Psychological Science: Learning and Memory Study Guide

These vocabulary flashcards cover the fundamental concepts, brain regions, neurological processes, and learning models discussed in the study guide for Exam 1.

Learning

The process by which experience leads to changes in behavior.

Memory

The ability to store and retrieve information over time.

Episodic Memory

Memory of personal experiences or specific events, such as your last birthday.

Semantic Memory

General knowledge and facts, including capital cities and definitions.

Procedural Memory

Skills and habits, such as riding a bike or typing.

Behaviorism

A psychological focus on observable behaviors and the role of reinforcement and punishment in learning, associated with Pavlov and Skinner.

Cognitive Psychology

A field focusing on internal processes such as perception, thinking, memory, and problem-solving.

Classical Conditioning

Learning through association between stimuli.

Operant Conditioning

Learning through reinforcement and punishment where behavior is shaped by its consequences.

Observational Learning

Learning by observing the behavior of others, associated with Bandura’s social learning theory.

Hippocampus

Brain region crucial for the formation of new long-term declarative memories (episodic and semantic) and spatial or contextual memory.

Amygdala

Brain region involved in emotional learning, particularly fear conditioning, which modulates memory consolidation based on emotional significance.

Prefrontal Cortex

Brain region responsible for decision-making, planning, and working memory; it plays a role in the organization and retrieval of information.

Cerebellum

Brain region important for motor learning and classical conditioning of motor responses like eye-blink conditioning.

Basal Ganglia

Brain region involved in procedural learning, habit formation, and motor skills.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter central to reward-based learning that reinforces behaviors by increasing the likelihood of repeating actions that lead to rewards.

Acetylcholine

A neurotransmitter important for attention and encoding new memories.

Glutamate

A neurotransmitter key in synaptic plasticity, involved in both LTP and LTD.

LTP (Long-Term Potentiation)

Strengthening of synaptic connections through repeated stimulation, associated with learning and memory formation.

LTD (Long-Term Depression)

Weakening of synapses which may contribute to forgetting or refining neural networks by eliminating unnecessary connections.

Hebbian Learning

A principle where neurons that fire together, wire together.

REM Sleep

A stage of sleep particularly involved in processing emotional and skill-related memories.

Habituation

A decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated exposure, such as getting used to the sound of a noisy air conditioner.

Sensitization

An increased response to a stimulus following a strong or noxious stimulus, such as becoming more sensitive to loud noises after a sudden sound.

Familiarization

The process of recognizing a stimulus after repeated exposure through comparison to stored memory, typically requiring no further learning.

Non-Associative Learning

A category of learning, including habituation and sensitization, that does not require the pairing of stimuli.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that naturally triggers a response, such as food.

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

The natural reaction to the unconditioned stimulus, such as salivation in response to food.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that, after being paired with the UCS, triggers a conditioned response.

Conditioned Response (CR)

The learned response to the conditioned stimulus, such as salivation in response to a bell.

Acquisition

The process of learning the association between the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus.

Extinction

The weakening or disappearance of the conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of the conditioned response after a rest period following extinction.

Stimulus Generalization

The tendency for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit the conditioned response.

Stimulus Discrimination

The ability to distinguish between the conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that are not paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Taste Aversion

Learning to avoid a food after it has been associated with illness.

Rescorla-Wagner Model

A theory suggesting that surprise boosts learning.

Mackintosh CS Modulation Theory

A theory proposing that organisms learn to focus on stimuli that are good predictors of desirable outcomes.

Positive Reinforcement

Adding a pleasant stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

Removing an aversive stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior.

Positive Punishment

Adding an unpleasant stimulus to reduce the likelihood of a behavior.

Negative Punishment

Removing a pleasant stimulus to reduce the likelihood of a behavior.

Fixed-Ratio Schedule

Reinforcement after a fixed number of responses, such as earning a reward after every $10$ purchases.

Variable-Ratio Schedule

Reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses, such as with slot machines.

Fixed-Interval Schedule

Reinforcement after a fixed amount of time, such as a paycheck every $2$ weeks.

Variable-Interval Schedule

Reinforcement after varying time intervals, such as checking a phone for a message.

Shaping

A process of reinforcing successive approximations toward a target behavior.

Premack Principle

Using a more preferred activity to reinforce a less preferred one.

Token Economies

Systems where tokens are earned for desired behaviors and can be exchanged for rewards.

Pavlov's Dogs

A classical conditioning experiment where dogs associated the sound of a bell with food and salivated to the bell alone.

Skinner Box

An operant conditioning chamber where animals learned to press levers for food or to avoid punishment.

Little Albert

A case study in classical conditioning where a child was conditioned to fear white rats by pairing them with loud noises.