PSYCH Fifth Canadian Edition - Chapter 5: Learning

1. Foundations and History of Psychology

• Definition of Psychology: The scientific study of behaviour and mental processes.

• Four Primary Goals:

  • Describe: Observe and record behavioural data in detail.

  • Explain: Understand the underlying reasons or conditions causing behaviours.

  • Predict: Specify conditions under which specific behaviours or mental processes will occur.

  • Control: Apply conditions to influence or modify behaviours and minimize external causes.

• Major Historical Perspectives:

  • Structuralism (Wundt, Titchener): Breaks down conscious experience into basic sensations using introspection.

  • Functionalism (James): Focuses on how mental processes and behaviour help organisms adapt to their environment.

  • Behaviourism (Watson, Skinner, Pavlov): Rejects unobservable mental states; focuses exclusively on observable behaviour.

  • Gestalt Psychology (Wertheimer, Koffka, Kohler): Emphasizes how perception is organized into meaningful wholes ("flash of insight").

  • Psychoanalysis (Freud): Focuses on the unconscious mind and early childhood conflicts.

2. Research Methods and Ethics

• The Scientific Method: A systematic process of formulating questions/hypotheses, gathering observational evidence, drawing conclusions, and refining theories.

• Descriptive Methods:

  • Case Study: In-depth analysis of an individual or small group; susceptible to memory gaps and experimenter bias.

  • Survey: Self-reported data from large samples; vulnerable to social desirability bias and misrepresentation.

  • Naturalistic Observation: Observes subjects in natural environments without intervention.

• Sampling Techniques:

  • Random Sample: Every member of the population has an equal chance of selection.

  • Stratified Sample: Population subgroups are represented proportionately.

• Experimental Method:

  • Independent Variable (IV): The variable manipulated by the experimenter.

  • Dependent Variable (DV): The variable measured to assess the effect of the IV.

  • Experimental Group: Receives the experimental treatment (IV).

  • Control Group: Does not receive treatment (or receives a placebo) as a comparison baseline.

  • Random Assignment: Randomly distributes participants across groups to maintain validity.

  • Controls: Placebos and double-blind setups prevent experimenter bias and participant expectations.

• Correlational Research:

  • Measures statistical relationships using a correlation coefficient ($r$) from $-1.00$ to $+1.00$.

  • Positive Correlation: Variables move in the same direction.

  • Negative Correlation: Variables move in opposite directions.

  • Key Rule: Correlation does not equal causation.

• Ethics:

  • Human research adheres to the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists (CPA).

  • Animal research adheres to guidelines set by the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC).

3. Principles of Learning

• Definition: A relatively permanent change in behaviour, capabilities, or knowledge due to experience or practice.

• Classical Conditioning (Respondent Conditioning):

  • Learning by associating two stimuli.

  • Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): Naturally triggers an unlearned response (e.g., food).

  • Unconditioned Response (UCR): Unlearned response to the UCS (e.g., salivation to food).

  • Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Neutral stimulus paired repeatedly with UCS to trigger a response (e.g., bell).

  • Conditioned Response (CR): Learned response to the CS (e.g., salivation to bell).

  • Key Concepts:

  • Extinction: Loss of CR when CS occurs repeatedly without UCS.

  • Spontaneous Recovery: Reappearance of an extinguished CR after a passage of time.

  • Generalization: Triggering CR with stimuli similar to the CS.

  • Discrimination: Triggering CR only with the exact CS.

• Operant Conditioning:

  • Learning based on consequences (rewards and punishments).

  • Reinforcement (Increases behaviour frequency):

  • Positive Reinforcement: Presenting a desirable stimulus.

  • Negative Reinforcement: Removing an aversive stimulus.

  • Primary Reinforcer: Fulfills basic biological needs (food, water).

  • Secondary Reinforcer: Has learned value through association (money, grades).

  • Punishment (Decreases behaviour frequency):

  • Positive Punishment: Presenting an unpleasant stimulus.

  • Negative Punishment: Removing a pleasant stimulus.

  • Schedules of Reinforcement:

  • Fixed-Interval: Reinforcement after a fixed amount of time (e.g., paycheck every $2$ weeks).

  • Variable-Interval: Reinforcement after random time intervals (e.g., pop quizzes).

  • Fixed-Ratio: Reinforcement after a set number of responses (e.g., loyalty card reward after $9$ purchases).

  • Variable-Ratio: Reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses (e.g., slot machines).

• Observational Learning (Bandura):

  • Acquiring skills/knowledge by observing and modeling others.

  • Key requirements: Attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation.

4. Memory Systems and Cognitive Processing

• Stages of Information Processing:

  • Encoding: Converting sensory inputs into visual, auditory, or semantic formats via selective attention.

  • Storage: Retaining information over time via maintenance rehearsal (repetition) or elaborative rehearsal (connecting to prior knowledge).

  • Retrieval: Accessing stored information using internal or external cues.

• Measuring Memory:

  • Recognition: Identifying previously learned information with cues (e.g., multiple-choice exams).

  • Recall: Retrieving information without explicit cues (e.g., paired associates or essay questions).

  • Relearning (Savings Method): Calculating saved repetitions required to relearn material (Ebbinghaus).

• Atkinson-Shiffrin Three-Stage Model:

  • Sensory Memory: Holds sensory traces briefly (Iconic = visual, $1$ second; Echoic = auditory, several seconds).

  • Short-Term Memory (STM / Working Memory): Holds $7 \pm 2$ chunks of information for under $30$ seconds without rehearsal.

  • Long-Term Memory (LTM): Practically unlimited capacity and permanent duration.

• Types of Long-Term Memory:

  • Explicit (Declarative): Conscious recollection.

  • Episodic: Personal experiences and events.

  • Semantic: General facts and academic knowledge.

  • Implicit (Nondeclarative): Unconscious skills and procedural tasks (e.g., riding a bike); includes priming.

  • Retrospective: Recalling past events.

  • Prospective: Remembering to perform tasks in the future.

• Forgetting & Neurobiology:

  • Interference Theory:

  • Retroactive Interference: New learning interferes with retrieval of old learning.

  • Proactive Interference: Old learning interferes with retrieval of new learning.

  • Amnesia:

  • Anterograde: Inability to form new long-term memories following brain trauma.

  • Retrograde: Inability to recall events that occurred before trauma.

  • Key Brain Structures:

  • Hippocampus: Crucial for encoding new explicit memories.

  • Amygdala: Processes emotional memories.

  • Cerebellum: Stores implicit and procedural memories.

  • Prefrontal Cortex: Executive functions, temporal organization, and planning.

5. Stress, Health, and Adjustment

• Stress Concepts:

  • Stress: Physical and psychological response to demands placed on an organism.

  • Eustress: Positive, healthful stress that enhances alertness and motivation.

  • Sources of Stress:

  • Daily Hassles: Regular everyday frictions; accumulate to predict physical health issues better than major events.

  • Life Changes: Major irregular events measured in Life Change Units (LCUs); accumulating $300$ or more LCUs per year elevates health risk.

  • Workplace Stress: Reported as the primary stressor for $27\%$ of Canadian workers; affects $70\%$ of working adults.

• Types of Motivational Conflict:

  • Approach-Approach: Choosing between two desirable outcomes (least stressful).

  • Avoidance-Avoidance: Choosing between two undesirable outcomes.

  • Approach-Avoidance: Single goal with both positive and negative features.

  • Multiple Approach-Avoidance: Choosing between multiple options, each with distinct pros and cons.

• Cognitive & Physiological Responses:

  • Ellis's A-B-C Model: Activating event ($A$) leads to Beliefs ($B$), producing Consequences ($C$). Catastrophizing compounds distress.

  • General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) (Hans Selye):

  1. Alarm Reaction: Triggers fight-or-flight response. Hypothalamus secretes CRH $\rightarrow$ Pituitary secretes ACTH $\rightarrow$ Adrenal cortex secretes corticosteroids. Adrenal medulla secretes adrenaline and noradrenaline.

  2. Resistance: Body attempts to restore energy and repair damage under continuous burden.

  3. Exhaustion: Physical resources are depleted, increasing vulnerability to "diseases of adaptation".

• Immune System & Stress:

  • Stress increases steroids, suppressing white blood cells (leukocytes) and reducing antibody production.

• Trauma-Related Disorders:

  • Acute Stress Disorder: Occurs within $1$ month of trauma and lasts between $2$ days and $4$ weeks.

  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Severe anxiety and re-experiencing that occurs months or years after trauma.

• Psychological Moderators:

  • Psychological Hardiness: Stress resistance defined by high Commitment, Challenge, and Control.

  • Cognitive Appraisal (Lazarus): Primary appraisal (evaluating severity) and secondary appraisal (evaluating coping resources).