Chapters 6 and 7: Learning, Memory, and Catholic Social Teaching

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering principles of learning, memory systems, neuroanatomy of memory, and Catholic Social Teaching concepts from Chapters 6 and 7.

Learning

A change in behavior resulting from experience.

Behaviorism

A formal learning theory that arose in the early 20th century.

John Watson

The behaviorist theorist who focused on the environment as the key determinant for learning.

B. F. Skinner

The behaviorist who designed animal experiments to discover the basic rules of learning.

Non-associative learning

Learning about a stimulus, such as a sight or a sound, in the external world.

Habituation

A decrease in behavioral response after lengthy or repeated exposure to a stimulus, especially if it is neither harmful nor rewarding.

Sensitization

An increase in behavioral response after lengthy or repeated exposure to a stimulus.

Associative learning

Learning the relationship between two pieces of information.

Observational learning

When we learn or change a behavior after watching a person engage in that behavior.

Modeling

When we try to imitate behavior we see in others.

Vicarious conditioning

When we learn to engage in a behavior or not, after seeing others being rewarded or punished for performing that action.

Classical conditioning

A type of learning where a stimulus predicts another stimulus, in which an unconditioned stimulus triggers an unconditioned response before the response occurs.

Operant conditioning

A type of learning where we learn that a behavior leads to a certain outcome, where consequences occur after the response.

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that naturally occurs and creates an unconditioned response.

Neutral stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that does not initially create a response.

Acquisition

The gradual formation of an association between conditioned and unconditioned stimuli.

Extinction

The process in which the conditioned response is weakened when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous recovery

A process in which a previously extinguished response reemerges after the conditioned stimulus is presented again.

Fixed ratio schedule

A reinforcement schedule where the number of units rewarded is the same every time.

Fixed interval schedule

A reinforcement schedule where reinforcement occurs after a set, unchanging period of time (such as once a week, once a day, or once an hour).

Variable interval schedule

A reinforcement schedule where the passage of time required before reward changes in each scenario.

Variable ratio schedule

A reinforcement schedule where the number of units or reward amount varies (such as getting paid different amounts of money).

Storage (memory phase)

Perceiving and learning new information.

Encoding (memory phase)

Actively retaining the representation in memory.

Retrieval (memory phase)

How we recall, recognize, and retrieve information from short- and long-term memory.

Primacy effect

The better memory people have for items presented at the beginning of a list.

Recency effect

The better memory people have for items presented at the end of a list.

Selective attention

The ability to direct mental resources to relevant information in order to process that information further while also ignoring irrelevant information.

Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin

Researchers who proposed the three types of memory stores: sensory, short-term, and long-term.

Sensory memory

A brief storehouse that holds all incoming unprocessed sensory information from each sense until some is selected for further processing; lasts about $\frac{1}{3}\text{ second}$ for visual and $3\text{--}4\text{ seconds}$ for auditory.

Working (short-term) memory

A short-term, conscious, effortful memory that holds and processes information for immediate use or transfer; lasts under $20\text{ seconds}$ without rehearsal and holds realistically about $4$ complex chunks of information.

Long-term memory

A permanent storehouse of knowledge for use in cognitive processes, with probably unlimited duration and capacity.

Elaborative rehearsal

Using working memory processes to think about how new information relates to yourself or your prior knowledge by connecting new information to long-term memories.

Maintenance rehearsal

Rote repetition used to retain information in memory.

Dual coding

An effective form of elaborative rehearsal that involves thinking about information both meaningfully and in terms of mental images.

Schema

The mental framework used to organize knowledge about the world in long-term memory.

Personal schema

Our beliefs and assumptions about different people.

Stereotypes

Generalized schemas about whole groups of people.

Spreading activation model

A model of long-term memory where activating one node increases the likelihood that closely associated nodes will also be activated; the farther the nodes, the weaker the association.

Absentmindedness

Inability to retrieve needed information due to inattentiveness or shallow encoding.

Memory bias

Changing of information over time so that it becomes consistent with your current beliefs or attitudes.

Misattribution

Remembering information but getting the source wrong.

Suggestibility

When outside information influences or changes your memory.

Retrograde amnesia

Poor memory for events that occurred before the brain injury.

Anterograde amnesia

Poor memory for events occurring after the brain injury.

Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon

The subjective experience of feeling like you almost remember a word or name.

Blocking

A memory failure where information you know temporarily cannot be retrieved from memory.

Explicit memory

Conscious memories of facts and events.

Implicit memory

Unconscious memories that are expressed through behavior.

Episodic memory

A subtype of explicit memory consisting of memories of personal experiences (e.g., remembering your last birthday).

Semantic memory

A subtype of explicit memory consisting of general memories of facts that you know (e.g., knowing ripe strawberries are red).

Procedural memory

A subtype of implicit memory consisting of cognitive and motor skills made automatic through practice (e.g., reading without thinking about individual letters).

Prefrontal cortex

The brain region responsible for working memory.

Hippocampus

The brain structure associated with memory consolidation and spatial memory.

Temporal lobe

The brain region associated with explicit memory.

Amygdala

The brain structure associated with implicit memory, specifically emotional memories.

Cerebellum

The brain structure associated with implicit memory, specifically procedural memory.

Retroactive interference

When newer memories work back in time to interfere with older memories (e.g., studying biology hurts recall of psychology).

Proactive interference

When older memories work forward in time to interfere with newer memories (e.g., studying psychology hurts recall of biology).

Catholic Social Teaching (CST)

Doctrinal teachings arising from scripture and tradition rooted in the love of God and love of neighbor, emphasizing human relationships and dignity.

Common good

The sum total of the factors for human flourishing.

Human rights (CST)

Fundamental entitlements necessary for human life, including the right to life, food, and shelter.

Dignity of work and rights of workers

The principle that people have the right to decent work, fair wages, private property, and economic initiative, based on the principle that the economy exists for the benefit of human beings.

Preferential option for the poor

The moral imperative that decisions must take into consideration the needs of the poor and most vulnerable, standing up for those who do not have a voice.

Care for creation and stewardship

The principle that all creation is a gift, humans are not merely users or consumers, and people must properly use the resources given by God.

Psyche

The Greek root word for psychology, literally meaning 'mind and soul.'

Pope Leo XIV – Magnifica Humanitas

A teaching stating that AI must promote human dignity, the common good, and a civilization of love rather than domination, while technological changes must respect worker dignity.