Chapter 3&4

learning

the way in which new behaviours are acquired

stimulus

any energy pattern that is sensed in some way by the body; includes visual, auditory, and physical sensations

habituation

a decrease in response caused by repeated exposure to a stimulus

dishabituation

a sudden increase in response to a stimulus, usually due to a change in the stimulus or addition of another stimulus; sometimes called resensitization

associative learning

the process by which a connection is made between two stimuli or a stimulus and a response, examples include classical conditioning and operant conditioning

classical conditioning

a form of associative learning in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus such that the neutral stimulus alone produces the same response as the unconditioned stimulus; the neutral stimulus thus becomes a conditioned stimulus

acquisition

in classical conditioning, the process of taking advantage of reflexive responses to turn a neutral stimulus into a conditioned stimulus

extinction

in classical conditioning, the decrease in response resulting from repeated presentation of the conditioned stimulus without the presence of the unconditioned response

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance of a conditioned response previously determined to be extinct

generalization

in classical conditioning, the process by which two distinct but similar stimuli come to produce the same response

operant conditioning

a form of associative learning in which the frequency of a behaviour is modified using reinforcement or punishment

behaviourism

B.F. Skinner’s theory that all behaviours are conditioned; can be applied across many bodies of psychological thought, including theories of development, identity and personality

reinforcement

in operant conditioning, the use of a stimulus designed to increase the frequency of a desired behaviour

escape learning

a form of negative reinforcement in which one reduces the unpleasantness of something that already exists

avoidance learning

a form of negative reinforcement in which one avoids the unpleasantness of something that has yet to happen

discriminative stimulus

in behavioural conditioning, a stimulus whose presence indicates the opportunity for reward

punishment

in operant conditioning, the use of an aversive stimulus designed to decrease the frequency of an undesired behaviour

reinforcement schedule

the schedule by which reinforcement is administered for behaviour in operant conditioning; reinforcement schedules can be fixed or variable, and can be based on a ratio or an interval between rewards

shaping

in operant conditioning, the process of conditioning a complicated behaviour by rewarding successive approximations of the behaviour

latent learning

learning that occurs without a reward but that is spontaneously demonstrated once a reward is introduced

instinctive drift

the tendency of animals to resist learning when a conditioned behaviour conflicts with the animal’s instinctive behaviours

observational learning

a form of learning in which behaviour is modified as a result of watching others

mirror neurons

neurons located in the frontal and parietal lobes and which fire both when an individual performs an action and when an individual sees that action performed

encoding

the process of receiving information and preparing it for storage; can be automatic or effortful

controlled processing

processing method used when a task requires complete attention

self-reference effect

the tendency for individuals to best recall information that they can relate to their own experiences

maintenance rehearsal

repetition of a piece of information either to keep it within working memory or to store it

mneumonics

a technique that aids in memory recall

sensory memory

visual and auditory stimuli briefly stored in memory; fades very quickly unless attention is paid to the information

short term memory

memory which fades quickly, over about 30 seconds without rehearsal, and which is limited in capacity by the 7 +/- 2 rule

working memory

form of memory that allows limited amounts of information in short-term memory to be manipulated

long term memory

the relatively limitless form of memory reserved for information that is sufficiently rehearsed or of sufficient impact; implicit and explicit forms

elaborative rehearsal

the association of information in short term memory to information already in long term memory; aids in long term storage

implicit memory

memory that dies not require conscious recall; consists of skills and conditioned behaviours

explicit memory

memory that requires conscious recall, divided into facts and experiences also known as declarative memory

retrival

the process of demonstrating that information has been retained in memory; includes recall, recognition, and relearning

spacing effect

the phenomenon of retaining larger amounts of information when the amount of time between sessions of relearning is increased

semantic network

organization of information in the brain by linking concepts with similar characteristics and meaning

spreading activation

the unconscious activation of closely linked nodes if a semantic network

context effect

a retrieval cue by which memory is aided when a person is in the location where encoding took place

source monitoring error

a memory error by which a person remembers the details of an event but confuses the context by which the details were gained; often causes people to remember events that happened to someone else as having happened to themselves

state-dependent memory

a retrieval cue by which memory is aided when a person is in the same state of emotion or intoxication as when encoding took place

serial position effect

the tendency to better remember items presented at the beginning or end of a list; related to the primacy and recency effects

primacy effect

the phenomenon of first impressions of a person being more important than subsequent impressions

recency effect

the phenomenon in which the most recent information we have about an individual is most important in forming our impressions

alzheimer’s disease

degenerative brain disorder that is characterized by dementia and memory loss; neurofibrillary tangles and beta amyloid plaques are phenomena found in the brains of patients

dementia

intellectual decline starting with impaired memory and progressing to impaired judgement and confusion

retrograde amnesia

a form of memory loss that impacts long term memories of events prior to the time of injury

anterograde amnesia

form of memory loss in which new long term memories cannot be established

agnosia

the loss of the ability to recognize objects, people, or sounds, though typically just one of the three

interference

a retrieval error caused by the learning of information; can be proactive or retroactive

misinformation effect

a phenomenon in which memories are altered by misleading information provided at the point of encoding or recall

source-monitoring error

a memory by which a person remembers the details of an event but confuses the context by which the details were gained; often causes people to remember events that happened to someone else as having happened to themselves

neuroplasticity

changes in neutral connections caused by learning or a response to injury

synaptic pruning

adjustment of neural connections throughout life, involving breaking of weak neutral connections and bolstering of strong neural connections

long-term potentiation

the strengthening of neural connections due to rehearsal or relearning; thought to be the neurophysiological forms of long term memory

cognition

the process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experiences, and the senses; how we think and respond to the world

dual-coding theory

a cognitive theory that states that both visual and verbal associations are used to encode and retrieve information

information processing model

model of human cognition containing four key components; information intake, information analysis, situational modification, and content/complexity of problem

cognitive development

the development of one’s ability to think and solve problems across the life span

schema

an organized pattern of thought and behaviour; one of the central concepts of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development

adaptation

in perception, a decrease in stimulus perception after a long duration of exposure; in learning, the process by which new information is processed; consists of assimilation and accommodation

assimilation

in psychology, the process by which new information is interpreted in terms of existing schemata; in sociology the the process by which the behaviour and culture of a group or an individual begins to merge with that of another group

accommodation

process by which existing schemata are modified to encompass new information

object permanence

knowledge that an object does not cease to exist even when the object cannot be seen; a milestone in cognitive development

egocentrism

self centered view of the world in which one is not necessarily able to understand the experience of another person; seen in piaget’s preoperational stage

conservation

concept seen in quantitative analysis performed by a child; develops when a child is able to identify the difference between quantity by number and actual amount, especially when faced with identical quantities separated into varying pieces

fluid intelligence

ability to quickly identify relationships and connections, and then use those relationships and connections to make correct deductions

crystallized intelligence

cognitive capacity to understand relationships or solve problems using information acquired during schooling and other experiences

dementia

intellectual decline starting with impaired memory and progressing to impaired judgement and confusion

delirium

rapid fluctuation in cognitive function that is reversible and has a nonpsychological cause

functional fixedness

the inability to identify uses for an object beyond its usual purpose

algorithm

a formula or procedure for solving a certain type of problem

deductive reasoning

a form of cognition that starts with general information and narrows down that information to create a conclusion

inductive reasoning

a form of cognition that utilizes generalizations to develop a theory

availability heuristic

a shortcut in decision making that relies on the information that is most readily available, rather than the total body of information on a subject

representativeness heuristic

a shortcut in decision making that relies in categorizing items on the basis of whether they fit the prototypical, stereotypical, or representative imag eof the category

base rate fallacy

using prototypical or stereotypical factors while ignoring actual numerical information when making a decision

disconformation priniciple

the idea that states that if evidence obtained during testing does not confirm a hypothesis, then the hypothesis is discarded or revised

confirmation bias

a cognitive bias in which one focuses on information that supports a given solution, belief, or hypothesis and ignores evidence against it

overconfidence

a tendency to interpret one’s decision, knowledge, or beliefs as infallible

belief perserverance

the inability to reject a particular belief despite clear evidence to the contrary

intuition

perceptions about a situation that may or may not be supported by available evidence, but are nonetheless percieved as information that may be used to make a decision

recognition-primed decision model

a decision making model in which experience and recognition of similar situations one has already experienced play a larger role in decision making and actions; also one of the explanations for the experience of intuition

emotion

a feeling and state of mind derived from circumstances, mood, or relationships

intelligence quotient

numerical measurement of intelligence, usually accomplished by some form of standardized testing

consciousness

awareness of oneself; can be used to describe varying levels of awareness that occur with wakefullness, sleep, dreaming, and drug-induced states

electroencephalography

a test used to study the electrical patterns of the brain under varying conditions; consists of multiple electrodes placed on the scalp; characteristic patterns include alpha, beta, theta and delta waves

non-rapid eye movement sleep

stages 1 through 4 of sleep; contains ever-slowing brain waves as one gets deeper into sleep

rapid eye movement

sleep stage in which the eyes move rapidly back and forth and physiological arousal levels are more similar to wakefullness than sleep; dreaming occurs during this stage

sleep cycle

a single complete progression through each stage of sleep

circadian rhythms

the alignment of physiological processes with the 24 hour day; including sleep wake cycles and some elements of the endocrine system

melatonin

a serotonin derivative secreted by the pineal gland that is associated with sleepiness

neurocognitive models of dreaming

models of dreaming that correlate subjective, cognitive experiences of dreaming with measurable physiological changes

dyssomnias

a sleep disorder in which one has difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or avoiding sleep

parasomnias

a sleep disorder characterized by abnormal movements or behaviours during sleep

insomnia

sleep disorder characterized by either an inability to fall asleep or difficulty staying asleep

narcolepsy

a sleep disorder characterized by a lack of voluntary control over the onset of sleep; also involves cataplexy and hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations

cataplexy

loss of muscle control with intrusion of REM sleep during waking hours, usually caused by an emotional trigger

hypnagogic hallucinations

hallucinations that occur when going to sleep; seen in narcolepsy