Exam 2 - Intro to Psychology

Learning

A relatively enduring change in behavior, resulting from experience

Learning v. Memory

• Learning: how we adjust our behavior based on associations between stimuli, actions/behaviors, or consequences, or based on repeated exposure to stimuli

• Memory: how we acquire, store, and retrieve knowledge (facts/information, events, places, skills)

Associative learning

develops through conditioning, a process in which environmental stimuli and behavioral responses become connected

Classical conditioning

a form of learning where some event (a stimulus) which produces a behavior (a reflexive response) becomes associated with a new (previously neutral) stimulus; when the neutral stimulus becomes conditioned through association, it acquires the power to elicit essentially the same response reflexive response

Classical conditioning examples

• UNconditioned Stimulus (passionate kiss) → UNconditioned Response (sexual arousal)

  • Neutral Stimulus (bad breath) + UNconditioned Stimulus (passionate kiss) → 
    UNconditioned Response (sexual arousal)

    • Conditioned Stimulus (bad breath) → Conditioned Response (sexual arousal)

Prior to conditioning (example)

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) - romantic partner
→
unconditioned response (UCR) - excitement/attraction

Conditioning (example)

Neutral stimulus (CS) - phone ringtone + unconditioned stimulus (UCS) - romantic partner
→
unconditioned response (UCR) excitement/attraction

After conditioning (example)

Conditioned stimulus (CS) - phone ringtone
→
conditioned response (CR) - excitement/attraction

Extinction

the weakening of a conditioned response (CR) in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

Spontaneous recovery

The reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a time delay

Generalization

a tendency to produce a conditioned response (CR) to a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus (CS)

• ex. the shaking of a box of cereal or crackers (rather than cat/dog food)

Discrimination

involves learning to distinguish between stimuli that are similar to— but not the same as — the conditioned stimulus (CS)

• ex. training dog to respond to “sit” only when spoken with a particular tone (or volume or pitch)

Conditioned food aversions

biological tendency in which an organism learns to avoid food with a certain sight, smell, or taste after a single experience, if eating it is followed by illness

Introspection

• structuralism (Wundt & Titchener)

• functionalism (James)

• 1879 →

Behaviorism

• Pavlov (1900→)

• Watson & Skinner (1920-1970)

Cognitive Revolution

Cognitive psychology and neuroscience (late 1950s→)

How do we learn new behaviors by operant conditioning?

the consequences of behavior (ex. rewards and punishments) influence the probability of the behavior increasing or decreasing in the future

BF Skinner believed

that the most powerful influences on behavior are its consequences

Reinforcement

any consequence to an action that strengthens the action (i.e. increases its frequency, makes it more likely to occur in the future)

Punishment

any consequence to an action that weakens the action (i.e., decreases its frequency makes it less likely to occur in the future

Positive reinforcers

a pleasant stimulus presented after a response that increases the probability of that response happening again

• positive = add or apply

  • in this case, adding something pleasant

Negative reinforcers

removal of an unpleasant stimulus that increases the probability of that response in the future

• negative = subtract or remove

  • in this case, removing something unpleasant

_______ is the process where a learned response is weakened by the absence or removal of pairing

extinction

Anna is afraid of spiders. When she sees a very small spider, she has the same reaction she would have if it were huge. This is an example of:

generalization

A researcher decides to classically condition a rabbit by presenting a sound each time before delivering a puff of air to the rabbit’s eye. He finds that the rabbit starts to blink upon hearing the sound. The air puff serves as the:

unconditioned stimulus

Positive punishment

an unpleasant stimulus presented after a response that decreases the probability of that response happening again

• positive = add or apply

  • in this case, adding something unpleasant

Negative punishment

removal of a pleasant stimulus that decreases the probability of that response in the future

• negative = subtract or remove

  • in this case, removing something pleasant

Continuous reinforcement

reinforcement schedule in which all correct responses are reinforced

• often employed when shaping behavior: reinforcing desired behaviors in step-by-step fashion (successive approximations) toward some final desired behavior

• continuous reinforcement produces fast learning, but also quick extinction if/when reinforcement stops

Partial (intermittent) reinforcement

reinforcement schedule in which some (but not all) correct responses are reinforced

• schedules of partial reinforcement may be either ratio or interval, and either fixed or variable

• learning emerges more slowly, but there is much greater resistance to extinction with continuous reinforcement

Fixed: ratio

every so many: reinforcement after a specified number of behaviors, such as “buy 10 coffees, get 1 free,” or paying workers for every x number of products produced/sold

Fixed: interval

every so often: reinforcement for behavior after a fixed time, such as “Tuesday discounts”, checking the oven to see if the pizza is ready, paychecks every 2 weeks

Variable: ratio

after an unpredictable many: reinforcement after a variable number of behaviors, as when playing slot machines or fishing

Variable: interval

unpredictably often: reinforcement for behavior after a random amount of time, as when checking our phone for a message; also elevators? crosswalks?

Challenges with punishment

• behavior often reappears when the threat of punishment is removed

  • punished behavior is suppressed, not forgotten

  • children may simply learn that the behavior isn’t okay here/now but is okay elsewhere (ex. discrimination learning)

• may inhibit learning new/better responses

  • may teach fear (ex. generalization to the parent/punisher as well as the behavior)

• rewards may overpower the punishment

• may teach the use of aggression

To be effective, punishment must be

reasonable, unpleasant, and immediate so the relationship between the punishment and the unwanted behavior is clear

But overall, it is better (i.e., more successful) to reinforce the desired behavior than to punish the undesired behavior.

• Instead of: “If you’re still in bed at 7:30am, then you won’t get to use your iPad tonight.”

• Try: “If you’re ready for school by 8:00am then you can use your iPad tonight!”

Classical conditioning involves

the association of two stimuli (CS + UCS) before the response or behavior

Operant conditioning involves

associating a behavior with what comes after a: a particular consequence (reward or punishment)

While classical conditioning emphasizes old responses to new stimuli

operant conditioning encourages new behavior

Basic idea of

• CC: learning associations between events we do not control

• OC: learning associations between our behavior and its consequences

Response of

• CC: involuntary, automatic

• OC: voluntary, operates on environment
  

Acquisition of

• CC: associating events; NS is paired with US and becomes CS

• OC: Associating a response with a consequence (reinforcer or punisher)

Extinction of

• CC: CR decreases when CS is repeatedly presented alone

• OC: responding decreases when reinforcement stops

Spontaneous recovery of

• CC: the reappearance, after a rest period, of an extinguished CR

• OC: the reappearance, after a rest period, of an extinguished response

Generalization of

• CC: the tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the CS

• OC: responses learned in one situation, occurring in other, similar situations

Discrimination of

• CC: learning to distinguish between a CS and other stimuli that do not signal a US

• OC: learning that some responses, but not others, will be reinforced

If having your license suspended for driving over the speed limit makes you less likely to speed when you get your license back, then the suspension would be an example of

negative punishment

Marcia is a sophomore in high school who hates washing dishes. When she began to study more (and started earning better grades in her classes), her mother decided to reward Marcia for her pro- academic behavior by no longer making her wash dishes every day.

negative reinforcement

A young child who is spanked after running into the street without checking for cars learns not to repeat this behavior.

operant conditioning

Spanking a child is a case of __________

positive punishment

After several painful vaccinations, a child becomes frightened every time she sees a needle.

classical conditioning

In the case of a child getting a vaccination, the needle would be the ____ and the child’s fear would be the _____.

1. conditioned stimulus

2. conditioned response

Biological preparedness

what an organism learns (and how easily) is influenced by its evolutionary history

• Garcia & Koelling (1966) findings

  • selective CS-UCS connection

  • Innate disposition to form some associations more readily than others

Biological preparedness*

Martin Seligman has argued that animals (including humans) are genertically “prepared” to learn specific fears: the fear may not be automatic, but easily learned

Cognitive psychology

some forms of learning must be explained via changes in mental processes; according to sociallearning, we can learn from others without directly receiving reinforcement or punishment

Cognitive maps

a mental image/representation used to navigate through a familiar environment

Latent learning

learning that occurs without any reinforcement and without any hint that learning took place

Insight learning

problem solving occurs by suddenly perceiving new forms or relationships

Cognitive and behaviorist explanations are

complementary NOT antagonistic

Social (observational) learning

new responses are acquired after watching others’ behavior (modeling) as well as the consequences of their behavior (vicarious reinforcement and vicarious punishment) without having to directly experience consequences ourselves

Disliking the sight, smell, & taste of brussels sprouts when you become sick after eating it

classical conditioning

Your little brother behaves more aggressively than usual after watching a movie about karate

social/observational learning

Your little sister keeps asking to play games on your phone, and her begging is so annoying that you keep giving in just to stop the begging

operant conditioning

Your mother normally drives you to soccer, but tonight your father is driving you; when he prepares to turn into the park, you say, “No, not here. Wait and turn at the next stop.”

latent learning

What is memory?

Human memory is an information processing system that works constructively to encode, store, and retrieve information and experience

How does memory work?

• Human memory is not like a video recorder

• Human memory is an interpretive, reconstructive enterprise more like an artist’s rendering than a faithful objective representation of the past

  • information undergoes systematic changes as it is processed

  • we reconstruct the past

Memory’s 3 basic functions

• encoding

• storage

• retrieval

Encoding

Registering experience and information in the mind

Effortful processing

a type of elaborative encoding that requires attention and conscious effort: processing where meaning is added to information which enhances storage and retrieval

Retrieval

• involves locating and recovering information from memory

• information may be available but not accessible

How do we measure memory

Basic memory = recall, recognition, relearning

Ebbinghaus (1885/1913)

• Read a list of nonsense syllables (ex. DAX, WUD) aloud to determine the number of repetitions necessary to repeat the entire list once without errors

• After taking a “break” he relearned the list

• Learned many different lists at many different retention intervals

Relearning savings

• original time to learn list — time to relearn list after delay

• savings curve shows savings as a function of the retention interval

Relearning (Ebbinghaus cont.)

the decrease in savings (i.e. remembering) with increasing delays indicates that forgetting occurs rapidly over the first two days but then occurs more slowly after that

Savings curve

forgetting curve

Savings

is a measure of the amount remembered

How do we form memories?

Three different “memory stages” encode and store memories in different ways, working together to transform sensory experience into a lasting, durable record (neural trance) that is meaningfully connected to other things we know

Stages of memory

1. sensory input

2. sensory memory - unattended information is lost

3. attention

4. short-term memory (working memory) - unrehearsed information is lost

5. encoding

6. long-term memory - some information may be lost over time

Working memory stages

1. stimulation

2. sensory memory

3. central executive

4. behavior

Parts of the working memory that transfer to long term memory

• episodic buffer (events) → episodic LTM

• sketchpad (visual image) → visual LTM for words

• phonological loop (sounds) → LTM for sounds (language)

• semantic buffer (word meanings) → visual LTM for words

Stage 1: Sensory Memory Stages

1. sensory input

2. sensory memory

3. encoding

4. long-term memory

Stage 1: Sensory Memory Definition

sensory memory preserves very brief sensory impressions of stimuli

Stage 1: Sensory Memory

• the actual capacity of sensory memory can be 12 or more items

• all but 3 or 4 items disappear before they can enter consciousness or working memory

• there is a separate sensory register for each sense

Stage 2: Working Memory Definition

preserves recently perceived events or experiences for less than minute (without rehearsal)

Stage 2: Working Memory

• mental workspace where we sort, process, and encode information before adding it to enduring storage (KTM)

• capacity = the “magic” number of 7 (+- 2)

• info stored for approx 20 seconds

• rehearsal leads to longer duration

Maintenance rehearsal

process in which information is repeated or reviewed to keep it from fading while in working memory

Chunking

organizing pieces of information into smaller number of meaningful units

Effortful processing

a process of elaborative rehearsal in which information is actively reviewed and related to information already in the LTM

Levels of processing theory (Craik & Tulving, 1975)

explanation for the fact that information that is more thoroughly connecting to meaningful terms in LTM will be better remembered

• Study words

  • does it have the letter “a” in it?

  • does it rhyme with chair?

  • is it a mammal?

Effortful processing and attention

memory goes where attention goes, because you can’t have effortful processing without attention

Effortful Processing (i.e. encoding with deep, elaborative rehearsal) typically benefits memory in two ways

1. thinking about the meaning of the TBR (to be remembered) information

2. Forming associations between TBR information and other information already stored in LTM

Cramming

learning without remembering

The spacing effect

distributed study leads to improved retention (also called the practice effect or distributed learning effect)

Massed repetition

repeated presentations that occur closely together in time (“cramming”)

Distributed repetition

repeated presentations that are spread out over time

Retrieval practice (the testing effect)

a learning strategy that involves actively recalling information from memory to improve long-term retention and understanding

The finding that it is easier to remember items presented at both the beginning of a list and at the end of a list (rather than items in the middle) is referred to as

the serial position effect

You are deeply immersed in the book you are reading, when a friend walking by asks you a question. You start to ask, “What was that?” when you realize you actually heard the question, since most of the question lingers in memory like an echo. This effect is due to the ultra-short-term storage of information in your ______________, and more specifically the form of that memory for hearing/audition, which is _____________.

1. sensory memory

2. echoic memory

The knowledge that you are able to serve a ball in tennis involves ___________, whereas your proficient physical ability to serve a tennis ball involves __________.

1. semantic memory

2. procedural memory