MCAT-PSY: Learning and Memory

habituation

a decrease in response due to repeated exposure to the same stimulus

dishabituation

the recovery of a response to a stimulus after habituation has occurred

classical conditioning

associative learning that uses biological, instinctual responses to create associations between two unrelated stimuli

unconditioned stimulus

a stimulus that brings out a reflexive response

unconditioned response

an innate or reflexive response to a stimulus

neutral stimulus

a stimulus that does not produce a reflexive response

signaling stimulus

a neutral stimulus that has the potential to be used as a conditioning stimulus

conditioned stimulus

a stimulus that is normally neutral but now produces a reflexive response

conditioned response

a response caused by a conditioned stimulus

acquisition

classical conditioning

extinction

an organism becomes habituated to a conditioned stimulus after the stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus enough times

spontaneous recovery

a weak conditioned response is exhibited after an extinct conditioned stimulus is presented again

generalization

a stimulus similar enough to the conditioned stimulus also produces the conditioned response

discrimination

an organism learns to distinguish between two similar stimuli

operant conditioning

associative learning that links voluntary behaviors with consequences to alter the frequency of those behaviors

behaviorism

the theory that all behaviors are conditioned

reinforcement

the process of increasing the likelihood that an individual will perform a behavior

positive reinforcers

increase a behavior by adding a positive consequence following the desired behavior

negative reinforcers

increase a behavior by removing a negative consequence following the desired behavior

escape learning

the behavior reduces the unpleasantness of something that already exists

avoidance learning

the behavior prevents the unpleasantness of something that has yet to happen

discriminative stimulus

an unintended stimulus becomes a reinforcer

positive punishment

an unpleasant consequence in response to a behavior

negative punishment

a pleasant consequence is removed in response to a behavior

fixed-ratio (FR) schedule

reinforces a behavior after a specific number of performances of that behavior

continuous reinforcement

a schedule in which the behavior is rewarded every time it is performed

variable-ratio (VR) schedule

reinforces a behavior after a varying number of performances of the behavior, but such that the average is relatively constant

most effective and most resistant to extinction

fixed-interval (FI) schedule

reinforces the first instance of a behavior after a specified time period has elapsed

variable-interval (VI) schedule

reinforces a behavior the first time it is performed after a varying interval of time

shaping

rewarding increasingly specific behaviors

latent learning

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

preparedness

the predisposition of some animals to learn behaviors based on their own natural abilities

instinctive drift

difficulty in overcoming instinctual behaviors

mirror neurons

fire when an individual performs an action and when they observe someone else performing that action

encoding

putting new information into memory

automatic processing

information that is gained without effort

controlled processing

information that is gained with effort

semantic encoding

encoding information by putting it into a meaningful context

self-reference effect

information can be recalled best when it can be put into the context of our own lives

maintenance rehearsal

repetition of information to keep it in working memory or store it in short/long-term memory

method of loci

associating each item in a list with a location along a route through a building

peg-word system

associating numbers with items that rhyme with or resemble the numbers

chunking

taking individual elements of a large list and grouping them into groups of elements with related meaning

sensory memory

memory received iconically or echoically, fleeting

whole-report

a participant is asked to correctly identify all elements in a system

partial-report

a participant is asked to correctly identify all elements in a subset of a system

short-term memory

lasts approximately 30 seconds, around 7 ± 2 items

housed in the hippocampus

working memory

keep a few pieces of information in consciousness simultaneously and manipulate them

elaborative rehearsal

the association of new information with knowledge already stored in long-term memory

implicit memory

consists of skills and conditioned responses

explicit memory

consists of memories that require conscious recall

semantic memory

consists of facts

episodic memory

consists of experiences

spacing effect

the longer the amount of time between sessions of relearning, the greater the retention of information later on

semantic network

how the brain organizes ideas to help retention

spreading activation

when one node of the semantic network is activated, the other linked concepts are also unconsciously activated

priming

recall is aided by being presented with a work close to the desired semantic memory

context effects

recall is aided by being in the physical location where encoding took place

state-dependent memory

recall is affected by the person’s mental state when encoding took place

serial position effect

recall is affected by the position of the items in a list

Alzheimer’s disease

a degenerative disorder linked to a loss of acetylcholine in neurons that link to the hippocampus

dementia

a loss of cognitive function

sundowning

a increase in dysfunction in the afternoon and evening

Korsakoff’s syndrome

a form of memory loss caused by thiamine deficiency in the brain

confabulation

the process of creating vivid but fabricated memories

agnosia

the loss of the ability to recognize objects, people, or sounds

interference

a retrieval error caused by the existence of other similar information

proactive interference

old information interferes with new learning

retroactive interference

new information interferes with recall of old information

prospective memory

remembering to perform a task at some point in the future

misinformation effect

providing misinformation about a memory can cause false memories

source-monitoring error

confusion between semantic and episodic memory

neuroplasticity

neural connections form rapidly in response to stimuli in developing brains

synaptic pruning

weak neural connections are broken while strong ones are bolstered

long-term potentiation

high frequency of stimulation increases the efficiency of synapse

converts short-term to long-term memory