PSYC2050 Learning and Cognition Overview

What is the definition of learning according to the notes?

An adaptive process where the tendency to perform a specific behavior, emotion, and/or thought changes by experience.

What are the common features of definitions of learning?

1. There is a change (may be invisible). 2. Change is lasting. 3. Experience and practice are involved. 4. The learning situation is important.

What are the two major ways of learning mentioned?

1. Non-associative (habituation). 2. Associative.

What is habituation?

A 'getting used to it' response; getting used to a novel stimulus.

What is the significance of habituation in learning?

It allows organisms to learn that a stimulus is not significant, preventing distraction by unimportant events.

What initial response does a novel stimulus elicit?

An orienting response, which includes head turning toward the stimulus and a slowing heart rate.

What happens after prolonged exposure to a stimulus?

The organism no longer has an orienting response, indicating that habituation has taken place.

What is the behavioral approach to associative learning?

It measures behavior to infer learning, focusing on observable effects and the laws governing both complex and simple behaviors.

What is the definition of associative learning?

Forming new associations by connecting stimuli with each other and with behavior.

What are some applications of associative learning in animals and humans?

Avoiding danger, finding food, learning emotional responses, and understanding behavior disorders influenced by rewards and punishments.

What are changes in behavior that are NOT due to associative learning?

1. Habituation. 2. Innate response tendencies (reflexes, instincts). 3. Maturation. 4. Fatigue. 5. Changes due to physiological/motivational states.

What is cognitive psychology?

The study of mental processes such as perceiving, attending, remembering, and reasoning.

What does 'cognito' mean in the context of cognitive psychology?

To know or to think.

What is the scientific approach in psychology as described in the notes?

1. Gathering of data through experimentation and observation. 2. Generation of hypotheses from these data.

What is the role of experience in the definition of learning?

Experience is crucial as it mediates the effects of the environment through sensory systems.

How does habituation differ from associative learning?

Habituation is a simple form of learning that does not involve forming new associations, while associative learning requires forming connections between stimuli and behaviors.

What is the importance of the learning situation according to the definitions provided?

The learning situation is important because it influences how learning occurs and the context in which behavior changes.

What is the outcome of fatigue in terms of behavior?

Fatigue leads to temporary changes in behavior that disappear after a break and do not involve the formation of new associations.

What is an example of associative learning in humans?

The development of addiction.

What does the term 'behavior potential' refer to in the context of learning?

It refers to the capacity for change in behavior that may not always be visible.

Why is it important to measure behavior in learning studies?

Measuring behavior allows researchers to infer the presence and extent of learning based on observable effects.

What are the implications of environmental demands on behavior according to the notes?

Environmental demands can influence behavior alongside the goals of the organism and internal states.

What method did Wilhelm Wundt introduce in 1879?

The method of introspection.

Who conducted the empirical study of memory in 1885?

Hermann Ebbinghaus.

What did William James contribute to psychology in 1890?

Principles of psychology.

What was a major criticism of introspection in the rise of behaviorism?

Introspection cannot be measured objectively.

Who argued that psychology should focus on the objective study of behavior?

John B. Watson.

What metaphor describes the idea that inner workings of the mind cannot be understood?

The 'black box' metaphor.

What concept suggests that humans are born as a 'blank slate'?

Tabula rasa.

What notable exceptions to behaviorism emerged during its 50 years of dominance?

Jean Piaget's cognitive development, Wolfgang Köhler's insight and gestalt, Frederick Bartlett's reconstructive memory, and Edward Tolman's goal-directed behavior.

What does ethology argue about behavior and genetic predispositions?

Different species have different genetic predispositions that determine behavior.

What are fixed-action patterns in ethology?

Stereotyped behaviors such as mating, nest building, and territory marking.

What is imprinting in the context of ethology?

A critical period for specific learning, such as chicks learning who their mother is.

Who received the Nobel Prize in 1973 for their work in ethology?

Niko Tinbergen, Konrad Lorenz, and Karl von Frisch.

What did Noam Chomsky argue regarding human language and behaviorism?

The generativity of human language cannot be explained in behaviorist terms.

What significant event in cognitive psychology occurred in 1956?

The MIT conference with Chomsky, Miller, Bruner, Newell, and Simon.

What does the computer metaphor in cognitive psychology imply?

Information processing in the mind can be likened to processes in a computer.

What is the computational theory of mind?

The theory that mental processes can be understood as computational operations.

What is the significance of brain imaging in cognitive psychology?

It allows for neuroscientific investigations of mental processes.

What are some approaches to studying the mind?

Experiments, neuroscientific investigations, modeling, and comparative studies.

What domains are covered in cognitive psychology?

Cognitive neuroscience, perception, language, cognitive development, thinking, intelligence, comparative psychology, evolutionary psychology, attention, consciousness, memory, imagery, and representation of knowledge.

What is the continuum of cognition in research?

A loosely defined continuum from low to high levels of processing.

What are low levels of cognition associated with?

Close to the input from our senses (vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell).

What do mental representations correspond to?

Objects and events in the environment.

What are the characteristics of high-level mental representations?

They are abstract, conceptual, and relational.

How are abstract mental representations derived?

They are derived from many individual experiences.

What is the first step in lower-level cognition?

The analysis of visual, auditory, and other sensory input.

What is the role of attention in lower-level cognition?

Selecting what is relevant to current goals from all available sensory information.

Why is memory important in effective planning and action?

It allows us to remember what we have seen and heard.

What does higher-level cognition deal with?

Environmental input that has been re-processed by the human cognitive system.

What role does imagery play in higher-level cognition?

It helps people mentally represent and manipulate objects they see.

How does language function in higher-level cognition?

It communicates ideas, facts, and intentions to others.

What is the special human facility related to intelligence?

The ability to manipulate abstract concepts and engage in reasoning.

What did cognitivists complain about behaviorism?

It made merely inferences about mental constructs and ignored emotion and physiology.

What did behaviorists complain about cognitivism?

It ignored basic mental processes like memory, attention, and imagery.

What do modern learning theorists appreciate about biological constraints?

They acknowledge the utility of cognitive constructs in theory and practice.

What do modern cognitivists appreciate about learning principles?

They recognize the utility and power of learning principles and apply associationism in theories of the mind.

How is behavior mediated according to modern perspectives?

Behavior is mediated by cognition, including perception and memory.

What is habituation in the context of learning?

A non-associative learning process that does not require linking stimuli together.

What happens during habituation?

There is a decline or disappearance of a reflexive response when the same stimulus is repeatedly presented.

What is an example of habituation with infants?

An infant's looking time at a doll decreases with successive presentations.

What are the two forms of associative learning?

Classical conditioning and operant conditioning.

Who is associated with classical conditioning?

Ivan Pavlov.

Who is associated with operant conditioning?

B.F. Skinner.

What is the free energy principle?

A global theory about how the brain works, providing a unified account of action, perception, and learning.

Who proposed the free energy principle?

Karl Friston in 2010.

What does the free energy principle state about self-organizing systems?

They must minimize their free energy to remain in equilibrium with their environment.

What is the formulation of adaptive systems in biological agents?

Adaptive systems resist a natural tendency to disorder and must maintain their states despite a constantly changing environment.

What does entropy represent in the context of biological systems?

Entropy represents surprise; a 'fish out of water' has high entropy.

How do biological agents minimize surprise?

They minimize the long-term average of surprise to keep sensory entropy low.

What is the relationship between humans and novel experiences in terms of entropy?

Humans often seek novel experiences that induce high entropy.

How do organisms perceive and react to external entropy?

Organisms perceive external entropy via sensory systems and limit it by predicting and reacting to sensory information.

Who was Ivan Pavlov and what did he study?

Ivan Pavlov was a Russian physiologist who studied the digestive system, particularly salivation in dogs.

What was observed in Pavlov's salivation experiments?

Dogs would begin to salivate even before food was placed in their mouth after repeated testing.

What are the four levels of classical conditioning?

1. Unconditioned: innate connection between stimulus and response. 2. Conditioned: learned connection between stimulus and response.

What is an Unconditioned Stimulus (US)?

A stimulus that elicits an unlearned response.

What is an Unconditioned Response (UR)?

The unlearned response to a US.

What is a Conditioned Stimulus (CS)?

A stimulus to which an organism must learn to respond.

What is a Conditioned Response (CR)?

The learned response to a CS.

Provide an example of classical conditioning before, during, and after conditioning.

Before Conditioning: US = food; UR = salivation. During Conditioning: CS + US = experimenter + food; UR = salivation. After Conditioning: CS = experimenter; CR = salivation.

What is Eyeblink Conditioning in relation to UR and CR?

Eyeblink Conditioning involves the unconditioned response (UR) of blinking becoming a conditioned response (CR) to a stimulus.

What are clinical applications of classical conditioning?

Classical conditioning can lead to the acquisition and treatment of fears, phobias, and other maladaptive behaviors.

What was the Little Albert experiment by Watson & Rayner?

It demonstrated the acquisition of emotional responses, resulting in generalized fear.

What did John B. Watson claim about training individuals?

He claimed he could train any healthy infant to become any type of specialist regardless of their background.

What are the stages of a typical classical conditioning experiment?

1. Habituation: CS presented alone. 2. Acquisition: CS presented with US. 3. Extinction: CS presented alone again.

What factors influence the acquisition curve in classical conditioning?

The intensity of the US (more intense leads to more rapid learning) and the order/timing of CS and US presentation.

What is Delay Conditioning-Short?

A conditioning method where the CS is presented before the US with a delay before the US onset.

What is Trace Conditioning?

A conditioning method where both the start and end of the CS presentation precede the start of the US, creating a gap between the two.

What are the two types of Pavlovian conditioning?

Excitatory Conditioning and Inhibitory Conditioning.

What is Excitatory Conditioning?

A conditioned stimulus (CS) predicts the occurrence of the unconditioned stimulus (US), e.g., A-US, A-US, A-US.

What is Inhibitory Conditioning?

A conditioned stimulus (CS) predicts the absence of the unconditioned stimulus (US), e.g., A-US, A-US, AB, A-US, AB.

What does the Retardation Test evaluate in inhibitory conditioning?

It evaluates whether a subject has learned an inhibitory conditioning by training an inhibitor stimulus and a neutral stimulus to become excitatory.

What is the Summation Test in the context of inhibitory conditioning?

It tests whether the combination of an inhibitor and a new excitatory CS evokes a weaker conditioned response (CR) compared to the CS alone.

What happens during extinction in classical conditioning?

Extinction is not simply erasing the association formed during acquisition; it involves processes like spontaneous recovery, renewal effect, and reinstatement.

What is Spontaneous Recovery?

The reappearance of a conditioned response (CR) when a conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented after a period of extinction.

What is the Renewal Effect?

The spontaneous recovery of the conditioned response (CR) when the organism is in a different context from where extinction occurred.

What is Reinstatement in classical conditioning?

The reappearance of the conditioned response (CR) when the unconditioned stimulus (US) is presented alone after extinction.

What is the significance of the Optimal Interstimulus Interval (ISI) in conditioning?

It refers to the ideal time interval between the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (US) for effective conditioning.

What is the assumption of equipotentiality in classical conditioning?

It suggests that any two stimuli can be paired together; however, blocking provides evidence against this.

What does the assumption of contiguity state in classical conditioning?

It states that the more two stimuli are paired, the stronger the association will be, but this is challenged by blocking.