Psychology Exam 2

behaviorists

study individual behaviors, what you can see

cognitive

study cognitive/mental processes

innate responses

not learned, occur naturally

reflex

automatic motor response to stimuli

• controlled by the spinal cord

instinct

innate behaviors triggered by environment or events

learning

relatively permanent

gains or changes in knowledge, skills, or behaviors

associative learning

involves connecting certain stimuli or events that occur in the environment

Ivan Pavlov

creator of classical conditioning

dogs (“divert saliva”)

• increased saliva in response to meat powder

neutral

no associations

unconditioned

automatic/already known

conditioned

learned

stimulus

causes a reaction

response

reaction to a stimulus

neutral stimulus (NS)

stimulus individual has not learned how to respond to

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

stimulus individual already knows how to respond to

unconditioned response (UCR)

automatic response to unconditioned stimulus

conditioned stimulus (CS)

stimulus the individual learns to respond to

conditioned response (CR)

learned response to stimulus

aversive conditioning

conditioning to avoid

• food poisoning

  • eats bad food at restaurant —> remind of restaurant = feels sick

• association commonly formed with new foods

• has evolutionary benefits

• can be used to treat bad habits

story of Little Albert

John B. Watson

classical conditioning

• tried on child at 9 months old

• paired loud noise with a white rat

• child developed fear to white rat even when noise was not present

conditioning is not always negative

advertising

• positive feelings towards a brand

acquisition

acquiring a new response (CR) to CS

extinction

diminishing of CR when UCS no longer follows CS

spontaneous recovery

returned CR after extinction

• indicates CR may not be totally lost in extinction

stimulus generalization

CR to stimuli similar to CS

• bell —> also wind chime

stimulus discrimination

no CR to similar CS

• bell not equal to wind chime

habituation

adjustment to stimuli, stop noticing/responding

• bell keeps ringing —> ignores it

Thorndike’s law of effect

behaviors with good consequences are repeated

behaviors with bad consequences are less likely to be repeated

operant conditioning

associate behavior and response

reinforcement

always increases behavior

punishment

always reduces behavior

positive

adding something

negative

removing or subtracting something

positive reinforcement

adding something good to increase behavior

negative reinforcement

removing something bad to increase behavior

positive punishment

adding something bad to decrease behavior

negative punishment

removing something good to decrease behavior

continuous reinforcement

reinforcer occurs every time behavior happens

partial reinforcment

reinforcer occurs, but not every time behavior happens

interval

time

ratio

number of behaviors

fixed

constant

variable

varying or changing

fixed interval

reinforcer always occurs after the same amount of time

• quickest to disappear

variable interval

reinforcer occurs after changing period of time

fixed ratio

reinforcer always occurs after the same number of behaviors

variable ratio

reinforcer occurs after changing number of behaviors

• takes the longest to disappear

extinction

behavior disappears sometime after reinforcement stops

primary reinforcers

things that have inherent value

secondary reinforcers

things we’ve assigned value to

token economies

use secondary reinforcers to modify behaviors

Albert Bandura

focused on children, adolescence, and aggression

observational learning + operant conditioning

bobo doll experiment

bobo doll experiment

children saw adult beat up bobo doll

adult either reinforced or punished

if reinforced: child copied

if punished: child does not copy

prosocial models

show socially appropriate behaviors

antisocial models

show antisocial (harmful to others), socially inappropriate behaviors

steps in observational learning

1. attention

• watch others complete behavior

2. retention

• remembering the behavior

3. reproduction

• repeating the behavior

4. motivation

• actual or expected outcome of the behavior

classical conditioning

learning to react to stimuli based on other stimuli experienced at the same time

operant conditioning

repeat behaviors that are reinforced (vice versa)

observational learning

learn from model and outcomes for that model

cognition

thinking

• perception, knowledge, problem-solving, judgment, memory, and language

communication system

using words and systemic rules

goal: transmit information between people

helps social relationships, big part of thinking, verbal communication (not the only way we communicate)

nonverbal communication

communicating feelings/intentions without words

• body movements and facial expressions

language helps us…

• learn about new phenomena

• make connections

• make and execute plans

• exchange ideas/feelings

• share information

language development

begins before birth

• newborns distinguish mother’s voice

until age 1 —> can distinguish any sound in the world

after age 1 —> languages they hear only

babbling

1st word

12-18 months

2 word statements

18-24 months

more complex sentences

2-3 years

full sentences/conversation

3-5 years

Noam Chomsky

language is biological, innate

humans are made for language

development looks the same cross-culturally

critical period of language acquisition

• as you age, learning a language gets harder

linguistic determinism

language shapes how we think about things

• hard to thing about things we do not have a language for

concepts

mental categories of things, observed and organized

• can be complex, abstract, concrete, natural, artificial

prototypes

best, most average example of a concept

natural concept

created naturally through your direct/indirect experiences

artificial concept

defined by a specific set of characteristics that they always exhibit

schemas

a mental construct of a cluster of related concepts

role schema

expectation of how people in a certain role/position will behave

event schema/script

a set of behaviors you do in a specific situation

problem-solving strategies

way with coming up with a solution to a problem

insight

when one suddenly understands the solution to a problem

trial-and-error

trying random things until you find a solution

• time consuming, but common

algorithm

a step-by-step formula for solving a problem

• common in computer science

heuristics

problem-solving framework

• “rule of thumb”

• quick, but not necessarily effective

uses of heuristics

• overwhelmed by information

• time constraints

• not worried about problem

• not enough information

  • when a heuristic is readily available for the problem

mental set

using a previously used problem-solving solution, despite the fact it is failing

functional fixedness

inability to see that an object can have a function other than its typical use

fixation

inability to create a new interpretation of a problem

anchoring bias

rely on original information when making a decision

confirmation bias

focuses on information that confirms our existing beliefs

hindsight bias

belief we could have predicted what just happened

representative bias

making a decision based on a stereotype

availability heuristic

make a decision based on most available, not the most accurate information

intelligence quotient (IQ)

measure of how intelligent you are

average score is 100

crystalized intelligence

acquired knowledge and ability to retrieve it

fluid intelligence

ability to see complex relationships and solve problems

analytical intelligence

academic problem solving and computation

practical intelligence

street smarts and common sense

creative intelligence

imaginative and innovative problem solving

Cattel

• crystalized intelligence

• fluid intelligence

Robert Sternberg

• analytical intelligence

• practical intelligence

• creative intelligence

Howard Gardener

• linguistic intelligence

• logical-mathematical intelligence

• musical intelligence

• bodily kinesthetic intelligence

• spatial intelligence

• naturalistic intelligence

• emotional intelligence