unit 6 : memory and learning

definition of learning

acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

types of learning

associative, observational, insight

associative learning + ex

connects events that happen in a sequence - from past experience, you know that not studying leads to bad grades

observational learning + ex

learn through observation - watching someone scream at a spider and you’ll learn that you’re supposed to be scared of them

insight learning + ex

learning through self reflection and thoughts - epiphany

describe behaviorism + experiment

nurture focus, objectivity and empiricism, measurable behaviors, learning through repetitive exposures - dog experiment

classical conditioning

associating 2+ stimuli to anticipate events

stimulus + where in the brain

event / situation that evokes response - lower brain regions

neutral stimulus (NS) + ex from dog experiment

stimulus that doesn’t result in response before training - bell

unconditioned stimulus (US) + ex from dog experiment

stimulus that automatically triggers response - food in mouth

unconditioned response (UR) + ex from dog experiment

natural response to US (salivation)

conditioned stimulus (CS) + ex from dog experiment

the irrelevant stimulus that has been changed - same as NS

conditioned response (CR) + ex from dog experiment

learned response to the stimulus - salivation

higher order conditioning

neutral stimulus can become a conditioned stimulus when paired with already established conditioning

acquisition

initial phase of associating neutral stimulus with unconditioned stimulus

extinction

less response to conditioned response

spontaneous recovery

reappearance of weakened CR

generalization + ex

similar stimulus = similar response, little albert afraid of all white, furry things

habituation

organism’s decreasing response to repetitive stimulus, getting bored with stimulus

stimulus discrimination + ex

distinguish between stimulus, hand bell sound vs gong

example of classical conditioning in humans

little albert

what is operant conditioning?

learning where behavior is influenced by reinforcers or punishers

punishers increase or decrease a behavior

decrease

reinforcers increase or decrease a behavior

increase

thorndike’s law of effect

behaviors

positive reinforcement + ex

strengthen response by adding good stimulus - food, attention

negative reinforcement + ex

strengthens response by removed bad or not liked stimulus - alarms, stopping a kid form whining

primary reinforcement

helps us survive - warmth, food

condition / secondary reinforcements

doesn’t mean anything in regards to survival but we value - praise, attention

positive punishment + ex

addition of not liked stimulus - spanking, parking ticket

negative punishment + ex

take away wanted stimulus - time out, revoked driver’s license

what is loss aversion

discomfort in losing something rather than gaining - very effective

continuous reinforcement

reinforcing response every time

partial (intermittent) reinforcement

reinforcing response part of the time - slower acquisition but greater resistance to extinction

fixed ratio schedule (FR) + ex

reinforce response only after a certain number of responses - rat pressing bar 10 times to get 1 food pellet

variable ratio schedule (VR) + ex

reinforces response after unpredictable number of responses - gambling and slot machines

fixed interval schedule (FI)

reinforces a response after specific time elapsed - dog hanging around food bowl near feeding time

variable interval schedule (VI)

reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals - checking email or phone

intrinsic motivation

desire to preform a behavior for its own sake or reaching higher potential - doing something just because you enjoy it

extrinsic motivation

desire to perform behavior to receive a reward or avoid punishment - tells conditioned person that the only reason it’s worth doing is for reward / avoid punishment

drive reduction theory

motivation that arises from a need - internal stimulus or cue

observational learning

learning by observing and imitating - role model

mirror neurons

allow learning and imitation from observation - babies mimic mouth shapes to learn to talk

explain the bobo doll experiment

children watched adults play with a bobo doll and then were told to play - they imitated the language and actions of the adult

achievement tests

measure what you’ve learned - unit tests, ap exams

aptitude tests

measure ability - sat, iq

binet simon intelligence scale

deals with mental age

8 intelligence types - howard gardner

linguistic, logical/mathematical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, music, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalist

triarchic - sternberg’s intelligence

componential (analytical), experimental (creative), practical (street smarts)

fluid intelligence

capacity to reason and solve problems without knowledge from the past - id patterns and relationships

crystallized intelligence

capacity to use skills, knowledge, and experience

divergent thinking

generates creative ideas, original, flexible, laterally not lineral

functional fixedness

only think of object’s most common use - limited creativity and divergent thinking

mental set

barrier to problem solving - based on solutions that have worked in past

heuristic

mental shortcut, bottom up, not always accurate

algorithm

step by step, accurate, top down

prototype + ex

mental image associated with best example of concept / category - say bird and you think of sparrow, not ostrich

representativeness heuristic

judge something based on how it matches your prototype - confirmation bias

availability heuristic

judge something based on how available examples are in memory

do we remember nicer or scarier things better?

scarier

anchoring heuristic

tendency to rely on 1 piece of info, convenience

linguistics is the study of

language - written and spoken

grammar

set of rules governing how symbols are used to form meaningful expressions

syntax

sets forth a specific order for grammatical elements

semantics + ex

understanding the meaning of language - slang, metaphors

who argued for nature in language development and what was his main idea?

noam chomsky - universal grammar

who argued for nature in language development and what was his main idea?

bf skinner

operant learning

association (sight of thing with sound of word), imitation (of synonyms), reinforcement

encoding

processing info into the memory system

storage

keeping encoded info over time

retrieval

getting info out of storage

sensory memroy

sensory information in the memory system

working memory

bits of info kept in mind for cognitive tasks - remembering phone numbers

how many units of info can we hold in working memory?

7-10

effortful processing

encoding that requires conscious effort, like rehearsal of facts

explicit memories

memory of facts and experiences - conscious, prospective

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of information - breaks into space, time, and frequency

implicit memories

procedural memory, muscle memory

latent learning

learning happens but isn’t apparent until there’s a reason to use it

shallow processing

sensory analysis, not looking for symbolism

deep processing

meaningful analysis, looking for meanings and symbolism

mnemonics

memory aids - ROY G BIV

imagery

visualization of info

chunking

organize numbers into manageable chunks

semantic encoding

encoding through emotional equalities

learning information that’s interesting to you takes ?/? the effort

1/10

what parts of the brain are involved in memory and what do they deal with

hippocampus (conscious memories), cerebellum (unconscious), basal ganglia (procedural), amygdala (emotion)

flashbulb memory

clear memory of emotionally significant event

what % of adults can tell where they were on 9/11

95%

how does dopamine activation influence learning

it tells the brain that the information being taken in is important, more dopamine = more attention = more retention

what kind of effect does rapidly stimulation certain memory circuits have on neurons

increases their sensitivity and allows for more connecting

describe recall + ec

retrieve info learned earlier - fill in blank test

recognition + ex

id items rather than know - multiple choice

relearning + ex

amount of time saved after relearning material

reconsolidation + ex

long term memory retrieved and is susceptible to manipulation

context dependent memory

putting yourself back into context where you experienced something - retracing steps to find keys

mood congruent memory

tendency to remember experiences that match current emotion

proactive interference

disruptive effect that earlier knowledge has on ability to recall new info

retroactive interference

basically rewriting old memories

what is an effect of chronic stress

pruned neural connections