gen psych final final

Classical conditioning

learning to respond to a new stimulus that has been associated with another stimulus that normally produces the response

How did Pavlov study classical conditioning?

Noticed that dogs salivated at mere sight of food dish - learned to associate dish with food
→ Could dog be taught to associate food with other things?
→ Presented food with neutral stimulus (bell)
→ Measured salivation in response to neutral stimulus (bell) presented alone

Unconditioned stimulus (US)

stimulus that automatically elicits response without prior conditioning

Unconditioned response (UR)

innate response to unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

previously neutral stimulus that now elicits a conditioned response due to its association with an unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned response (Cr)

learned response to a stimulus that did not originally elicit the response

acquisition

stage of conditioning in which the association between the 2 stimuli (US and CS) is being learned

Generalization

conditioned response to stimuli that are not the conditioned stimulus (but are similar to the CS)

Discrimination

conditioned response occurs only to a specific stimulus

Extinction

failure to exhibit the CR to the CS (because the CS no longer predicts the US)

spontaneous recovery

reappearance of the CR to the original CS after extinction
--Tends to be short-lived

Second-order (higher-order) conditioning

new neutral stimulus becomes associated with previously conditioned stimulus - becomes new CS
--Tends to be weaker than first-order conditioning

Conditioned aversion

classically conditioned association between a CS and a US that causes an unpleasant response

Watson and Raynor's Study w/Little Albert

Paired loud noise with rat fear
Albert generalized fear to other fuzzy objects

Counterconditioning

replacing unwanted CR with wanted response (Mary Cover Jones)

Mary Cover Jones's Study

--E.g., unwanted response \= fear of rabbit
--Pair rabbit (CS) with stimulus (e.g., cookies) that produces pleasant feelings that are incompatible with fear response
--Purpose - to eliminate unwanted response

Operant Conditioning

aka. Instrumental conditioning

a method of learning that uses rewards and punishment to modify behavior

Law of effect (Thorndike)

the tendency of an organism to produce a behavior depends on the effect the behavior has on the environment

What was Thorndike's puzzle box?

an apparatus from which the animal could escape and obtain food only by pressing a panel, opening a catch, or pulling on a loop of string

Skinner box (operant chamber)

Hungry animal placed in box

Presses bar → receives food pellet (reinforcer) → increases bar pressing

Reinforcement

consequence of behavior that increases the probability that the behavior will occur

Punishment

consequence of behavior that decreases the probability that the behavior will occur

Shaping

reinforcing closer and closer approximations of the desired response

successive approximations

responses that are increasingly similar to the desired response

Positive reinforcement

presentation of a pleasant stimulus after a behavior increases probability of behavior

Negative reinforcement

removal of an unpleasant stimulus after a behavior increases probability of behavior

Positive punishment

unpleasant stimulus follows behavior decreases probability of behavior

Negative punishment

removal of pleasant stimulus after a behavior decreases probability of behavior

Generalization (additional concepts)

after a behavior is reinforced in one situation, it is performed in a different situation

Discrimination (additional concepts)

a behavior that is reinforced in one situation is not performed in a different situation

Extinction (additional concepts)

after the reinforcer is withdrawn, the behavior decreases

Spontaneous recovery (additional concepts)

after extinction, the behavior reappears

Continuous reinforcement

consequences are the same each time the behavior occurs

Intermittent (partial) reinforcement

Consequences are given only some of the times the behavior occurs

continuous reinforcement

Which is better for learning?
--continuous or intermittent (partial) reinforcement

Ratio schedules of reinforcement

reinforcement is given after the behavior is exhibited a certain number of times

Interval schedules of reinforcement

reinforcement is given after a certain amount of time

Fixed-ratio

reinforcement for a fixed proportion of responses emitted

Variable-ratio

reward for some percentage of responses, but unpredictable number of responses required before reinforcement

Fixed-interval

reinforcement for responses after a fixed amount of time

Variable-interval

reinforcement for responses after an amount of time that is not constant

Problems with punishment (1)

May be difficult to identify which behavior is being punished

Problems with punishment (2)

Individual may come to fear person giving harsh punishment

Problems with punishment (3)

Punishment may not eliminate existing rewards for the behavior

Problems with punishment (4)

Harsh punishment can model aggression

Extrinsic motivation

pursuit of goal for external rewards

Intrinsic motivation

pursuit of activity for its own sake

Overjustification effect

too much reward → undermines intrinsic motivation

Observational Learning

Learning by observing the behaviors of others

Modeling

Imitating others' behavior

Bandura

Experiments with Bobo doll

Bandura's Bobo Doll Study

indicated that individuals (children) learn through imitating others who receive rewards and punishments

Implications of observational learning for aggressive behavior

Children exposed to either violent TV show or nonviolent sporting event

Violent TV → much more aggression against other children

Implications of observational learning for prosocial behavior

Exposure to prosocial models

Observation of others providing help → more likely to help

Memory

Information that has been stored and can be retrieved

Information-Processing Model of Memory

1. encoding
2. storage
3. retrieval

Encoding

getting information into memory

Storage

Maintaining encoded information over time

Retrieval

pulling previously encoded and stored information from memory

3 stages of memory formation

1. sensory memory
2. short-term memory
3. long-term memory

sensory memory

System that holds sensory information (eg. visual, auditory) for a very brief time after the stimulus disappears

iconic memory

visual sensory memory

Sperling (1960) study iconic memory

flashed 12 laters for 1/20 sec → then signaled Ps to recall top, middle, or bottom row

Echoic memory

auditory sensory memory

Short-term memory

for information that is available to consciousness for about 20-30 seconds

Capacity of short-term memory

7 +/- 2 ("magical \#7")

5-9 seconds

Long-term memory

relatively permanent memory

Unlimited capacity

Explicit memory

conscious recollective of material from long-term memory (declarative)

Semantic memory

memory of general knowledge

Episodic memory

memory of personally experienced events

Implicit memory

not brought to mind consciously, but expressed in behavior (non-declarative)

procedural memory

memory for the performance of skills

Priming

prior exposure to a stimulus affects responses to a later stimulus

Recall

Producing memories using minimal retrieval cues

Recognition

Knowledge of whether one has previously been exposed to information

relearning

Learning occurs more quickly the second time it is learned

Chunking

Organizing information into smaller meaningful pieces to facilitate memory

Mnemonics

Strategies and tricks for improving memory
(eg. every good boy does fine: treble clef,
Acronyms- words made from first letter of words)

Rehearsal

Repeating some information

No rehearsal

much less likely to remember

Maintenance rehearsal

Rote repetition of material

Elaborative rehearsal

Thinking about the meaning of the information

Levels of Processing (Craik & Tulving, 1975)

information can be processed at different depths, from shallow to deep

--affects likelihood of recall

Shallow processing

Superficial features, such as physical appearance

Deep processing

meaning

Encoding specificity

specific cues are encoded with the memory

Context-dependent memory

environment in which something is learned serves as cue for retrieval

State-dependent memory

physical or mental state in which something is learned serves as cue for retrieval

Craik and Tulving's (1975) levels of processing theory Study

1) Is the word in capital letters?
2) Does the word rhyme with train?
3) Would the word fit into the following sentence? "The child put the \_____ on the table."
\---CHAIR, brain, doll

Words presented, recognition tested

Encoding failure

memory fails to form due to lack of attention or processing

Storage decay

after memory has been stored, may fade

Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve

after forming a memory, majority of forgetting occurs initially

Retrieval failure

storied memories cannot be accessed
(E.g., tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon)

3 types of implicit memory

1. procedural
2. priming
3. classically conditioned associations

Tip-of-the Tongue Phenomenon

state in which one cannot quite recall a familiar word but can recall words of similar form and meaning

testing effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also sometimes referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning

spacing effect

the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice

Anterograde amnesia (e.g., H.M.)

Memory loss for information encountered after head injury

Retrograde amnesia

Memory loss for information before head injury

Eyewitness Memory

memory reconsolidation and reconstruction

-Loftus, 1974: how fast were the cars going when they hit each other? Smashed each other?