bring in information → not forgetting

Ex: reading and not processing it

What is storage decay?

after memory has been stored, may fade

What is retrieval failure ?

Stored memories cannot be accessed —> we have stored and encoded the information but we can't pull it out

Can't get information out of brain

No decay

Increases with age

What is Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve?

After for making a memory, majority of forgetting occurs initially

Get to a certain point, probably won't forget it

What is the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon?

the temporary inability to remember something you know, accompanied by a feeling that it's just out of reach

- recall failure

—- Knowing that you know the information, but not being able to say it/access it

What is anterograde amnesia?

Memory Llosa for information encouraged after head injury

---> The memories before the head injuries are fine but going forward they cannot create new explicit memories

inability to form new memories

Can't form new, conscious memories

Retain old memories

What is retrograde amnesia?

Memory loss for information before head injury

---> Going forward they can create new memories but they have memories loss before the head injury

What type of amnesia and memory impairment did H.M. experience?

Anterograde:

Retained old memories and new, implicit memories

Not aware of new skills learned

Is eyewitness testimony reliable?

An Eyewitness testimony is not reliable

Loftus, 1974: how fast were the cars going when they hit each other? Smashed each other?

--> there were two groups

group 1 - he asked one group "how fast were they going when they HIT each other" = they answered 35 mph

Group 2 - he asked another group "how fast were they going when they SMASHED into each other" = they answered 45 mph

What are the testing effects and spacing effects

Testing : can remember more information by testing your self

(Kinda like how ur doing rn lol!)

Spacing : when information is repeatedly learned, more effective to space it out over long period of time rather than shorter

What is the representativeness heuristic?

Tendency to see something or someone as belonging to a particular group or category by evaluating how similar this person is or thing is to a typical thing in that category

Ex: When asked to guess whether Leorio, who wears a cowboy hat and boots, is from Montana or California, you guess Montana because he seems typical of someone from Montana. This demonstrates the representativeness heuristic.

OR

Example "typical" librarian looks like we might judge someone's likelihood of being a librarian based on how well they match that mental image rather than considering more objective or statistical information.

What are base rates?

frequency with which given events or cases occur in the population

Example : Ex: When asked to guess whether Leorio, who wears a cowboy hat and boots, is from Montana or California, you guess California because more people live in California. You used base-rate information in making your decision

What are base rate fallacy

using representativeness heuristic means ignoring base rates

What is the availability heuristic?

strategy for making judgements based on how easily specific kinds of information can be brought to mind

Ex: After hearing that her neighbor contracted Lyme disease, Dot began to fear that she would also get Lyme disease and stopped going outside. Dot's use of her neighbor's recent diagnosis in making her decision about going outside reflects the availability heuristic

What is the stimulation heuristic (counter-factural thinking)

Imagining alternative version of actual events shapes emotional response

Ex: Olympic medalists → their facial expressions

— Golden medalist → the happiest

—- Bronze medalist → second happiest (they got a medal that they didn't expect)

—- Silver medalist → the most upset (thinking he could've gotten gold)

Tend to be more upset if they think they could've gotten a better reward

What are the outcomes of bilingualism ?

- greater cognitive flexibility

- protection against cognitive decline

- higher academic achievement in upper grades

- better executive control

- additional are of brain activation

What is the perseverance effect (belief perseverance)?

Beliefs tend to persist in the face of disconfirming information

—- Anything you do not want to believe → you think you are right and no one else is

What is confirmation bias?

Tendency to search for and use information that is consistent with our existing beliefs

What is stereotype threat?

Threat felt when stereotype is salient to targets of negative stereotypes

In the context of gender and math, if there is a widely held stereotype that suggests that women are not as proficient in mathematics as men, women who are aware of this stereotype may experience stereotype threat in math-related situations. The fear of confirming the stereotype can create anxiety and stress, which, in turn, can impact or impair their ability when doing a math test or math related tasks.

How can stereotype threat be combatted?

Education about stereotype threat

Role models

Self affirmation

Growth mindset

What are fixed mindsets?

performance is assumed to reflect ability that is unchanged

What is growth mindset?

performance is assumed to reflect effect that is modifiable

**** THE GROWTH MINDSET IS MORE EFFORT AND PERSISTENCE

What is Maslow's hierarchy of needs?

List of ascending needs from basic to more

Satisfy the lower needs

We all humans need to fulfill all our basic psychological needs otherwise we can't be motivated to pursue other needs (goal is to eventually become self-actualized it is what he believes humans strive towards)

What is self-actualization?

— HIGHEST

— needs to find self fulfillment and realize ones potential

— Achieving full potential including creative activities

or

(Need to find self-fulfillment and realize one's potential

What is the James-Lange theory of emotion?

--- We experience physiological arousal or behavior in response to stimuli

-- Due to physiological response or behavior we experience emotion

Ex: Bear comes into the room → elevation of heart rate and running away (first thing that happens) and then emotion comes after

Running away → scared

Smiling → happy