Unit 4 Psychology

learning

acquiring new and relatively enduring information/behavior

associative learning

learning that certain events occur together. can be two stimuli or a response and its consequence

classical conditioning

link two or more stimuli; the first stimulus evoke behavior in anticipation
- any activity can be conditioned and responses can conditioned to any stimulus that an organism can perceive

stimulus

any event that evokes a response

respondent behavior

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus
- ex: if you feel heat, you pull away

behaviorism

1. should be an objective science that (be able to observe)
2. studies behavior without reference to mental processes
Most research psychologist today agree with 1 but not 2

Pavlov Research

- food in the mouth automatically triggers a dog's salivary reflex
- this drooling was an unconditional response (UR). And the food an unconditioned stimulus (US).
- salivation in response to a tone is learned. It is conditional upon the dog's associating the tone with the food. Thus this response is the conditioned response (CR).
- neutral stimulus (NS)- a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning (ex: tone)
- conditioned = learned
- unconditioned = not learned

aquisition

In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a Neutral Stimulus and an Unconditioned Stimulus --> NS begins triggering the Conditioned Stiumus

extinction

the diminishing of a CR; occurs when (US) does not follow a (CS)

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of a extinguished condition response

generalization

once a response has been conditioned, stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus evoke similar responses
- scared of all white fur

discrimination

in classical conditioning, distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus. (ex: Pavlov's dog learns the difference between the sound of the 2 bells and no longer salivates at the sound of the non-food bell)

operant conditioning

behavior becomes more (reinforcer) or less (punisher) likely to recur

operant behavior

behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences

skinner's research

- a chamber (aka Skinner box) containing a bar that an animal can manipulate to obtain food or water reinforcer
- shaping - reinforcers guide behavior toward the desired behavior

ways to increase desired behavior

1. positive reinforcement: add a desirable stimulus
- ex: pet a dog that comes when you call it
2. negative reinforcement: remove an aversive stimulus
- ex: take painkillers to end pain

ways to decrease undesirable behavior

1. positive punishment: administer an aversive stimulus
- ex: spray water on a barking dog
2. negative punishment: withdraw a rewarding stimulus
- ex: take away a misbehaving teen's driving privileges

social learning theory

learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished

learned helplessness

no control over repeated bad events --> learn helplessness

biological constraints on classical conditioning

preparedness: a biological predisposition to learn associations (taste and nausea) that have survival value
- ex: taste aversion

taste aversion

used to help treat individuals from alcohol abuse. drugs are given that make the consumption of alcohol extremely unpleasant
- ex: giving coyote fresh meat with poison changed their behaviors and they became almost fearful of the sheep

biological constraints in operant conditioning

biological predisposition to learn associations that are naturally adaptive
- ex: fear of heights, snakes

instinctive drift

learned behavior gradually revert to biologically predisposed patterns
- ex: drift back to fearing heights even though you did not before

two aspects of thinking in operant conditioning

- latent learning: learning that occurs until there is an incentive
- cognitive map: a mental representation of the layout of one's environment.
- ex: after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it

observational/social learning

modeling the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

prosocial effects

positive, constructive, helpful behavior

antisocial effects

aggressive, destructive, unhelpful behavior
- ex: majority of serial killers experience abuse, which is influence by social learning

mirror neurons

- by watching models we experience indirect punishment
- anticipate behavior's consequences like those we are observing
- likely to learn from people we perceive as similar/successful

memory

the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information
RESt

three aspects of memory

- encoding- inputting into memory
- storage- storing into the memory
- retrieval- outputting information from memory

Model of Memory

look at the picture

Memory in the brain

brain networks encode, store, and retrieve the information that forms our complex memories

recall (measure memory)

retrieving information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but that was learned at an earlier time (ex: fill in the blank questions)

recognition (measure memory)

identifying items previously learned (ex: mcq)

relearning (measure memory)

learning something more quickly when you learn it a second or later time (ex: studying for an exam or engage a language used in early childhood)

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information (space, time, and frequency), and well-learned information, such as word meanings

sensory information

short-term memory of unprocessed sensory
- iconic memory: what our eyes visual remember (last 1 sec)
- echoic memory: auditory system (could last 4 sec)
- haptic memory: touch system (could last 5 sec) ex: if someone gives you a tight hug for five seconds, you can still feel it
1,4,5

short term memory

short-term storage of memory is forgotten quickly without elaborate processing. capacity depends on type of info and attention limits
(magical number seven plus or minus two) -miller 1959

duration of short term memory

- attention limits duration
- information stored as long as we attend to it
- active rehearsal extends the time

decay

information is lost in short-term memory gradually

interference

- retroactive interference: new information interferes with the storage or retrieval of old information
- proactive interference: when old information interferes with the storage or retrieval of new information

working memory

short term memory temporary store information needed for a particular task

clustering

when items are grouped based on category

chunking

organizing information into manageable units that allows more items to be stored in memory

long-term memory (life-time)

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences

long-term memory "re-living"

- after elaborate rehearsal, a relatively permanent and limitless storehouse for memory
- no limits on capacity or duration

two types of long-term memory

explicit memory: trying to memorize (conscious) --> declarative memory (facts, events, what happened) --> episodic memory (events, experiences) OR semantic memory (facts/concepts)

implicit memory: unconscious memory --> procedural memory (skills/tasks)

LEDES LIP

hippocampus (long term memory)

process explicit memories for storage. SAVE MEMORY

frontal lobe (long term memory)

involved in forming long-term memories

cerebellum (long term memory)

base of the brain "little brain"; consolidation of memories

basil ganglia (long term memory)

located in the midbrain; responsible for learned motor behavior

odor-evoked autobiographical memory

smell of something triggers a memory.
sensory organ there is the oldest, so it is the strongest

earworms

- cues trigger auditory memory
- phonological looping in working-memory that holds auditory codes
- stuck-song syndrome

de ja vu

an impression of having "already seen" or experienced something before

thinking

mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
ryan can kiss thee

concepts

mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

prototype

a mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a prototype provides easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin).

algorithms (problem solving)

A methodical procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.
ex: going through a list and categorizing items

heuristics

A simple thinking strategy that allows us to make judgment and solve problems efficiently
- ex: bringing an umbrella if its raining

insight

a sudden realization of a problem's solution; contrasts with strategy-based solution
-ex: dreaming about a solution

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

mental set

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way that was successful in the past

fixation

the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving

making judgements/intuition

1. recognition born of experience
2. adaptive, make quick decisions
3. huge part of our thinking

representativeness heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events depending on how well they match particular prototypes; may ignore other relevant information
- discrimination
- racism
- stereotype
- ex: thinking that someone is in a low class based on how they dress

availablity heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common
- someone walking in a casino thinking that they will win a lot of money because of the jackpot sounds/coins dropping

fear factor

- available heuristics, judgement
ex: bad weather + bad cali drivers -> avoid driving

belief perserverance

clingling to one's initial belief even after receiving new information that contradicts the basis of that belief

framing

how an issue is worded can significantly affect decisions and judgements

creativity

the ability to produce valuable and novel ideas

characteristics of creative people

- unconscious processing (eg. dream)
- direct remembering (eg. theories)
- divergent thinking (eg. consider all possibilities)
- noticing (eg. location of problem and solution)
- contrary recognition (eg. shapes in clouds)

language

our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

phoneme

smallest distinctive sound unit

morpheme

smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word, such as a prefix

grammar

system of rules that enables us to ocmmunicate with and understand others

semantics (grammar)

the language's set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds

syntax (grammar)

the set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences

nature (language acquisition)

Chomksy: Nativist/Intatist
- innately pre-wired with knowledge about language (Language Acquisition Device LAD)

nurture (language acquisition)

BF Skinner: Behaviorist Approach
- language acquired through reinforced imitation

interactional (language acquisition)

Vygotsky: social interactionist
- learners construct the new language, through socially mediated interaction

end of 3 months

- make cooing sounds
- quiet/smile when spoken to
- recognize your voice
- cry differently for different needs

end of 6 months

- babble and a variety of sounds
- use voice to express pleasure/displeasure

end of 12 months

- imitating speech sounds
- dada, mama, uh oh
- understand simple instructions "come here"

end of 18 months

- recognize names of familiar people/objects
- follow simple directions accompanied by gestures
- say 10 words

24 months

- speak 50 or more words
- ask 1 or 2 word questions
- follow simple commands and understand simple questions

Motherese/Baby Talk

- high-pitched voice, slower rhythm, short sentences
- speed up vocabulary development up to a point

The Whorfian Hypothesis

the language we grow up speaking determines the way we perceive the world, think about the world, and organize information about the world

The Bilingual Brain

- neural plasticity (critical/sensitive period hypothesis)
- selective attention
- better at remembering lists and sequences
- better problem-solving skills and critical thinking
- slow aging of the brain-prolong the onset of Alzheimer's disease

Negative impacts of Bilingual Brain

- slower development
- poor performance in school

wernickes area

responsible for language comprehension

wernickes aphasia

inability to comprehend speech

brocas area

responsible for expressive language

intelligence

ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

Types of Intelligence

Linguistic: easily learn language
Logical-Mathematical
Musical
Bodily-Kinesthetic: sports/dance
Spatial
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
Naturalist

Cognitive Professes Around the World

- memory
- categorization
- literacy
- real-life situations
- counting

culture intelligence

culture is an accumulation fo shared and learned believes, values, knowledge, and behaviors that are passed down from generation to generation

motivation

need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

instinct theory (Theory of motivation)

focus on genetically predisposed behavior; behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned

drive reduction theory (theory of motivation)

how we respond to inner pushes and outer pulls
- homeostasis is a tendency to maintain