PSY 101 Test 2 Review: Learning, Memory, and Development

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering key concepts from Chapters 6, 8, and 9 for Introduction to Psychology (PSY 101 Test 2).

Classical conditioning

A form of learning in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response.

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a specific, unlearned response without prior conditioning.

Unconditioned response (UCR)

An unlearned, naturally occurring response that is automatically triggered by an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that, after repeated association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.

Conditioned response (CR)

The learned response produced by a conditioned stimulus after repeated pairings with an unconditioned stimulus.

Higher order conditioning

A classical conditioning procedure in which a conditioned stimulus functions as an unconditioned stimulus to create a new conditioned stimulus.

Stimulus generalization

The tendency of stimuli similar to the original conditioned stimulus to evoke the conditioned response.

Stimulus distinction

The ability to distinguish between the original conditioned stimulus and other similar stimuli, responding only to the specific conditioned stimulus.

Extinction

The gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of a conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous recovery

The reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response following a rest period without any further conditioning trials.

Conditioned taste aversion

An acquired avoidance of a specific food or taste that occurs when nausea or sickness follows ingestion, even after a single pairing.

Law of effect

The psychological principle stating that behaviors followed by favorable outcomes tend to be repeated, while behaviors followed by unfavorable outcomes are less likely to occur.

Operant conditioning (instrumental conditioning)

A form of learning where voluntary behaviors are strengthened or weakened based on the consequences (reinforcements or punishments) that follow them.

Positive reinforcement

The presentation or addition of a desirable stimulus following a behavior, which increases the likelihood that the behavior will occur again.

Negative reinforcement

The removal, reduction, or avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus following a behavior, which increases the likelihood of that behavior recurring.

Punishment

A consequence following a behavior that decreases the probability or frequency of that behavior occurring in the future.

Primary reinforcer

An innately reinforcing stimulus that satisfies a basic biological need, such as food, water, or warmth, without requiring prior learning.

Secondary reinforcer

A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through learned association with a primary reinforcer, such as money, grades, or praise.

Shaping

An operant conditioning procedure that establishes a new behavior by reinforcing successive approximations toward the desired target response.

Chaining

An operant conditioning technique used to teach a sequence of related behaviors by linking individual responses together into a complex chain.

Token economy

A behavioral modification system in which individuals earn secondary reinforcers (tokens) for displaying desired behaviors, which can later be exchanged for backup reinforcers or privileges.

Learned helplessness

A condition in which an organism exposed to unavoidable, painful, or adverse events stops attempting to escape or avoid them, even when opportunities to escape become available.

Instinctive drift

The tendency of an animal to revert from conditioned behaviors back to its biologically predisposed, instinctive behavioral patterns.

Behavioral preparedness

The biological predisposition of an organism to learn certain associations, such as taste and nausea, more readily than others due to evolutionary survival advantages.

Latent learning

Learning that occurs without any obvious reinforcement and is not demonstrated until an incentive or reinforcement is provided.

Observational learning

Learning that takes place by watching, retaining, and replicating the behaviors, actions, and consequences modeled by others.

Social learning theory

Albert Bandura's theoretical framework emphasizing that cognitive processes, environmental influences, and behavioral modeling interact in the acquisition of new behaviors.

Encoding

The initial memory process of transforming incoming sensory information into a construct or format that can be stored in the brain.

Storage

The memory function that involves retaining and maintaining encoded information over time within the brain.

Retrieval

The cognitive process of accessing, locating, and recovering stored information from memory for conscious use.

Selective attention

The cognitive ability to focus awareness on specific sensory inputs while filtering out or ignoring irrelevant competing stimuli.

Sensory memory

The initial, very brief memory storage system that holds raw sensory impressions for a fraction of a second to a few seconds.

Short-term memory

A limited-capacity memory store that holds an active, small amount of information for a brief duration (typically around 20 to 30 seconds) unless maintained by rehearsal.

Long-term memory

The relatively permanent and theoretically unlimited memory store that maintains knowledge, skills, and past experiences over extended periods.

Semantic memory

A division of explicit long-term memory dedicated to general knowledge, facts, language concepts, and ideas independent of personal experience.

Episodic memory

A subtype of explicit long-term memory that stores personally experienced events, autobiographical episodes, and their specific temporal and spatial contexts.

Procedural memory

A type of implicit long-term memory responsible for knowing how to execute motor skills, habits, and physical actions.

Serial position curve (effect)

The pattern showing that recall accuracy for items in a list varies depending on their position, with items at the beginning (primacy) and end (recency) remembered best.

Tip of the tongue phenomenon

A temporary retrieval failure where a person feels certain that a known word or concept is stored in memory but cannot immediately access it.

Elaborative rehearsal

A memory technique involving deep cognitive processing by linking new information to existing knowledge and meaningful associations to transfer it to long-term memory.

Levels of processing

The theory proposing that the depth of mental processing applied to information (shallow versus deep) determines how well it is remembered.

Retrieval cues

Stimuli, prompts, or environmental context markers that assist in triggering the recall of information stored in long-term memory.

Context dependent memory

The phenomenon where recall is improved when retrieval takes place in the same physical setting or environmental context as original encoding.

State-dependent retrieval

The finding that memory retrieval is most successful when an individual is in the same internal physiological state as during the encoding phase.

Mood-dependent memory

The tendency to retrieve information more easily when a person's emotional state matches their mood at the time the information was learned.

Retroactive interference

A memory disruption that occurs when newly learned material impairs the ability to recall previously learned information.

Proactive interference

A memory disruption that occurs when older, previously learned material impairs the retention or retrieval of newly acquired information.

Repression

A Freudian defense mechanism and forgetting process in which anxiety-provoking, painful, or traumatic memories are pushed into the unconscious mind.

Prospective memory

The form of memory that involves remembering to execute intended actions or plans at a designated time or event in the future.

Infantile amnesia

The common inability of adults to retrieve episodic memories from early childhood, typically before the ages of 3 to 4 years.

Flashbulb memories

Vivid, detailed, and highly confident memories of the circumstances surrounding the receipt of surprising and emotionally significant news.

Schemas

Cognitive frameworks or mental structures that organize and interpret information about concepts, situations, and the world.

Retrograde amnesia

The loss of memory for events, experiences, or information that occurred prior to the onset of brain trauma, injury, or illness.

Anterograde amnesia

The inability to form or transfer new long-term memories following the onset of brain damage or injury.

Explicit memory

Memory that involves intentional, conscious recollection of factual information, past experiences, and general knowledge.

Implicit memory

Memory that influences behavior and performance automatically without conscious or intentional awareness.

Development

The lifelong process of progressive biological, psychological, and behavioral growth and change across the lifespan.

Maturation

The biologically driven, genetically programmed sequence of physical and behavioral growth changes that unfold relatively independent of environmental experience.

Heritability

A statistical estimate of the proportion of phenotypic variation among individuals in a population attributable to genetic variation.

Longitudinal research

A developmental research design in which the same cohort of participants is observed and repeatedly tested across multiple time points over an extended period.

Cross-sectional research

A research design that compares groups of people varying in chronological age at a single point in time to examine developmental differences.

Cohort-sequential

A developmental research method that combines cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches by tracking multiple age cohorts over time to isolate true developmental changes from cohort effects.

Teratogen

Any external chemical agent, disease, or toxic environmental factor that can penetrate the placenta and cause malformations or damage to a developing fetus or embryo.

Fetal alcohol syndrome

A pattern of physical deformities, cognitive impairments, and behavioral abnormalities caused by maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

Assimilation

In Piaget's cognitive theory, the process of incorporating and interpreting new experiences and information into existing mental schemas.

Accommodation

In Piaget's cognitive theory, the process of modifying existing cognitive schemas or creating new ones in response to new environmental information that does not fit current schemas.

Object permanence

The cognitive milestone, acquired during Piaget's sensorimotor stage, wherein an infant recognizes that objects and individuals continue to exist even when out of view.

Egocentrism

In Piaget's preoperational stage, the cognitive limitation characterized by an inability to understand or adopt perspectives other than one's own.

Attachment theory

The theoretical framework conceptualizing the emotional bonds formed between infants and primary caregivers and how these early relationships influence socioemotional development.

Strange Situation

An observational laboratory procedure developed by Mary Ainsworth involving structured separations and reunions with a parent to evaluate infant attachment styles.

Temperament

An individual's innate, biologically based pattern of emotional reactivity, mood, and characteristic ways of interacting with the environment.

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development

An eight-stage lifespan theory positing that personality develops through overcoming specific social crises or developmental conflicts at each stage of life.

Kohlberg’s stages of moral reasoning

A developmental model outlining moral development through three primary levels (preconventional, conventional, and postconventional) based on moral decision-making rationales.

Gender schema theory

A cognitive development perspective proposing that children learn sociocultural gender expectations and organize their behavior according to mental schemas for male and female roles.