Weeks 4 - 6

Chapters 6 - 10

acquisition

the initial phase of learning in which a response is established

classical conditioning (Pavlovian conditioning)

a form of associative learning in which an organism learns to associate a neutral stimulus (e.g., a sound) with a biologically relevant stimulus (e.g., food), which results in a change in the response to the previously neutral stimulus (e.g., salivation)

conditioned emotional response

consist of emotional and physiological responses that develop to a specific object or situation

conditioned response (CR)

the learned response that occurs to the conditioned stimulus

conditioned stimulus (CS)

a once-neutral stimulus that later elicits a conditioned response because it has a history of being paired with an unconditioned stimulus

conditioned taste aversion

acquired dislike or disgust for a food or drink because it was paired with illness

discrimination (Pavlovian)

(1) occurs when an operant response is made to one stimulus but not to another, even if the stimuli are similar; (2) behaviour that disfavours or disadvantages members of a certain social group in some way extinction (Pavlovian)

generalization (Pavlovian)

takes place when an operant response occurs in response to a new stimulus that is similar to the stimulus present during original learning

latent inhibition

occurs when frequent experience with a stimulus before it is paired with a US makes it less likely that conditioning will occur after a single episode of illness

preparedness

the biological predisposition to rapidly learn a response to a particular class of stimuli

spontaneous recovery

the reoccurrence of a previously extinguished conditioned response, typically after some time has passed since extinction

unconditioned response (UR)

a reflexive, unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus

unconditioned stimulus (US)

a stimulus that elicits a reflexive response without learning

avoidance learning

a specific type of negative reinforcement that removes the possibility that a stimulus will occur

chaining

linking together two or more shaped behaviours into a more complex action or sequence of actions

continuous reinforcement

every response made results in reinforcement

discrimination (operant)

occurs when an organism learns to respond to one original discriminative stimulus but not to new stimuli that may be similar to the original stimulus

discriminative stimulus

a cue or event that indicates that a response, if made, will be reinforced

escape learning

occurs if a response removes a stimulus that is already present

extinction (operant)

the reduction of a conditioned response when a conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus no longer occur together

fixed-interval schedule

reinforces the first response occurring after a set amount of time passes

fixed-ratio schedule

reinforcement is delivered after a specific number of responses have been completed

generalization (operant)

a process in which a response that originally occurred for a specific stimulus also occurs for different, though similar, stimuli

law of effect

the idea that responses followed by satisfaction will occur again in the same situation whereas those that are not followed by satisfaction become less likely

negative punishment

occurs when a behaviour decreases because it removes or diminishes a particular stimulus

negative reinforcement

involves the strengthening of a behaviour because it removes or diminishes a stimulus

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which behaviour is influenced by consequences

partial (intermittent) reinforcement

only a certain number of responses are rewarded, or a certain amount of time must pass before reinforcement is available

partial reinforcement effect

refers to a phenomenon in which organisms that have been conditioned under partial reinforcement resist extinction longer than those conditioned under continuous reinforcement

positive punishment

a process in which a behaviour decreases in frequency because it was followed by a particular, usually unpleasant, stimulus

positive reinforcement

the strengthening of behaviour after potential reinforcers such as praise, money, or nourishment follow that behaviour

primary reinforcer

consist of reinforcing stimuli that satisfy basic motivational needs—needs that affect an individual’s ability to survive (and, if possible, reproduce)

punisher

a stimulus that is contingent upon a response, and that results in a decrease in behaviour

punishment

a process that decreases the future probability of a response

reinforcement

a process in which an event or reward that follows a response increases the likelihood of that response occurring again

reinforcer

a stimulus that is contingent upon a response and that increases the probability of that response occurring again

schedules of reinforcement

rules that determine when reinforcement is available

secondary reinforcer

consist of stimuli that acquire their reinforcing effects only after we learn that they have value

shaping

the process of reinforcing successive approximations of a specific operant response

variable-interval schedule

the first response is reinforced following a variable amount of time

variable-ratio schedule

the number of responses required to receive reinforcement varies according to an average

applied behaviour analysis

(ABA), which involves using close observation, prompting, and reinforcement to teach behaviours, often to people who experience difficulties and challenges owing to a developmental condition such as autism

amnesia

a profound loss of at least one form of memory

anterograde amnesia

the inability to form new memories for events occurring after a brain injury

attention

selects which information will be passed on to STM

central executive

the control centre of working memory; it coordinates attention and the exchange of information among the three storage components

chunking

organizing smaller units of information into larger, more meaningful units

consolidation

the process of converting short-term memories into long-term memories in the brain

control processes

shift information from one memory store to another

cross-cortical storage

a phenomenon in which long-term declarative memories are distributed throughout the cortex of the brain, rather than being localized in one region

declarative (explicit) memory

memories that we are consciously aware of and that can be verbalized, including facts about the world and one’s own personal experiences

echoic memory

the auditory form of sensory memory

encoding

the process of storing information in the LTM system

episodic buffer

a storage component of working memory that combines the images and sounds from the other two components into coherent, story-like episodes

episodic memory

declarative memories for personal experiences that seem to be organized around “episodes” and are recalled from a first-person (“I” or “my”) perspective

feature binding

the process of combining visual features into a single unit

iconic memory

the visual form of sensory memory

long-term memory (LTM)

holds information for extended periods of time, if not permanently

long-term potentiation (LTP)

demonstrated that there is an enduring increase in connectivity and transmission of neural signals between nerve cells that fire together

memory

collection of several systems that store information in different forms for differing amounts of time

nondeclarative (implicit) memories

include actions or behaviours that you can remember and perform without awareness

phonological loop

a storage component of working memory that relies on rehearsal and that stores information as sounds, or an auditory code

proactive interference

a process in which the first information learned (e.g., in a list of words) occupies memory, leaving fewer resources to remember the newer information

procedural memory

patterns of muscle movements (motor memory)

reconsolidation

in which the hippocampus functions to update, strengthen, or modify existing long-term memories

rehearsal

repeating information until you do not need to remember it anymore

retrieval

brings information from LTM back into STM

retroactive interference

the most recently learned information overshadows some older memories that have not yet made it into long-term memory

retrograde amnesia

a condition in which memory for the events preceding trauma or injury is lost

semantic memories

declarative memories that include facts about the world

sensory memory

a memory store that accurately holds perceptual information for a very brief amount of time

serial position effect

in general, most people will recall the first few items from a list and the last few items, but only an item or two from the middle

short-term memory (STM)

a memory store with limited capacity and duration (approximately 30 seconds)

storage

the time and manner in which information is retained between encoding and retrieval

stores

retain information in memory without using it for any specific purpose

tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon

when you are able to retrieve similar sounding words or words that start with the same letter but can’t quite retrieve the word you actually want

visuospatial sketchpad

a storage component of working memory that maintains visual images and spatial layouts in a visuospatial code

word-length effect

people remember more one-syllable words than four- or five-syllable words in a short-term-memory task

working memory

a model of short-term remembering that includes a combination of memory components that can temporarily store small amounts of information for a short period of time

acronym

pronounceable words whose letters represent the initials of an important phrase or set of items

context-dependent memory

the idea that retrieval is more effective when it takes place in the same physical setting (context) as encoding

deep processing

memory processing related to an item’s meaning or its function

desirable difficulties

techniques that make studying slower and more effortful, but result in better overall remembering

dual coding

occurs when information is stored in more than one form

elaborative rehearsal

prolonging exposure to information by thinking about its meaning

encoding specificity principle

retrieval is most effective when it occurs in the same context as encoding

first-letter technique

uses the first letters of a set of items to spell out words that form a sentence

flashbulb memory

an extremely vivid and detailed memory about an event and the conditions surrounding how one learned about the event

forgetting curve

shows that most forgetting occurs right away, and that the rate of forgetting eventually slows to the point where one does not seem to forget at all

maintenance rehearsal

prolonging exposure to information by repeating it

method of loci

a mnemonic that connects words to be remembered to locations along a familiar path

mnemonic

a technique intended to improve memory for specific information

mood-dependent memory

people remember better if their mood at retrieval matches their mood during encoding

recall

retrieving information when asked but without that information being present during the retrieval process

recognition

identifying a stimulus or piece of information when it is presented to you

self-reference effect

occurs when you think about information in terms of how it relates to you or how it is useful to you; this type of encoding will lead to you remembering that information better than you otherwise would have

state-dependent memory

memory retrieval is more effective when your internal state matches the state you were in during encoding

shallow processing

encoding more superficial properties of a stimulus, such as the sound or spelling of a word

testing effect

the finding that taking practice tests can improve exam performance, even without additional studying

weapon focus

the tendency to focus on a weapon at the expense of peripheral information including the identity of the person holding the weapon