Intro to Psych - exam 3

what is learning

a change in an organisms behavior due to experience

what is classical conditioning

learning through association (Pavlov)

what is operant conditioning

behavior is strengthened through reinforcement (Thorndike, Skinner); more voluntary and is influenced by its consequences)

example of Pavlov’s dogs

they had an unconditioned stimulus (food in mouth) that led to an unconditioned response (salivation). then they had a conditioned stimulus (bell) that after association with UCS, triggered a conditioned response (salivation)

example of classical conditioning with coffee

UCS = caffeine

UCR = heart race

CS = aroma of coffee

CR = heart race

what are the five major processes

spontaneous recovery, acquisition, extinction, generalization, and discrimination

what is acquisition

classical conditioning - when one links a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response

operant conditioning - strengthening of a reinforced response

what is extinction

the diminishing of a CR when the UCS does not follow a CS

what is spontaneous recovery

after pausing the CS, the CR reappears again

what is generalization

the tendency for stimuli similar to the CS to elicit similar responses

what is discrimination

the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus

what is shaping

the process of reinforcing successive approximations to a desired behavior (getting closer) ex. training puppy to pick up slipper (giving treats every time he touches, then picks up, then gives it)

what is reinforcement

• any event that increases the likelihood of a response that it follows/any consequence that strengthens behavior.

• there are positive reinforcers (good grades, paychecks, attention) and negative reinforcers (taking tylenol, hitting snooze).

• negative reinforcers increase behavior by reducing negative stimuli; providing relief (they are not punishment).

• you need a bridge (whistle, clicker, praise) and the right timing

what is punishment? side effects? how to be effective? + vs - punishment?

• decreases behavior

• side effects (suppression of behavioral activity; strong emotional response; aggressive behavior)

• effective (immediate, consistent, explain, strong but not severe; avoid physical punishment)

• positive punishment is administering something undesired (traffic ticket, time out) vs. negative punishment is ending something desired (take away driving privilege, take away phone)

what is the difference between punishment and negative reinforcers

the delivery of a shock is a punisher vs. the removal of a shock is negative reinforcement

• (punishment tells you what not to do while reinforcement tells you what to do)

what was Garcia’s findings concerning CS (conditioned stimulus)

• US (unconditioned stimulus) does not need to immediately follow CS (conditioned stimulus) ex. the rats, though sickened four hours after the radiation flavor, would avoid the taste

• taste aversion (aversion to tastes, but not sights/sounds) ex. getting sick after eating oysters would give you an aversion to the taste of oysters but probably not the people you were with or the music playing in the restaurant

what are the three tasks of human memory

you must get the information into your brain, retain it, and then get it back out

• encode (get information into memory)

• store (retain over time)

• retrieve (get information out of storage, retrieval failure (tip of the tongue), better at recognition overall

  • ex. recalling the 7 dwarfs vs. recognizing their names

what is memory

the persistence of learning over time (through encoding, storage, and retrieval)

what are the levels of encoding

• visual (structural, shallow)

• acoustical (phonemic, intermediate)

• meaning (semantical, deep)

what is iconic memory

photographic or picture image memory, visual, only lasts ½ second

what is eidetic imagery

photographic/picture image memory that lasts for a couple mins

what is echoic memory

auditory memory; lasts 2-4 seconds

what is flashbulb memory

clarity in our memories of surprising/significant events

what is short-term memory

limited storage capacity, typically acoustical. the seven plus (or minus 2) rule is that we can only remember 7 digits or 6 letters or 5 words before forgetting it. ex. 7 digits of phone number)

what is long-term memory

stores information permanently and limitlessly

what is retrieval

getting information out of memory storage

who was S.I. Shereshevski

• russian journalist and mnemonist who can remember every conversation he ever had and strings of numbers (unless someone coughed in the middle)

explain how memory is creative

we often fill in the gaps (memory and imagination). ex. you can make suggestions that convince people they got lost in a shopping mall even though they actually didn’t

who is clive wearing

the guy who only had 2 minutes of memory and then he would think he just woke up.

what is synaesthesia

stimulus evoking a response in another

what is the journey/pathway of memory

external event, sensory registers, sensory memory, (encoding), short-term memory, (encoding), long-term memory, (retrieval), short-term memory

what are mnemonic devices

memory aids, specifically those that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

• they chunk unfamiliar material into a more familiar form by creating a word (acronym)

• b/c we more easily remember concrete. visualizable words than we do abstract ones

what is super autobiographical memory

when you can remember each day of life as if it happened yesterday

what three things do emotions involve

• physiological arousal (sympathetic nervous system; hormonal reactions produce epinephrine and norepinephrine)

• conscious experience (subjective feelings; cognitive appraisals of events like interpretations, perceptions, and memories)

• outer expressions (body posture, gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice)

what are the 6 universal, primary emotions

happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, surprise, fear

what are secondary/mixed emotions

awe = fear + surprise

contempt = anger + disgust

remorse = sadness + disgust

dismay = anger + sadness + disgust

what is the role of the sympathetic nervous system in emotions

first, your brain flags a stimulus. then the SNS fires hormones like epinephrine and norepinephrine into your system causing your heart to pound, muscles to tense, and breathing to speed up. then your brain feels the sudden rush of adrenaline and pairs it to what’s happening around you to label the feeling.

ex. adrenaline + bear in the woods = fear

ex. adrenaline + someone cutting you off in traffic = anger

ex. adrenaline + rollercoaster = excitement

what are self-conscious emotions (SCEs)

emotions that require self-thought, mental reflection, and self-awareness (knowing good/bad). they don’t show up on a person’s face. develop in 2-3 year of life.

ex. guilt, shame, embarrassment, pride, envy, jealousy

what are non self conscious emotions (NSCEs)

the same as primary/natural emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust). they don’t require self thought; happen automatically and within 0-6 months of age

what are the four theories of emotions

• common sense (conscious awareness comes first, then the feeling. ex. we cry because we are sad)

• james-lange (opposite of common sense; feeling follows body’s response. ex. im sad because I cry)

• cannon-bard (bodily responses and experienced emotions occur separately but simultaneously)

• two-factor: Schachter-singer (physical arousal + cognitive label = emotion; arousal fuels emotion, cognition channels it)