Exam 1 - Learning & Cognition

Approaches to learning and memory, research fundamentals, ethics habituation and classical conditioning

3 orgins of learning

Nativism

Empiricism

Evolution

Nativism

ability to learn hardwired into the brain at birth

Empiricism

knowledge is derived from experience (sensory, observation)

environment helps us learn cause and effect

Evolution

Learning systems evolved as adaptive tools for survival, shaped by environmental pressures over generation or over a lifetime

Learning

the aquisition of knowledge

Cognition

recalling or retaining knowledge (memory)

Genie

Neglected during her critical language learning phase - never fully acquired language

Demonstrated language is both innate but needs experience (nativism and empiricism)

Ways to measure learning

Physiological

Behavioral

Example of physiological measurement

heart rate

Example of behavioral measurements

• verbal (factual report)

• affective changes (facial expressions, posture)

• overt behaviors (running away)

performance

a measurement of behavior used to indicate whether learning or cognition has occurred

not always a good measure (ie stereotype threat, test anxiety)

Implicit learning

learning is not always conscious

ex. pro athlete does not make a good coach

Classical conditioning

involuntary response to a stimulus

ex. salivating at the bell

Operant conditioning

Reinforcement or punishment after a voluntary behavior influences likelihood that the behavior will occur

ex teaching a dog to sit

learning permanence

learning is permanent and excludes changes due to transient states

ex. motivation - rats running faster because they are hungry

stereotype threat

reminding someone they are a member of a stereotyped group can negatively affect their performance

learning curve

the greatest amount of learning happens at the beginning of learning

note: on the exam the answer is the shortest amount of time

Keppel’s Study

mass practices (cramming) initially demonstrated greater recall but distributed practices showed better retention over time

Approaches to studying learning and memory

Functional approach

Behavioral approach

Cognitive approach

Neuroscience approach

Functional approach

Studies how learning and memory aid survival (ie learning for practical purposes)

Based on the idea that people and animals adapt to their environment in order to survive

Ex. A rat learns to associate the smell of a predator (stimulus) with danger after surviving an attack. Later, when it smells the same odor, it freezes or hides.

Behavioral approach

Examines the associations between stimuli and behavior

Behavior will increase if it has been followed by reinforcing stimulus in the past

Ex. If aggressive behavior is rewarded, the likelihood of it increases.

Cognitive approach

• Analogous to information processing in a computer

• Assumes knowledge is represented in the mind and is used as a basis for guiding behavior

• Still measured through behavior

Ex. A student organizes vocabulary words into categories (animals, emotions, actions) while studying. Later, the student recalls the words more easily during a test.

Label the different learning approaches in the following research example:

Karl Lashley attempted to determine which areas of the rat’s brain were necessary for learning and remembering mazes by removing parts of the brain before and after learning.

• Behavioral - maze learning

• Cognitive - memory/recall

• Neuroscience - brain surgery 

Two types of research

basic and applied

Basic

Done to gain knowledge not necessarily to solve a problem

Applied

Done to solve a real world problem

Types of studies

descriptive

case studies

correlational

experimentation

descriptive study

• Studies in which you characterize behaviors or look for patterns

• Observation of existing patterns, groups, data etc.

Example: A researcher surveys 1,000 high school students to describe how many hours per day they spend on social media.

case study

• observe/study one or few individuals

Example: A psychologist conducts an in-depth study of one patient with a rare memory disorder to understand how the condition affects daily functioning.

Correlational study

Looks for a relationship between two variables 

Example: A researcher examines whether there is a relationship between hours of sleep and students’ exam scores, without manipulating either variable.

Correlation

Represented by r

Ranges from -1 to 1 (further from 0 the stronger the relationship)

0.1-0.3 small; 0.5-1 large

Correlation ≠ causation

Negative correlation

opposite direction (more tv watched, lower grade)

small = 0.1-0.3; medium 0.3 - 0.5; large 0.5-1

-1 = 100% negatively correlated

Positive correlation

same direction (more studying, higher grade)

1 = 100% positively correltated

spurious relationship

when two variables seem linked, but the connection isn't causal

confounding variable

a hidden third variable that influences both correlated variables

Experimentation

Research that manipulates one or more independent variables

Between or within subjects design

Example: A researcher randomly assigns participants to either drink caffeine or a placebo and then measures their reaction times to test the effect of caffeine on alertness.

Between subjects design

Subject given one or the other of something 

Example: Given Drug A or Placebo then Measure the Likelihood of Getting Cancer

Within Subjects design

Measure before and after of some type of intervention

Example: Retention 5 years after a spanish class (measure after class and 5 years later)

Independent Variable

what is manipulated

Dependent Variable

What is measured

Benefits of animal research

• Able to control for genetic/hereditary influences and learning history 

• Allows for research that can’t be done ethically in humans

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

enforces ethical guidelines (Belmont principles) for research

Belmont principles

• Informed consent

• Minimizing risk

• Compensation

Aspects of humane animal research

– Size of cage

– How many animals per cage

– Consistent feeding / food delivery 

– Distress must be justified and minimized 

Habituation

simple, non-associative way of learning where a repetitive stimulus stops eliciting a reaction

AKA tuning something out

orienting response

the initial involuntary reaction to a novel stimulus

Methods of studying habituation

Human

• skin conductance response

• eye fixation

Animal

• novelty recognition task

Skin conductance response (SCR)

measures subtle changes in electrical conductivity in the skin associated with arousal

Eye fixation

measuring the change in duration or number of eye fixations on an object (looking shows interest)

useful for studying infants → these tests shows humans have native perceptual abilities

Novelty recognition task

mice or rats allowed to explore objects in a test environment → objects switched out → familiar objects are explored less than novel ones

Parametric features (ie aspects) of habituation

• frequency

• effects of repeated habituation

• spacing of stimuli

• spontaneous recovery

• dishabituation

• generalization

frequency of stimulus

habituation increases the more times we are exposed to a stimulus

spacing of stimulus (habituation)

the shorter the interval between stimuli the quicker habituation occurs

effects of repeated habition

as sessions of habituation increase, the smaller the spontaneous recovery and the quicker habituation reoccurs again

spontaneous recovery (habituatoin)

when a stimulus is withheld for a period of time, the response tends to recover

(ie re-noticing the stimulus)

• the spontaneous recovery response never elicits as strong of a reaction as the original orienting response → demonstrates that habituation is a form of learning

dishabituation

• recovery of response to a stimulus (stimulus #1) due to the addition of a different stimulus (stimulus #2)

• being surrounded by multiple stimuli mimics real life

difference between dishabituation and spontaneous recovery

different in the second block

generalization

confusing one stimulus with another similar stimulus

Theories of habituation

1. non-learning

2. neuroscience

3. cognitive

non-learning theory

the body is responsible for habituation

• sensory adaptation - our body gets used to a stimulus

• response/ effector fatigue - our body gets tired of reacting to a stimulus

neuroscience theory

the brain is responsible for habituation

• dual process theory - the orienting response depends on the balance between habituation and sensitization (seperate neurons for both)

sensitization

the increased responsiveness to a stimulus (on the opposite end of the spectrum as habituation)

cognitive theory of habituation

our memory is responsible for habituation

• a stimulus is compared to those in memory → OR triggered if there is no memory

• Missing stimulus effect - the absence of an expected stimulus elicits an orienting response

• the memory of a stimulus involves information from around the stimulus as well (ie timing, environment)

Applications of habituation

• can aid learning (ie perceptual learning, priming)

• food aversion/preferences

• advertising

• exposure therapy

Perceptual learning

improvement in distinguishing perceived differences/similarities in stimuli as a result of repeated exposure to varied stimuli

Characteristics of perceptual learning

• going from subtle to difficult → better at perceptual differentiation

• the more contrasted (ie different) the varied stimuli presented → better at perceptual differentiation

• pre-exposure → better at perceptual differentiation

Mere exposure effect

exposure to a stimulus leads to the preference or liking of that stimulus

ex. repeated exposure to someone can make them more attractive

Priming

• unconscious recognition/preference of stimulus because of pre-exposure to stimulus

• priming facilitation - essentially speeding up recognition and response without conscious effort 

Food aversions/preferences

• 10+ tastings required to learn to like a food (for adults but also children)

• for babies 4-7 months old - it can be one try

Advertising

Rankings are higher for familiar things

Product placements → recognition → preference for product

exposure therapy

used for fears and phobias

Slowly habituating to a repeated stimulus (ie the phobia)

classical conditioning

• associative learning

• the trained response to a neural stimulus

Parts/Labels of classical conditioning

US = unconditioned stimulus = the thing that is automatically significant to the subject
UR = unconditioned response = the automatic response to the significant stimulus

CS = conditioned stimulus = the neutral stimulus that is being paired with the significant stimulus

CR = conditioned response = the originally neutral stimulus gains the significance of the automatically significant stimulus

Features (or types) of Conditioned Stimulus

exteroceptive stimuli - external cues (smells, sounds etc)

→ contextual stimuli - environment as a cue (dentist office)

→ temporal stimuli - time as a cue (schedule)

interoceptive stimuli - internal cues (full bladder)

Features of Unconditioned Stimulus

• can (usually) have a biological significance (ie thirst → drink water)

• can have an acquired significance - learned reaction based on experiences or via observational learning

• sometimes simply imagining it can hold significance

Phenomena of conditioning

1. Acquisition

2. Contiguity

3. Extinction

4. Generalization

5. Spontaneous recovery

6. Discriminant training (DT)

Acquisition

the stage when the neutral stimulus (CS) is paired with an automatically significant stimulus (US) in order to develop a conditioned response

the role of Contiguity (plus the types of contiguity)

• Timing is significant

• The presentation of the stimuli that you want to associate together (CS and US) must be close in time to one another for conditioning to occur

Types of timing…

1. foward conditioning

2. simultaneous conditioning

3. backward conditioning

Forward conditioning

the CS is presented before the US

(most likely for CS to be noticed = most effective)

Simultaneous conditioning

the CS and the US are presented at the same time

Backward conditioning

the US is presented before the CS

Extinction

when the already conditioned stimulus (CS) is repeatedly presented without the US it leads to an inhibition of the CR

• inhibition or suppression bc learning happened → as demonstrated by the spontaneous recovery when the stimuli (CS & US) are presented together again

Spontaneous recovery (conditioning)

• The reemergence of the conditioned response (CR) after extinction has occurred 

• demonstrates that extinction only suppresses the CS-US association, as opposed to eliminating it

Generalization (conditioning)

the conditioned response is triggered by a stimulus that is similar but not identical to the CS

Watson & Rayner - Little Albert Experiments

Demonstrated fear could be classically conditioned in humans

Baby Albert learned to fear animals because he was conditioned to fear rats (an example of generalization)

Discriminant training

Learning to discern which stimuli are paired together

CS + = followed by US

CS - = not followed by US

methods of sudying conditioning

reflex reliant

• eyeblink

• skin conductance

• conditioned taste aversion

non-reliant on reflex

• evaluative conditioning

Eyeblink study

involves using puff of air toward the eye as a US → eyeblink becomes CR

conditioned taste aversion study

• looks at how subjects learn to discriminate between foods that have pleasant or unpleasant side effects

• a conditioned response can occur after just one pairing or by watching someone else (“poisoned partner effect)

• survival significance

evaluative conditioning

Pairs a neutral stimulus with another stimulus that has acquired, non-reflexive significance → “good” stimulus rubs off on another stimulus 

Ex. the pen and music study

Factors that influence conditioning

Prior exposure

Prepared learning

Compounds CS

Conditioned inhibition

Rescorla Wagner Model

Prior exposure

when a neutral stimulus (CS) is encountered on its own at a time prior to CS-US pairing (can be the result of habituation or inference)

• can cause latent inhibition - slowing down of the process of association

Compound Conditioned Stimulus (CS) and it’s effects

two stimuli that occur together before a US

• overshadowing - if one is stronger than the other a stronger CR will occur with the stronger stimulus

• blocking - if one has already been conditioned, the conditioning to the new stimulus will be minimal

*overshadowing and blocking have the same patterns but their causes are different

Prepared Learning

Some CS and US seem to be innately associated or “obviously go together” which can influence their conditioning

relevant to the functional approach to learning (we accumulate associative information from our environment for survival)

Garcia’s Taste Averision Experiments

Taste Aversion study that demonstrates prepared learning

Two groups of mice: 

1. Mice experienced tone, light, water → made to get sick → avoided consumption 

2. Mice experienced tone, light, water → were shocked → avoided tone and light

Conditioned inhibition

occurs when th the CS becomes associated with the absence of a US

Rescorla - Wagner Model

mathematical model that captures change in strength of association btwn the CS and US

The more association is learned the smaller the total amount left to learn → more conditioning leads to a decrease in this model

Formula: ΔV = Φ(λ - V) → amount left to learn = max potential of US - amount of association

Theories of Conditioning

Preparatory Response Theory

Stimulus-Response (S-R) Theory

Stimulus-stimulus (S-S) Theory

Preparatory Response Theory

• conditioned responses are learned bc make the US less aversive or more palatable (blinking to avoid being poked in eye; salivating to digest food)

• by this logic dreading going to the DMV would make going to the DMV less bad → doesn’t capture classical conditioning

S-R Theory

• what is being learned in conditioning is the association between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned response

• But can’t account for the all the stimuli in second order conditioning