psych unit #5

harry harlow

• experimented with the monkeys and they chose the mother who would hold them, not the one who fed them

• Supported the concept of imprinting 

• Changed the concept of secure and proper attachment

jean piaget

The Theory of Cognitive Development by Jean Piaget, the Swiss psychologist, suggests that children's intelligence undergoes changes as they grow. Cognitive development in children is not only related to acquiring knowledge, children need to build or develop a mental model of their surrounding world

konrad lorenz

1. A newborn creature bonds to the type of animals it meets at birth

2. Most obvious examples are ducklings

3. Proper imprinting leads to children learning to follow and adhere to their parents. A precursor to proper attachment

4. Demonstrates an innate need to bond

lev vygotsky

Vygotsky's theory (1962) proposes that the child's development is best understood in relation to social and cultural experience. Social interaction, in particular, is seen as a critical force in development.

abraham maslow

Abraham Maslow's pyramidal "Hierarchy of Needs" model is a highly-influential way of organizing human needs from the most "basic" to the most advanced. Maslow's argument is that the most basic needs must be met before people can move "up" to the more advanced needs.

erik erickson

1. Supported Harlow’s studies on attachment. Attachment at a young age brings trust.

2. Proper relationships should bring autonomy and initiative to young children.

lawrence kohlberg

Kohlberg (1981,1984) sought to describe the development of moral reasoning by posing moral dilemmas to children and adolescents, such as “Should a person steal medicine to save a loved one’s life?” He found stages of moral development.

mary ainsworth

• analyzed attachment to mothers and strangers

• The child does not play with stranger and cries when her mother leaves but is calmed down when she comes back

maturation

1. The development of the brain unfolds based on genetic instructions, causing various bodily and mental functions to occur in sequence

   1. Ex. standing before walking, babbling before talking

habituation

Habituation is a decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations.

roosting reflex

1. Infants are born with reflexes that aid in survival, including rooting reflex which helps them locate food

assimilate vs. accomodate

While assimilation involves the incorporation of new data into one's existing schemas, accommodation requires a more active and transformative approach, in which learners must modify their current cognitive frameworks to accommodate previously unencountered insights.

attachment

Attachment theory focuses on relationships and bonds (particularly long-term) between people, including those between a parent and child and between romantic partners. It is a psychological explanation for the emotional bonds and relationships between people

imprinting

1. A newborn creature bonds to the type of animals it meets at birth

2. Most obvious examples are ducklings

3. Proper imprinting leads to children learning to follow and adhere to their parents. A precursor to proper attachment

4. Demonstrates an innate need to bond

object permeance

1.  objects that are out of sight are also out of mind

egocentrism

They cannot perceive things from another’s point of view

ex. think you can see through their eyes, think you already know what happened even if you weren’t there

theory of mind

1. Preschoolers, although still egocentric, develop the ability to understand another’s mental state when they begin forming a theory of mind. 

   1. They think that everyone knows everything

conservation

Conservation psychology is the scientific study of the reciprocal relationships between humans and the rest of nature, with the goal of encouraging conservation of the natural world.

adolescence

1. Developmental period beginning at puberty and ending at adulthood

During adolescence, neurons in the frontal cortex grow myelin, which speeds up nerve conduction. The frontal cortex lags behind the limbic system’s development. Hormonal surges and the limbic system may explain occasional teen impulsiveness.

attachment

Attachment theory focuses on relationships and bonds (particularly long-term) between people, including those between a parent and child and between romantic partners. It is a psychological explanation for the emotional bonds and relationships between people.

parenting styles

authoritarian (R↓D↑), authoritative (R↑D↑), permissive(R↑D↓), uninvolved (R↓D↓)

association

a connection or relationship between two items (e.g., ideas, events, feelings) with the result that experiencing the first item activates a representation of the second. Associations are fundamental to learning theory and behaviorism

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

The stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response

unconditioned response (UCR)

The response elicited by an unconditioned stimulus without prior learning

conditioned stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a conditioned response

conditioned response (CR)

A response elicited by a previously neutral stimulus that has become associated with the unconditioned stimulus

acquisition

Initial learning stage in classical conditioning; conditioned response becomes elicited by the conditioned stimulus

extinction

Weakening of a conditioned association in the absence of an unconditioned stimulus stimulus or reinforcer

• No longer present UCS

spontaneous recovery

Reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a time delay

• Re-present the UCS

generalization

involves giving a conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the CS

• Ex. fear of dogs because of dog attack

discrimination

1. involves responding to one stimulus but not to stimuli that are similar 

   1. Ex. specific spider that you are afraid of

trial & error learning

Learner gradually discovers the correct response by attempting many behaviors and noting which ones produce the desired consequences

skinner box

1. Using Thorndike’s law of effect as a starting point, Skinner developed the operant chamber, or the Skinner box, to study operant conditioning

2. The Skinner box, comes with a bar or key that an animal manipulates to obtain a reinforcer like food or water. The bar or key is connected to devices that record the animal’s response. 

3. repeated behaviors will happen again

4. When it would come close to the lever, then it would be rewarded

positive reinforcer

A pleasant event that follows an operant response, increasing the likelihood that the response will recur

negative reinforcer

1. Strengthens a given response by removing aversive stimuli 

   1. Still a reward

   2. Ex. if you have a headache and you take advil, that is a negative reinforcer

      1. Getting rid of the headache

positive punishment

An aversive stimulus which diminishes the strength of the response it follows

omission training (negative punishment)

The removal of a reinforcing stimulus after a response (take away phone, car)

continuous reinforcement

A reinforcement schedule in which all correct responses are reinforced

partial reinforcement

1. Reinforcement schedule in which some, but not all, correct responses are reinforced

2. Stronger form of reinforcement

fixed ratio

1. Rewards appear after a certain set number of responses

2. Ex. factory workers getting paid after every 10 cases of product are completed

fixed interval

1. Rewards appear after a certain fixed amount of time, regardless of number of responses

2. Ex. weekly or monthly paychecks

variable ratio

1. Variable ratio (VR)

   1. Rewards appear after a certain number of responses, but that number varies from trial to trial

   2. Ex. slot machine payoffs

variable interval

1. Rewards appear after a certain amount of time, but that amount varies from trial to trial

2. Ex. random visits from the boss who delivers praise

badura’s bobo doll experiment

Bandura’s Bobo doll study (1961) indicated that individuals (children) learn through imitating others who receive rewards and punishments

1. First, the child is more likely to attend to and imitate those people it perceives as similar to itself

2. Second, the people around the child will respond to the behavior it imitates with either reinforcement or punishment

3. Third, the child will also take into account of what happens to other people when deciding whether or not to copy someone’s actions

mirror neurons

Neuroscientists discovered mirror neurons in the brain of animals and humans that are active during observational learning

long term potentiation

1. Biological process involving physical changes that strengthen the synapses in groups of nerve cells; believed to be the neural basis of learning

   1. Ex. if a mouse is placed in a pool of murky water, it will swim about until if finds a hidden platform to climb out on. With repetition, the mouse soon learns to locate the platform more quickly

effects of modeled behavior

Modeling may teach a new behavior, influence the frequency of a previously learned behavior, or increase the frequency of a similar behavior.

latent learning

1. Learning that occurs without any obvious reinforcement of the behavior or associations that are learned

   1. Understanding locations of buildings you walk by each day

   2. Learning a driving route but never showing until you’re asked to drive it

2. Connected to motivation 

   1. Why people learn without rewards/punishments or conditioning

insight learning

1. Learning that occurs rapidly as a result of understanding all the elements of a problem

2. “Aha” moments

   1. Solving a riddle