AP Psych Unit 3.1, 3.7-3.9

Sorry other parts of Unit 3 I made flashcards on paper.

Stability vs Change

Early traits stable through life / change over time?

• Heredity, early experiences → stable traits

• Later experiences → changing traits

Nature vs Nurture

• Nature: Biological & genetics → actions & identity

• Nurture: Environment & how you were raised → behavior & traits

Continuous & Discontinuous stages of development

• Continuous development

  • Development = Cumulative (累積)

  • Gradual changes

  • (e.g. height growth)

• Discontinuous development

  • Development = specific steps & stages

  • Sudden changes

  • (e.g. suddenly talk first word)

Behavioral Perspective

Examines how observable behaviors are learned & reinforced through interactions with the environment

• Studying observable, objective facts, instead of subjective mental processes & introspection

Associative learning

Process of acquiring new & enduring info where someone forms connections between events that happen together

• Classical conditioning

• Operant conditioning

Classical Conditioning

Type of learning that associates a neutral stimulus to another stimulus that elicits a natural or involuntary response, so we can anticipate future events

• Acquisition: Attaining new behavior & info

• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): Stimulus naturally & automatically triggers a response without prior learning → Unconditioned response (UCR): Unlearned, naturally occurring response to UCS

• Neutral Stimulus: X trigger any response + UCS → UCR

Rehearsal

• Neutral stimulus → Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Used to be neutral, but after intentional, repeated pairing with UCS → triggers Conditioned response (CR): Learned response to CS/ b4 neutral stimulus

(e.g. Watch minecraft movie (NS) + Chicken Big Mac (UCS) → hunger (UCR) → Watch minecraft movie (CS), anticipate Chicken Big Mac (UCR) → hunger (CR))

Extinction

Gradual weakening & eventual disappearance of the CR to the CS. CR diminishes because UCS no longer appears after CS.

(e.g. many times watch minecraft movie (CS) → no chicken big mac (UCS). Now watch minecraft movie (CS) → X anticipate Chicken big mac → X Hunger (CR))

Spontaneous Recovery

Reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

(e.g. Now watch minecraft movie (CS) → Suddenly Hunger (CR))

Stimulus discrimination

Only respond to specific CS & not other stimuli that doesn’t predict UCS

(e.g. Watch Barbie movie → X anticipate chicken big mac (UCS) → X Hunger (CR))

Generalization

Stimulus similar to CS → CR

(e.g. play minecraft game (similar to minecraft movie)→ hunger (CR))

Higher-order conditioning

Already conditioned stimulus (CS) + New neutral stimulus (NS)→ Conditioned response (CR)

New neutral stimulus becomes CS too

(e.g. Ride ferry (NS) → watch minecraft movie (CS), anticipate chicken big mac (UCS) → hunger (CR)

after repetition

Ride ferry (CS), anticipate minecraft movie (CS) & then chicken big mac (UCS) → hunger (CR))

Counterconditioning

Pairing a stimulus that elicits an undesired response with a new, positive stimulus or experience

(e.g. Water (CS), anticipate drowning (UCS) → scared (CS). Pool party + Water (CS) → happy (CR)

One-trial conditioning

1 training trial → master skill

Taste Aversion

Ate a certain food → sick → Avoid food with a certain taste after that single experience

UCS: certain food → UCR: sick

CS: Similar taste food / certain food → UCR: Sick / think you will get UCR → avoid CS

(e.g. Lando ate a sushi (finally) → sick → avoids all fish)

Biological predispositions

Predisposed through evolution to learn some associations better than others

(e.g. easier to develop taste aversion because it helps you survive, instead of pairing schoolwork with classical music)

Biological preparedness

People & animals are inherently inclined to form associations between certain stimuli & responses that have a survival value
(e.g. see tiger → danger → run)

Habituation

Process of growing accustomed to a situation or stimulus

Repeated, same stimulation → decreased response

(e.g. always eat chicken big mac → kinda bored → not as hungry)

Operant conditioning

Associate a response / behavior with a consequence

• Reinforcement → Behavior continues

  • Positive: Get good thing (e.g. get sticker)

  • Negative: Remove bad thing (e.g. X need to do chores)

  • Primary: Unconditioned, innate, naturally like thing that satisfies a biological need (e.g. food)

  • Secondary: Conditioned, learned to associate with primary reinforcer thing (e.g. money)

• Punishment → Behavior discontinues

  • Positive: Get bad thing (e.g. get spanked)

  • Negative: Remove good thing (e.g. X screen time)

The Law of Effect

Responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation → more likely to occur again in that situation

Responses that produce a discomforting effect in a particular situation → less likely to occur again in that situation

(e.g. You say a joke in the crowd → everyone laughs, you feel god about yourself → say joke again next time in a crowd)

Shaping

Reinforce when behavior is closer & closer to the goal
(e.g. teach cat to paw → sit up → snack, Raise paw → snack → paw on hand → snack (goal))

Reinforcement discrimination

Only give reinforcement after correct behavior, X reinforcement after wrong / other behaviors

Reinforcement generalization

Behavior that was reinforced in a specific context is also done in a similar context

(e.g. taught clean up in school → sticker → clean up at home too)

Instinctive drift

Tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to biologically predisposed patterns

(e.g. monkeys learned to not fight → fight (survival competition))

Learned helplessness

Repeated attempts to control a situation fail → feel helpless, X escape punishment → don’t even try anymore, depression

Reinforcement Schedule

Pattern that defines how often the desired response will be reinforced

• Continuous: Every time desired behavior → reinforce

• Partial (intermittent): Only some times desired behavior → slower acquisition of response but harder to have extinction

  • Fixed-interval: Gives reinforcement after specific time has passed

  • Variable-interval: Gives reinforcement at unpredictable time intervals

  • Fixed-ratio: Gives reinforcement after specific number of behavior

  • Variable-ratio: Gives reinforcement after unpredictable number of behavior → Most resistant to extinction, fastest

Social Learning Theory

Learn through observing others (watching & mimicking others - monkey see monkey do)

(e.g. see someone use fork → learned how to use fork)

Vicarious Conditioning

Conditioning of an animal to do a behavior that it observes in a member of the same or a different species

Model

Learning through only observation & imitation

Insight learning

Suddenly understand the relationships of parts of a problem & learn. X trial & error

(OMG I GET IT)

Latent learning

Learning that occurs but is only demonstrated when there is an incentive for it

Cognitive Maps

Mental understanding of an environment, formed through trial & error, observation

(e.g. mouse go through maze → hit dead ends, go back to start, observe other mice path → cognitive map/mental layout → complete, go to the end)