IB HL Psychology - Learning and Cognition: Areas of Study

Summary of Anchoring bias related study

Strack & Mussweiler : 

Study used simple questionnaire — Ppts asked whether they thought Gandhi was older / younger than either 9 or 140 years old when he died, then asked to estimate actual age

Ppts given low anchor guessed significantly lower than those given the high anchor

Example of Anchoring bias in human behaviour

Price negotiation : 

Heavily influenced by first number mentioned, acts as anchor

People insufficiently adjust from that anchor

Low anchor pushes estimates (or offers) down, high anchor pushes them up

Summary of Animal Research related study

Skinner’s pigeons : 

Trained by rewarding ‘successive approximations’

Pigeons randomly given food pellets 

Many simply repeated what they’d been doing just before pellets arrived

Example of Animal Research in human behaviour

Superstitious habits in athletes : 

Good performance / “lucky win” randomly paired with action athlete happened to be doing just before

Action becomes accidentally reinforced

Athlete repeats behaviour, believing it contributes to success, superstition forms

Summary of Chemical Messengers related study

Rasch, Born & Gais : 

Ppts learned word pairs to test consolidation 

Received drug to reduce cholinergic transmission 

No. recognition test used to assess encoding 

Reduced cholinergic activity = better consolidation, worse encoding

Example of Chemical messengers in human behaviour

Better memory after good night’s sleep : 

During sleep, reduced ACh levels help brain consolidate information learned earlier

Low ACh makes new encoding less effective, which is why tired people struggle to learn fresh material

Summary of Classical Conditioning related study

Watson & Rayner : 

Paired white rat with loud noise 

Loud noise naturally caused fear

Ppt learned to associate white rat with fear

Example of Classical Conditioning in human behaviour

Phobia of dogs : 

Neutral stimulus (dog) becomes associated with fear-inducing event (bite)

Through classical conditioning, dog eventually triggers fear responses (crying, avoidance)

Summary of Cognitive Load Theory related study

no study for CLT yet

Example of Cognitive Load Theory in human behaviour

N/A

Summary of Cognitive Model related study

Glanzer & Cunitz : 

Ppts presented with series of lists, words presented individually 

Either wrote words immediately, after counting out loud for 10 seconds, or after counting out loud for 30 seconds  

First few words recalled well, middle words recalled poorly

Example of Cognitive Models in human behaviour

Remembering items on a grocery list : 

First items enter long-term memory through rehearsal

Last items remain in short-term memory

Middle items receive less attention and rehearsal, so are more likely to be forgotten

While first and last items more likely to be remembered

Summary of Confirmation Bias related study

Wason : 

University students completed selection task

Saw 4 cards (P, not-P, Q, not-Q) and were given a rule 

Had to choose which cards to turn over to test if rule was true 

Fewer than 10% of ppts chose the correct cards

Example of Confirmation Bias in human behaviour

Only seeking news that supports political beliefs : 

Individuals prefer information that confirms existing beliefs and ignore contradictory evidence

Like Wason’s task, people focus on confirming rather than testing rules, leading to biased decision-making

Summary of Dual Processing related study

no study yet

Example of Dual Processing Theory in human behaviour

n/a

Summary of Enculturation related study

Odden & Rochat : 

Naturalistic observation of Samoan children

Plus interviews and knowledge test for 12-year-olds

Researchers observed everyday learning with no direct instruction from adults

Children learned practical skills through watching adults and practicing independently

Example of Enculturation in human behaviour

Children learning table manners : 

Children watch adults and older siblings during mealtimes

Through observation and imitation, they pick up norms like saying “please” and “thank you” without being explicitly taught

Summary of Neurotransmission related study

Rasch, Born & Gais : 

Ppts learned word pairs to test consolidation 

Received drug to reduce cholinergic transmission 

Number-recognition test used to assess ACh effects on encoding 

Reduced cholinergic activity = better consolidation, worse encoding

Example of Neurotransmission in human behaviour

Better memory after good night’s sleep : 

Neurotransmission of ACh regulates memory processes

Low ACh during sleep improves consolidation

Low ACh reduces ability to encode new information

Understanding this helps psychologists develop interventions to improve learning and memory

Summary of Operant Conditioning related study

Skinner’s pigeons : 

Trained by rewarding ‘successive approximations’

Pigeons randomly given food pellets 

Many simply repeated what they’d been doing just before pellets arrived

Example of Operant Conditioning in human behaviour

Children learning table manners : 

Behaviours that are rewarded (saying “please”) are reinforced and more likely to be repeated

Through successive approximations, children gradually learn the full desired behaviour

Summary of Schema Theory related study

Brewer & Treyners : 

Ppts waited in room containing schema-consistent, schema-inconsistent, missing expected items 

After 35 seconds, asked to recall what was in the room 

Ppts remembered consistent items well, falsely recalled expected items

Example of Schema Theory in human behaviour

False memories in a classroom : 

People rely on existing schemas to interpret and recall information

Schema-consistent items are remembered easily

Missing but expected items may be falsely recalled because the brain fills in gaps based on prior knowledge, illustrating schema-driven memory errors

Summary of Social Learning Theory related study

Bandura, Ross & Ross : 

Preschool children either exposed to aggressive / non-aggressive adult model, 10 minutes, or control group 

Children mildly frustrated, then individually tested to measure imitative / non-imitative aggression 

Children who observed aggressive model showed more physical and verbal aggression than control group

Example of Social Leaning Theory in human behaviour

Imitating aggression : 

Observation of a model, demonstrates a behaviour

Children imitate the behaviour, especially if it is rewarded or goes unpunished

Illustrates social learning theory : learning occurs through observation, not just direct reinforcement