MCAT: Soc/Psych- Attitude and Behavior Change

Habituation

become so used to something (prolonged/repeated exposure) that you don't notice it anymore (learned to ignore it)

Dishabituation

the reversal of habituation

ex: Habituation

example of what: zoning out all the background noise when you're reading/working something in the student union.

ex: dishabituation

example of what: someone walks up to you and says excuse me

Classical conditioning

stimulus -> biological response

neutral stimuli

part of classical conditioning: no response. Eg: Bell sound prior to Pavlov's dog's training

conditioned stimuli

part of classical conditioning: acquired response. Eg: Kitchen bell sound triggers Pavlov's dog to salivate

unconditioned stimuli

art of classical conditioning: natural response, no need for conditioning. Eg: Smell of steak triggers salivation

conditioned response

the response to conditioned stimuli

unconditioned response

the response to unconditioned stimuli

acquisition

learning the association. Eg: dog learns to salivate because Pavlov always gives them food after ringing the bell

extinction

losing the association. Eg: if Pavlov stops giving dog food after ringing the bell.

spontaneous recovery

association returns after extinction, but never as strong as before.

generalization

Eg. Dog salivates to anyone ringing a bell

discrimination

Eg. Dog salivates only to Pavlov ringing the bell

Operant conditioning

behavior -> consequences

Processes of shaping and extinction

reinforcement shapes a behavior. When the reinforcement no longer happens, the behavior relapses, it's called extinction.

types of reinforcement

positive, negative, primary, conditional

positive reinforcement

behavior -> reward -> more of that behavior. Eg: study for your exam, and I'll reward you with a good grade

negative reinforcement

behavior -> less punishment -> more of that behavior. Eg: study for your exam, and I'll stop giving you b

primary reinforcer

natural rewards = food, drink, pleasure

secondary reinforcer

unnatural rewards = money, grades

Reinforcement schedules

fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, variable-interval

fixed-ratio

behavior is rewarded every time or every nth time

variable ratio

instead of rewarding exactly every nth time, it's rewarded maybe the 1st time, then 4th time, then 2nd time, etc

fixed interval

behavior is rewarded again only after a fixed time interval, like 60 seconds

variable interval

instead of waiting exactly 60 seconds, the time interval may be 90 seconds, then 20 seconds, etc

Punishment

opposite of reinforcement, a deterrent to behavior.

Escape

you touch a caterpillar, it stings you, you jerk away

Avoidance

you learn to not touch a caterpillar

Latent learning

passively soaking up knowledge

Problem solving

step back, think, and come up with a solution

Instincts

mother goose will protect her eggs. If you try to teach a goose to abandon eggs, it won't work because it goes against their instinct, this process is called instinctive drift.

Modeling

copying others

Mirror neurons

a neuron that fires both when you perform an action and when you see another perform the same action. Thus, it's also responsible for empathy: if you see someone else hurting, you hurt also

vicarious emotion

feeling what others feel

Empathy

feeling an emotion that you share

Vicarious

feeling an emotion even if you don't share it. Eg: seeing someone skateboard, you're like wow that must be so fun, even though you never skateboarded before.

ex: observational learning

example: loving family makes someone a loving person. Abusive family makes someone an abusive person.

Elaboration likelihood model

two extremes on how individuals respond to persuasion, most are somewhere in the middle

central route processing

think, analyze, then draw conclusions

peripheral route processing

superficial details like how likable the speaker is, catchphrases, slogans

Social cognitive theory

we learn how to behave by observing others in society instead of trial and error

changing behavior, characteristics of the message and target, social factors

Factors that affect attitude change

→observed by others →Changes attitude

Changes in your behavior

→ influences target → affects attitude

Message

= environment → influences individual attitudes

Social