Psych quiz 2

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that initially produces no specific response other than focusing attention before conditioning occurs.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS / US)

A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers an unconditioned (involuntary) response without prior learning.

Unconditioned Response (UCR / UR)

An unlearned, naturally occurring automatic response to an unconditioned stimulus (e.g., salivation to food).

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.

Conditioned Response (CR)

A learned response to a previously neutral (now conditioned) stimulus that occurs after conditioning has taken place.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process that occurs through associations between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus (learned associations).

Operant Conditioning

A method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior, modifying voluntary behavior through reinforcement or punishment.

Positive Reinforcement

Strengthening a behavior by presenting a desirable stimulus immediately after the behavior occurs.

Negative Reinforcement

Strengthening a behavior by removing or stopping an unpleasant/aversive stimulus when the behavior occurs.

Social Learning Theory (SCT)

Bandura's theory stating that people learn new behaviors through observational learning, modeling, and imitation of role models.

The "Black Box" Concept

The behaviorist view that the mind is an unobservable "black box"—behaviorists argued psychology should focus only on observable inputs (stimuli) and outputs (responses), ignoring internal mental processes.

Cognitive Shift from the Black Box

The historical shift away from strict Behaviorism toward Cognitive Psychology, driven by the realization that internal mental processes (cognition, memory, thinking) must be studied to fully understand human behavior.

Sensory Store (Sensory Memory)

The initial memory store in the Multi-Store Model with high capacity but very brief duration (less than a second to a few seconds) that holds raw sensory information.

Short-Term Store (Short-Term Memory / STM)

The temporary memory store with limited capacity (7 ± 2 chunks) and limited duration (18–30 seconds) that holds information currently being processed.

Long-Term Store (Long-Term Memory / LTM)

The permanent memory store with potentially infinite capacity and duration (up to a lifetime) where information is organized and stored.

Attention (Multi-Store Model Process)

The cognitive process required to move information from the Sensory Store into the Short-Term Store.

Maintenance Rehearsal

The process of continuously repeating information verbally or mentally to keep it active in Short-Term Memory and prevent it from decaying.

Transfer / Encoding

The process of transferring information from the Short-Term Store into the Long-Term Store through deep processing, elaboration, or rehearsal.

Retrieval

The process of locating and pulling stored information out of the Long-Term Store back into the active Short-Term Store for conscious use.

Forgetting in the Multi-Store Model

The loss of information that can occur at any stage/store of the model (Sensory Store via decay; STM via decay/displacement; LTM via retrieval failure or interference).

Empirical Support: Patient HM (Scoville & Milner, 1957)

Biological evidence supporting the Multi-Store Model; HM had his hippocampus surgically removed, impairing LTM formation while keeping STM intact, demonstrating that STM and LTM are distinct separate stores.

Empirical Support: Serial Position Effect (Glanzer & Cunitz, 1966)

Experimental evidence supporting MSM; participants recalled words at the beginning (Primacy Effect - LTM transfer) and end (Recency Effect - STM retention) of a list better than middle words.

Primacy Effect

The tendency to recall items at the beginning of a list better because they have received more attention and rehearsal, allowing transfer into LTM.

Recency Effect

The tendency to recall items at the end of a list better because they are still actively held in Short-Term Memory at the time of recall.

Acoustic vs. Semantic Coding Evidence (Baddeley, 1966)

Evidence supporting distinct stores; Baddeley showed that Short-Term Memory relies heavily on acoustic coding (sound-based), whereas Long-Term Memory relies primarily on semantic coding (meaning-based).