Learning, memory and metacognition

Developmental psychology Week 7: Development of learning, memory and metacognition

What is habituation and when does it develop?

Habituation is the decreased response to a stimulus after repeated presentations. It develops very early - fetuses show habituation to vibroacoustic stimuli as early as 30 weeks gestational age (Dirix et al., 2009).

What are the components of classical conditioning?

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS), Unconditioned response (UCR), Conditioned stimulus (CS), and Conditioned response (CR).

Describe the Little Albert experiment and what it demonstrated.

Watson & Rayner (1920) conditioned a 9-month-old infant (Little Albert) to fear a white rat by pairing it with a loud, frightening noise. This demonstrated classical conditioning of fear in human infants.

What did Lipsitt & Kaye (1964) demonstrate about classical conditioning in infants?

They showed that 2-3 day old infants made sucking motions at the sound of a neutral tone before a breast was presented, after the tone had been paired with the breast.

What are two types of reinforcement in instrumental conditioning?

Positive reinforcement (adding something desirable) and negative reinforcement (removing something aversive).

What is the mobile conjugate reinforcement paradigm and what does it measure?

A method where an infant's leg is connected to a mobile, teaching them that kicking moves the mobile. It measures instrumental learning and memory in infants.

What did Bandura's Bobo doll experiment (1965) demonstrate?

It showed that children learned aggressive behaviors through observation, and whether they repeated the behavior depended on whether the model was rewarded, punished, or experienced no consequences.

How early can fetuses recognize their mother's voice?

One to two weeks before birth (Kisilevsky et al., 2003).

What is the visual paired comparison task and what does it measure?

A task that measures novelty preference in infants by comparing looking time at familiar versus novel stimuli. It measures recognition memory and can be used from the earliest days of life.

How does memory retention in the mobile paradigm change with age?

Memory retention increases with age: 3-month-olds remember for up to one week, 6-month-olds for 2 weeks, and 12-month-olds for 2 months (Rovee-Collier & Boller, 1995).

What is infantile amnesia?

The phenomenon where adults typically don't remember events from their first three years of life and have few memories from the next two years.

How does digit span change during childhood development?

Digit span increases from approximately two digits in 2-year-olds to six digits in 9-year-olds (Kail, 1991).

What are the two main theories for memory improvement in early childhood?

Memory efficiency (improved memory processes and capacity) and memory strategies (development of techniques like rehearsal and organization).

What is the difference between theory of mind and metacognition?

Theory of mind is awareness that other people have different states of awareness than oneself. Metacognition is understanding and awareness of one's own mental processes.

What are Judgments of Learning (JOLs)?

Predictions about how likely one is to remember information in the future. They develop during the first few years of school.

What did Shin, Bjorklund, & Beck (2007) find regarding children's confidence in memory tasks?

Children consistently overestimated the number of pictures they would recall, but those with higher levels of overconfidence showed greater gains in recall, supporting the "adaptivity hypothesis."

At what age do children begin to use metacognitive control in studying?

Around age 7-8, children begin to restudy items they gave lower JOLs more often than items they gave high JOLs (Schneider & Löffler, 2016).

What is the adaptivity hypothesis regarding overconfidence in children?

The hypothesis suggests that overconfidence is adaptive because it helps keep children engaged in difficult activities (Bjorklund & Green, 1992).

At what age do children know which material is easy or difficult to learn?

From approximately age 5.