NEUR1020 Module 5

Habituation

non threatening stimulus comes to be ignored
response intensity weakens

sensitisation

response intensity strengthens

Ivan Pavlov

the scientist whose work led to the scientific study of how associations are formed
UCS- dog, UCR-salivating
CS-metronome, CR-salivating

classical conditioning

The process of learning associations by pairing stimuli together is known as
the closer in time a Behavior
is followed by Reinforcement, the more rapidly learning will proceed

operant conditioning

Learning whether an action is followed by satisfying or unsatisfying consequences

Reinforcement

positive-adding to the environment
negative-removing from the environment

schedule of reinforcement

The consistency with which a particular behaviour elicits a particular consequence

continuous reinforcement

every instance of the behaviour is met with reinforcement.

iconic memory

Our short-lasting, high-resolution memory for visual information

Selective attention, awareness, recognition

In order to demonstrate memory for any event, even for a few seconds, one must engage in which three processes?

interference

The information was presented amongst other "distractor" information, making it more difficult to specifically locate the target information.
Retrieval errors caused by associations formed between a cue and erroneous information in memory.

time-based decay

The retention interval between encoding the information and reporting the information was too long

short-term memory

information must be refreshed, via rehearsal or will be lost

recency effect

the improvement in recall for end of list items
short term

Primacy effect

improved recall for beginning of list items
long term

cue

Any feature in the environment that directs us to information and memory we are attempting to recall

Godden and Baddeley's 1975 study

showed that recall can be improved if encoding and retrieval contexts match

Proactive interference

older information disrupts retrieval of more recent information

retroactive interference

when more recent information disrupts retrieval of older information

hill-climbing

The precise structure of a problem is unknown.
The explicit solution to the problem need not be known in advance

Heuristics

simple rules of thumb
Are simple strategies, which may result in sub-optimal choice
influence processing information

Means-ends analysis

seeks to progress towards the goal state by breaking the problem down into a set of smaller sub-problems

subjective expected utility theory

Decisions should be based on the total benefit produced by each alternative

Primacy heuristic (anchoring)

Giving weight to the first pieces of information that are encountered.
enduring impressions are influenced by first encounters

framing effect

Decisions are influenced by how the choices are stated.
Decisions are dependent on how the problem is presented to us

recognition heuristic

a rule of thumb in which a higher value is placed on the more easily recognised alternative
make us more likely to believe something we've heard many times

representativeness heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information

availability 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

schema

a concept or framework that organises and interprets information
templates or scripts for familiar situations

Misinformation

incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event

Procedural or Implicit Memory

Memory for doing things—may not be tied to conscious awareness

Episodic Memory

Memory for specific events or scenes from one's life

Semantic Memory

Information about general knowledge that is housed in Long-Term Memory

Method of Loci

use of familiar locations as cues to recall items that have been associated with them
• Associate memoranda with locations/landmarks along a familiar route

Pegword Technique

use of familiar words or names as cues to recall items that have been associated with them
• "One is a bun, two is a shoe, three is a tree, etc."
• Pairing vivid imagery with memoranda

Keyword Method

Pair a word that sounds similar to the to-be-remembered target

chunked

Information can be more easily remembered if related items are _______ together.
• Elements within a group become associated with each other
• They can form cohesive (if not meaningful) units
• Retrieval of one part triggers retrieval of the whole unit

Encoding Specificity Principle

Retrieval is facilitated when cues that are present at encoding are also present at retrieval.

Proactive Interference

Older information disrupts retrieval of more recent information

Retroactive Interference

More recent information disrupts retrieval of older information

Cues

facilitate memory by providing additional opportunities for successful retrieval.

Primacy and recency effects

determine the U-shape of the serial position curve in free recall

long term memory

2 weeks to 57 years

sensory memory

transfer to short term and then long term

How does forgetting from short-term memory occur

• Temporal Decay - memories fade with the passage of time
• Interference - memories become harder to distinguish from one another as they become more numerous

temporal decay

information in memory is progressively degraded by the simple passage of time
extending the retention interval—the period of time between stimulus presentation and report—will produce poorer memory performance

short term memory

Time-based decay and interference
Rehearsal is a way of maintaining information

Rehearsal is a way of maintaining information

Eliminating a previously reinforced behaviour by no longer delivering reinforcement

Spontaneous Recovery

the reappearance of a learned response after extinction has occurred
Re-emergence of a previously reinforced behaviour despite suspension of reinforcement

Generalization

responding similarly to a range of similar stimuli
Whether a reinforced behaviour is emitted in response to similar, but not identical stimuli

extinction

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.
Eliminating a previously reinforced behaviour by no longer delivering reinforcement

Acquisition

the phase of classical conditioning when the CS and the US are presented together
Incrementally associating a behaviour with an outcome

Continuous Reinforcement

every instance of the behaviour is reinforced

Partial Reinforcement

only some instances of the behaviour are reinforced

consistent Reinforcement

producing "weaker" learning

Shaping

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

chain

simple behaviours can be chained together by reinforcement to form more complex behaviours

Reinforcement

outcome that increases the strength/frequency/probability of a behaviour

Punishment

outcome that decreases the strength/frequency/probability of a behaviour

conditioned stimulus (CS)

in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response
- advertisers pair their products
-rat or fear

unconditioned stimulus (US)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response.
- with a UCS to illicit the same feelings as the UCS

conditioned response (CR)

in classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)
-learned response
-baby crying

unconditioned response (UR)

In classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivation when food is in the mouth.

Extinction

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.

spontaneous recovery

the tendency of a learned behaviour to recover from extinction after a rest period
Presentation of the original learning context can trigger spontaneous reappearance of the CR

generalised

Stimuli that are similar to the CS will tend to elicit the same CR as the CS itself. When this happens, the CR has generalised to the novel stimulus

discriminate

If the stimulus is dissimilar from the CS, it will not elicit the CR. The organism is able to discriminate the CS from the new stimulus.

Interval Schedules

time-based reinforcement

Ratio Schedules

response-based reinforcement

fixed

Reinforcement is provided regularly (time-wise or # of responses)
erratic patterns of responding

variable

Reinforcement is irregular (time-wise or # of responses)
steady responding

operant conditioning

learning depends on (1) the behaviours of the organism, and (2) the consequences of those behaviours to the organism
-reinforcement and punishment

Pavlov

Classical conditioning: dogs

Habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.
Habituation shows how a relatively unimportant stimulus comes to be ignored

Sensitisation

Sensitisation shows how an organism becomes more vigilant about stimuli.