MIDTERM PREP

Cognitive Psychology

Scientific study of mind and mental function, including learning, memory, attention, perception, reasoning, language, conceptual development, and decision making.

Learning

The process of acquiring, through experience, new and relatively enduring information or behaviors.

Non-Associative Learning

Learning information about an external stimulus

Associative Learning

Whenever a person/animal forms an association among various stimuli and/or responses 

Habituation

Lengthy or repeated exposure to a stimulus which eventually leads to a DECREASED individual response. (Non-Associative Learning)

Sensitization

Lengthy or repeated exposure to a stimulus which eventually leads to an INCREASED individual response

Behaviorism 

(Associative Learning) Psychology as an empirically rigorous science focused on observable behaviors and not unobservable internal mental processes

Pavlov

• Medical degree

• Studied digestive system (of dogs)

• Nobel prize in physiology

• Experiments on conditioning

Classical (Pavlovian or Respondent) conditioning

Form of learning in which reflex responses are associated with new stimuli

• Based on what happens BEFORE the response

Unconditioned Stimulus

Reliably triggers a response 

Unconditioned Response

Triggered by unconditioned stimulus

Neutral Stimulus

Triggers NO response

During Conditioning 

The unconditioned stimulus is paired with the neutral stimulus and results in the unconditioned response. This is repeated until the state of acquisition, where there is an association between the two stimuli that has been created. 

After Conditioning

The old neutral stimulus has become a CONDITIONED stimulus because it now elicits the conditioned response

Process of classical conditioning

John B. Watson - The Little Albert Experiment (1920)

• Applied the principles of CC to humans.

• Human emotions and behaviors as a bundle of conditioned responses, more specifically of conditioned emotional responses. 

• Watson and Raynor conduced the Little Albert experiment, whereby they conditioned a 9-month old baby to associate rats (Conditioned stimulus) with a loud noise (unconditioned stimulus) and fear them (Conditioned response)

Little Albert

Little Albert Contd

Little Albert Finished

Issues with:

• The ethical standards of the study

• The rigor of the experiment

Phobias - CC

• PHOBIA may begin as CONDITIONED EMOTIONAL RESPONSES

• CERs can spread to other stimuli

• Conditioned fears respond to desensitization

• Many of our likes and dislikes and fears are acquired as conditioned emotional responses

• Widely exploited by advertisers who pair their products with positive images and music

Acquisition 

• Process of acquiring a new response, when conditioned response strength increases 

• Ideally, the unconditioned stimulus immediately after conditioned stimulus, optimal delay between both from ½ to 5 seconds. 

Extinction

Disappearance of the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus no longer follows the conditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous Recovery

Return of a learned response after apparent extinction

Stimulus Generalization

Tendency to respond to stimuli similar to but not identical to a conditioned stimulus 

Stimulus Discrimination

Ability to respond differently to various stimuli

Operant (Or instrumental) Conditioning 

Form of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a REINFORCER or diminished if followed by PUNISHER

• Based on what happens AFTER the response. 

• Involves associating one’s own behavior with consequences 

Law of Effect

Behaviors followed by satisfying consequences are more likely to be repeated, while behaviors followed by annoying consequences are less likely to be repeated (Edward Thorndike)

Operant Reinforcer

Event that follows a response and increases the probability of it occurring again 

Positive Reinforcement (Operant reinforcer)

Strengthens responses by PRESENTING A REWARDING stimulus after a desired event

Negative Reinforcement

Strengthens the response by REMOVING AN UNPLEASANT stimulus after a desired event.

Primary Reinforcers

An innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need (Hunger, rest, etc.)

Secondary (or Conditioned) Reinforcers

A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power via its association with a primary reinforcer

Reinforcement Schedule 

A pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced 

Continuous Reinforcement

The desired response is reinforced every time it occurs

Partial (Intermittent) Reinforcement

Responses are sometimes reinforced and sometimes not reinforced

Partial-Reinforcement Effect

Finding the operant responses reinforced on a partial schedules are more resistant to extinction 

Punisher

Event that follows a response and DECREASES its probability of occurring again.

Positive Punishment

DECREASES responses by PRESENTING AN AVERSIVE stimulus after an undesired event

Negative Punishment 

Decreases the response by REMOVING A DESIRABLE or PLEASANT stimulus after an undesired event

Limitations of behaviorist views

• An animal’s capacity for conditioning is limited by its biology (Not all associations are learned equally)

• Learning not solely about conditioning and association, rewards, and punishments 

• Learning can occur through observing others’ behavior (Not always needing to do something to learn)

• Human cognition (i.e., thoughts, perspectives, and expectations) and social context critical for learning 

Observational Learning

The acquisition or modification of a behavior after exposure to at least one performance of that behavior

Modeling

The imitation of behavior through OL

Vicarious Conditioning 

Learning the consequences of an action by watching others being rewarded or punished for performing the action

Vicarious Contd

The emotional attitudes we develop towards foods, political parties, ethnic groups, etc., are probably conditioned by direct and second-hand experiences (i.e., vicariously)

Decision Making

Attempting to select the best alternative among several options

Bounded Rationality 

The idea that in decision-making, rationality of individuals is limited by 

1. The information they have,

2. the cognitive limitations of their minds (i.e., cognitive misers), and 

3. the finite amount of time they have to make a decision

Heuristic

Shortcut used to reduce the amount of thinking needed to make decisions

Availability heuristic

Tendency to make a decision based on information that comes most easily to mind

Representativeness heuristic 

Tendency to place people or objects in a category if they are similar to the concept that is the prototype 

• Leads to faulty reasoning if base rate is not taken into account 

Bias

Systematic pattern of deviation from norm or rationality in judgement, whereby inferences about others and situations may be drawn in an illogical fashion

Framing

How information is presented affects how that information is perceived and influences decisions

Paradox of Choice

When too many options are available, especially when all of them are attractive, we experience conflict, indecision, and a form of cognitive paralysis(Maximizers vs. Satisfiers (i.e., “good enough” choice)

Developmental Psychology

Scientific study of how humans change over the life span

• From conception until death

Three domains of change

• Physical

• Socio-emotional

• Cognitive

Contextual Theories

Emphasize the role of sociocultural context in development

Sociocultural Theory

How culture is transmitted from one generation to the next via everyday social interactions

• Social dimension of cognitive development and cultural context of development

• Learn to act as member of society because of participating in cooperative dialogues and guidance from adults & more-expert peers.

Biological Systems Theory 

Development results from ongoing interactions b/w biological, cognitive, and socioemotional changes within individual and their changing contexts (Ontogenetic development (i.e., within individual)

Dynamic Systems Theory

Children’s developmental domains, maturation, and environment as an integrated system, ever changing, resulting in developmental change and emergence of new abilities.

Germinal Period

• Conception to 2 weeks after

• Division of the zygote and implantation in the uterine wall

Embryonic Period 

• 3 to 8 weeks after conception 

• Brain, spine, major organs, and bodily structures bein to form in the embryo 

Fetal Period

• 9 weeks after conception until birth

• Brain continues developing; bodily structures are refined; fetus grows in length/weight and accumulated fat for birth

Teratogens

• Environmental substances that can harm prenatal development

• Greek “tera” = “monster'“

During pregnancy, development could be affected by:

• Alcohol; Caffeine; Nicotine

• Recreational drugs

• Rubella, syphilis

• Radiation mercury

Effects: Micro-/macrocephaly, hydrocephalus, heart defect, vascular disruption, mandibular/ear abnormalities, spina bifda, limb defects, neural tube defects, etc.

Cephalocaudal Development

Growth occurs from top down

Proximodistal Development

Growth occurs from the center of the body outward

Inborn Motor Reflexes

Basic automatic responses to stimuli that aid survival

• Rooting reflex

• Sucking reflex

• Grasping reflex

Sensory development

Infants get information from the world by hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, and perceiving touch. Not all sensory abilities have the same development 

• Taste: 2 hours old infants prefer sweet tastes 

• Hearing: Infants hear well at birth

• Vision: Poor vision at birth 

Maturation

Physical development of the brain and body that prepares an infant for voluntary movement

Changes in the brain:

1. Formation of synapses b/w neurons

2. Over time and with experience, synaptic connections refined to preserve most important connections

3. Problematic when environments not stimulating

Early attachment

• Fundamental need to form strong connections with caretakers

• In the late 1950s, psychologists believed that the care an infant needed was based primarily on getting food from the mother

Harry Harlow’s monkey attachment experiment 

Attachment bonds formed when caregivers provide for: Physical needs vs. comforting contact 

Attachment styles

Separation anxiety

• occurs in all human cultures

Strange situation test

(Mary Ainsworth) Revealed different attachment styles

• Secure attachment

• Avoidant attachment

• Ambivalent attachment

Secure attachment

• Infants confident enough to play in unfamiliar environment if caregiver present

• Infants readily comforted by caregiver in times of distress

Insecure attachment

• Avoidant attachment: Infants somewhat willing to explore unfamiliar environment, but with little interest in caregiver

• Ambivalent attachment: infants unwilling to explore unfamiliar environment with mixed feelings about the caregiver (Ex: Cry when caregiver leaves but not consoled upon their return)

Theory of mind

Capacity to understand that other people have minds and intentions

• as infants and children acquire theory of mind, they develop the ability to think in increasingly sophisticated ways

Piagets Theory of Cognitive Development

• Jean Piaget investigated how the way children think changes

• For him, infants change how they think as they form new schemas, or ways of thinking about how the world works

• Piaget underestimated the ages at which certain skills develop

• Cognitive development understood in terms of trends rather than strict stages

Schemas

Ways of thinking about how the world works

Assimilation

Process used to incorporate new information into existing frameworks for knowledge

Accommodation

Process used to create new frameworks for knowledge or to drastically alter existing ones to incorporate new information that otherwise would not fit

Sensorimotor stage (Birth to 2 years)

Acquisition of information through senses and motor skills

• Object permanence developed during this stage

Preoperational stage (2-7 years)

Reasoning based on intuition and superficial appearances rather than logic

• Law of conservation

• Centration

• Egocentrism

Law of conservation

A child’s understanding that certain properties of an object, like its mass, number, or remain the same even when its appearance changes

Centration

Tendency in young children to focus on a single prominent aspect of a situation while ignoring other important features

Egocentrism

Inability to see things from another persons perspective. (Child hides their eyes behind their hands, so since they can’t see, no one else can)

Concrete operation stage (7-12 years)

Begin to think about and understand logical operations, and no longer fooled by appearances

Formal operational stage (12 to adulthood)

Think abstractly, and able to formulate and test hypotheses through logic

Language

0 to 60k words

• System in which sounds and symbols are used according to grammatical rules

• Phonemes, morphemes; syntax

Babbling

Intentional vocalization, often by an infant, with no specific meanings

Telegraphic speech

Rudimentary sentences with missing words and grammatical markings, though follow logical syntax and convey meaning

Over regularization

Incorrect use of a regular syntax rule where exception to a rule should be used