psych exam 2 textbook terms

types of learning

associative, nonassociative, social learning

nonassociative learning

change in behavior after repeated exposure to stimulus or an event

associative learning

the linking of two stimuli or events together

social learning

learning by verbal instructions or seeing someone else do that behavior

habituation

decrease in behavioral responses because stimulus stops providing new information

sensitization

leads to an increase in a behavioral response after exposure to repeated stimulus

Rescorla-Wagner theory

the strength of the association btwn two stimuli depends on how unexpected/surprising the US is

positive prediction error

when unexpected stimulus is present. Strengthens association between CS and US

negative prediction error

when expected stimulus is missing. Weakens association between CS and US

instructed learning

acquires associations and behaviors through verbal communication

vicarious learning

occurs when people learn about an action’s consequences by observing others being reinforced/punished for their behavior

consolidation

gradual process of memory storage

long-term potentiation (LTP)

identifies how synaptic connections may be strengthened during consolidation

context dependent memory

when aspects of the encoding match the retrieval context

state dependent memory

can occur when a person’s internal states match during the encoding and recall

prospective memory

remembering what to do in the future

blocking

common retrieval failure where well-known information cannot be recalled (tip of the tongue)

absentmindedness

forgetting caused by inattentional and shallow encoding of events

persistence

continued recurrence of unwanted memories

memory bias

changing of memories so they become consistent with current beliefs, knowledge, or attitudes

maximizers

seek to identify the perfect choice among a set of options. Often less happy with decision

satisficers

seek a “good enough” choice that meets their minimum requirements

synaptic pruning

reduction of synaptic connections due to nonuse

insula

receives and integrates somatosensory signals

help us experience emotions like disgust, anger, guilt, anxiety

amygdala

processes emotional significance of stimuli and generate immediate reactions

polygraph tests

measurer emotional reactivity to assess whether someone is being deceptive

drives

physiological states that create arousal and motivate behaviors to satisfy needs

cognitive dissonance

sense of discomfort when your beliefs and your behavior conflict

ex: eating chips at night, knowing its unhealthy

self determination theory and 3 universal core values

-competence

-autonomy

-relatedness

balance theory

The idea that people are motivated to achieve harmony in their interpersonal relationships