LAP 3: Learning and Memory Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering classical conditioning, operant conditioning, social learning, and memory processes based on LAP 3 lecture review materials.

Learning

A relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge due to experience.

Classical Conditioning

A form of associative learning designed to predict and control what is going to happen, involving involuntary responses from a passive learner.

Ivan Pavlov

The behaviorist who discovered classical conditioning by conditioning dogs to associate the sound of a bell with getting food.

Generalization

The tendency for the conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses after conditioning has occurred.

Discrimination

The ability to distinguish between the conditioned stimulus and other similar stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus.

Extinction

The process that occurs when a learned response decreases over time.

Spontaneous Recovery

The sudden return of an extinguished learned response after a break.

Operant Conditioning

A learning theory where an action is reinforced or punished in an attempt to increase or decrease a certain voluntary behavior, requiring an active learner.

B.F. Skinner

The behaviorist who discovered operant conditioning, demonstrating that behavior is shaped and reinforced by consequences.

Reinforcement

A consequence designed to increase or maintain a behavior.

Punishment

A consequence designed to decrease a behavior.

Positive Reinforcement

The process of adding a pleasant stimulus to increase or maintain a behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

The process of removing an aversive stimulus to increase or maintain a behavior.

Positive Punishment

The process of adding an aversive stimulus to decrease a behavior.

Negative Punishment

The process of removing a pleasant stimulus to decrease a behavior.

Albert Bandura

The behaviorist famous for social learning who conducted the Bobo doll experiment showing that children who watched adults act aggressively toward a doll were more likely to imitate that aggressive behavior.

Social Learning (Observational Learning)

Learning by watching others (observational learning) and copying their behaviors (modeling).

Learned Helplessness

A condition in which an individual feels they have no control over a situation; overcome by building confidence and recognizing what can be controlled.

Memory

The ability to store and retrieve information.

Processes of Memory

The three operations of memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Stages of Memory Storage

The three stages in which information is retained: sensory memory, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM).

Sensory Memory

The initial memory stage that holds environmental stimuli with a large capacity and a retention duration of 25 to 2000 milliseconds before unattended information is lost.

Working Memory (Short-Term Memory)

The memory store where selected attention directs information, having a limited capacity of $7 \pm 2$ novel units and a retention period of 15 to 30 seconds unless maintained by rehearsal.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

The memory stage with an infinite retention period and capacity, though information may be forgotten over time via decay or retrieval failure.

Maintenance Rehearsal

The practice of repeating information to keep it in short-term memory.

Chunking

Grouping bits of information into smaller, meaningful pieces to make them easier to remember.

Mnemonics

Memory tricks and devices used to help remember information.

Primacy-Recency Effect

The cognitive phenomenon of remembering the first and last items in a list best.

Recall

A retrieval process of accessing stored information without cues, primarily used when answering essay questions.

Recognition

The mental retrieval process of identifying previously learned items, primarily relied upon in multiple-choice questions and considered the easiest memory process.

Semantic Memory

A type of long-term memory dedicated to storing facts and general knowledge.

Episodic Memory

A type of long-term memory dedicated to personal experiences and specific life events.

Procedural Memory

A type of long-term memory dedicated to motor skills, habits, and how to execute tasks.

Elaborative Rehearsal

A memory technique involving connecting new information to existing knowledge to retain it better.

Schemas

Mental representations of the world that help organize bits of information to make them easier to remember.