Unit A - Intro to Learning and Memory

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associationism

principle that memory depends on the formation of linages between related experiences, ideas, or events

contiguity

nearness in time or space

stimulus

a sensory event that gives us information about the outside world

response

a behavioral consequence of perception (processing a stimulus)

reflex arc

innate/involuntary automatic response from a sensory stimulus to a motor response

classical conditioning

type of learning where the organism learns to respond to a previously neutral stimulus that has been repeatedly paired with a biologically significant stimulus

operant learning

process where the organism learns to make a response in order to obtain or avoid consequences

law of effect

the probability of a particular response increases or decreases depending on the consequence that it has (positive effect from action → more likely to do it again ; negative effect from action → less likely to do it again )

learning curve

a graph showing the rate of learning as a function of time

extinction

process of reducing a learned response by no longer pairing stimuli and/or outcomes

generalization

transfer of past learning to new problems

retention curve

grpah showing forgetting or relearning as a function of time (since initial learning)

empiricism

thought that ideas are the result of rexperience

nativism

thought that knowledge is inborn/innate

behaviorism

thought that psychology should only study observable behaviors and not make inferences about unobservable mental processes

natural selection

organisms with more CAPACITY for learning and memory are more fit

cognitive map

internal psychological / mental representation of the spatial layout of the external world

latent learning

learning that takes place even where there is no specific motivation to obtain a reward or avoid a consequence and remains undetected until explicitly demonstrated later

connectionist models

models that represent learning as networks of connections between simple processing units called nodes

distributed representation

information is coded as a pattern of activation distributed across many different nodes

cognitive approach

an emphasis on unobservale internal mental processes of learning

plasticity

the brain’s ability to adapt and change, especially during childhood

long term potentiation (LTP)

process by which a synaptic transmission becomes more effective as a result of recent activity; repeated signaling of the same connection makes it “easier” for the same connection to occur again

long term depression (LTD)

process in which synaptic transmission can also become less effective as a result of a post-synaptic receptor not activating with NT release; neurons that do not signal together become weaker

hebbian learning

principle that learning involves stengthening connections of co-active neurons; “neurons that fire together, wire together”

theory of equipotentiality

memories are stored by the brain as a whole rather than in one aprticular area; there is no one place where a specific memory “lives” in the brain

non-associative learning

learning that is taking place without any pairing of stimuli pr rewards/punishments

orienting response

innate reaction to a novel stimulus (when something new is present in our environment, we turn toward it to visually inspect or hear better)

habituation

gradual decrease in strength or occurence of a behavior due to repeated exposure to a stimulus ; becoming “used to” stimuli in the environment

sensitizatiion

gradual increase in responding due to repeated stimulation of a particularly salient stimulus (becoming more aware of stimuli in the environment)

dishabituation

the return of a previously habituated response due to the presence of a novel stimulus in the environment ; something else that heghtens the alertness/arousal)

spontaneous recovery

the return of a previously habituation response after time has passed in which the stimulus has not been presented

dual-process theory

habituation and sensitization occur in different parts of the nervous system (habituation in response systems & sensitization in the state system constantly monitoring arousal and need to respond); the observable behavior (habituation or sensitization) is the net result of both underlying processes

familiarization

a perception of similarity that occurs when an event is repeated

priming

phenomenon in which prior exposure to a stimulus can improve the ability to recognize and remember that stimulus later

perceptual learning

learning in which experience with a set of stimuli makes it easier to distinguish those stimuli from each other later

spatial learning

acquisition of information about your surroundings

synaptic depression

reduction in a synaptic transmission

associative learning

any pairing of two events due to their occurrence together in time and/or space (includes classical conditioning and operant learning)

classical conditioning

association of a stimuli that results in automatic responding ; pairing of two stimuli (CS + US)that occurs when they are presented together

pavlov’s experiment

when a bell occurred just before food was presented, dogs learned to predict that food was about to be presented and began to salivate at the sound of the bell alone

appetitive conditioning

conditioning in which the US is a desirable event

aversive conditioning

conditioning in which the US is an undesirable event

extinction

disappearance of the CR due to the presence of the CS being presented alone for an extended period of time without the US

compound conditioning

conditioning in which two or more cues are present together (usually simultaneously) forming a combined CS

overshadowing

an effect in compound conditioning when a more salient cue within the compounded CS has more associative strength with the US and the other part of the compound is ignored/discounted

blocking

two-phase training in which prior conditioning with one cue (CS1) blocks later learning of a second cue (CS2) when both are paired together in a second phase of learning

latent inhibition

prior exposure to a CS (meaning it was never actually a neutral cue as is necessary for classical conditioning) can prevent the learning of that same CS as part of a CS-US association

implicit association

automatic mental connections between concepts and attributes that form outside of conscious awareness ; leads to implicit bias toward others → self-awareness is the only step toward correction