psychology - learning and cognition

unit 2

learning

acquisition of new knowledge, behaviors, and skills through study, teaching, or direct experience

bottom-up processing

brain starts with raw pieces and build up big picture (data driven)

• guided by 8incoming raw data (colors, shapes, sounds, textures) without relying on prior expectations

• example: assembling puzzle without looking at box

top-down processing

brain starts with big idea or memory and uses it to understand small pieces (concept/theory driven)

• brain forms hypothesis about what you are seeing or hearing and then filters incoming sensory details to fit that expectation

• example: deciphering messy handwriting because surrounding sentence gives you context

heuristics

Our brain taking shortcuts

• can’t process everything because it is overwhelming

• The brain takes shortcuts to make decisions due to

  • lack of knowleddge

  • lack of motivation

  • lack of time and/or resources

classical conditioning

automatic, trained response paired with specific stimuli to create a learned response

• study: Pavlov’s dogs (food and metranome)

operant conditioning

learning process where voluntary behaviors are modified in response to award or punishment

• 
  

positive punishment

adding something to punish someone

• ex: adding fines for littering

negative punishment

taking something to punish someone

• ex: taking away phone for misbehaving

positive reinforcement

adding something to encourage a behavior

• ex: giving a dog a treat for sitting

negative reinforcement

taking something to encourage a behavior

• ex: taking away screen time for good grades

dendrites

receive information from synapse

axon

signal passes througha

axon terminal

receives signal from axon

myelin sheaths

coat axon and speeds up process

synapse

information travels out and across ______ to next awaiting neuron

action potential

electrical spark that shoots the information from neurons

neurotransmitters

body’s chemical messengers, transmit messages between neurons or from neurons to muscles

what neurotransmitters regulate

• heart rate

• breathing

• sleep cycles

• digestion

• mood

• concentration

• appetite

• muscle movement

hormones

chemical messengers that travel by blood flow and reach places neurons cannot, regulate long term processes, hard to control

what hormones regulate

• growth

• metabolism

• digestion

• reproduction

social cognitive learning theory

• suggests behavior is learned from environment through processes of modelling and reinforcement

• recognized there are certain conditions necessary for social learning to take place

albert bandura

developed social cognitive learning theory and performed 1961 bobo doll studies

conditions necessary for social learning to take place (social cognitive learning theory)

1. attention: observers must attend to modelled behavior

2. retention: observers must remember features of behaviors

3. motivation: observers must want to reproduce it and expect a certain outcome

4. potential: observers must physically or mentally be able to carry out behavior

factors impacting potential

1. model stands out in contrast to other models

2. model’s behavior must be consistent

3. model is liked and respected by observer

4. observer perceives a similarity between themselves and the model (member of in-group)

5. model’s behavior is reinforced