Psychology Chapters 6 & 7

Front 1

learning

Back 1

a relatively permanent change in behavior or behavioral potential produced by experience.

Front 2

Pavlov

Back 2

-example of classical conditioning
1. food (ucs) -> salivate (ucr)
2. bell (neutral) -> no response
3. bell + food -> salivate
4. bell (now a conditioned stimulus) -> salivate (now a conditioned response)

Front 3

classical conditioning

Back 3

1. unconditioned stimulus --> un conditioned response(automatically, inborn, unlearned response)
2. Pair UCS with another neutral stimulus
3. after a while the other stimulus will elicite the uncondited response...and will be a conditioned stimulus that elicits a conditioned response.

Front 4

associative learning

Back 4

learning through either classical conditioning or operant conditioning that two events are connected
ex. doctors office --> pain

Front 5

phobias

Back 5

-strong irrational fears of objects or situations
-not objectively dangerous or less dangerous than the phobic reaction suggests
3. subject is aware their fear is irrational.

Front 6

John B. Watson

Back 6

-Little Albert (11 months old)
- used white rat (stimulus) + Loud noise (ucs) --> startle, fear (ucr)

- albert learned to associate rat with loud noise and developed a phobia of rats

Front 7

Mary Cover Jones

Back 7

- 3 yr old peter feared rats
- pair sight of rat with pleasant, incompatible experience (ice cream)
- move rat closer on successive days
-phobia of rats gone

Front 8

Joseph Wolpe

Back 8

-systematic desensitization
1. progressive muscle relaxation
2. anxiety hierarchy

Front 9

fetish

Back 9

sexually aroused by something you dont normally get aroused by

Front 10

music in movies

Back 10

-stimulates moods/feeling/emotions
ex. rocky, love story, jaws

Front 11

Necessary factors for classical conditioning (4)

Back 11

1. conditioned stimulus ideally comes before UCS
2. repeated trials of CS-UCS
3. interstimulus interval - .05-1.0 seconds
4. cs must be strong and distinctive enough to be perceived easily

Front 12

preparedness

Back 12

-classical conditioning is selective
- some kinds of conditioning are accomplised very easily, where as other kinds may never occur

ex. snake phobia - easily conditioned
- flower phobia - almost never

Front 13

Food (or taste) aversions

Back 13

-illustrates learning preparedness
- poisoned food (ucs)-> nausea/sickness (ucr)
-conditioned food aversions are exceptions to the general rules about C.C.
-animals can learn to avoid poisonous foods
1. in many cases, only one pairiong of CS & UCS is necessary for learning to take place (1 trial learning)
2. even if there is a lengthy CS-UCS interval (bw eating the food and becoming ill) - up to 12 hours for rats
-suggests some behaviors can be learned by CC much faster than others - biologically prepared to learn associations b/w certain stimuli and certain responses

Front 14

acquisition

Back 14

(classical conditioning) - the initial learning of the stimulus-response link, which involves a neutral stimulus being associated with an UCS and b/c a CS that elicits the CR

Front 15

extinction

Back 15

(C.C.)
- the weakkening of the CR in the absence of the UCS

Front 16

spontaneous recovery (c.c)

Back 16

-extinguished response reappears after passage of time with no retraining
- CR is not as strong
-learning is not permanently lost

Front 17

stimulus generalization

Back 17

occurs when stimuli that are similar to the original CS also elicit the CR even though they have never been paired w/ the UCS
- the more similar the stimuli - the greater the generalization of response
examples:
1. bell 1, bell2, and bell 3 may all elicit the CR
2. baby calls everyone daddy 3. child thinks cats and dogs are both dogs
4. little alberts fear of white rat is generalized to white furry objects (beards, fur coats, rabbits)

Front 18

post tramatic stress disorder

Back 18

(PTSD) an anxiety disorder that develops through exposure to a traumatic event, a severly oppressive situation, severe abuse, or a natural or an unnatural disaster

Front 19

stimulus discrimination (c.c.)

Back 19

ex. present 2 similar bells but only one signals food
bell 1 -> food
bell 2 -> no food
learn to respond to only one stimulus and inhibit response to all other stimuli
- you learn to discriminte b/w the 2 bells and only respond to the bell that signals food

Front 20

experimental neurosis (c.c)

Back 20

-difficult discrimination
- discrimination breakdown - conflict - dog aggitated, try to excape, upset, bark, bite, fearful

Front 21

Operant conditioning

Back 21

also known as instrumental conditioning
- concerns the learning of voluntary behavior that operates on the environment in a way that is instrumental in obtaining a desirable outcome (gaining something desired/positive OR avoiding something unpleasant/negative)

Front 22

acquisition (o.c.)

Back 22

behavior which is reinforced gradually b/c of learning

Front 23

generalization (o.c)

Back 23

behavior reinforced in one situation may be shown in other situations

Front 24

Operant conditioning

Back 24

also known as instrumental conditioning
- concerns the learning of voluntary behavior that operates on the environment in a way that is instrumental in obtaining a desirable outcome (gaining something desired/positive OR avoiding something unpleasant/negative)

Front 25

extinction (o.c.)

Back 25

disappearance of the behavior if we fail to reinforce it for too long.

Front 26

acquisition (o.c.)

Back 26

behavior which is reinforced gradually b/c of learning

Front 27

spontaneous recovery (o.c)

Back 27

return of a previously extinguished response

Front 28

generalization (o.c)

Back 28

behavior reinforced in one situation may be shown in other situations

Front 29

extinction (o.c.)

Back 29

disappearance of the behavior if we fail to reinforce it for too long.

Front 30

spontaneous recovery (o.c)

Back 30

return of a previously extinguished response

Front 31

types of reinforcement

Back 31

-reinforcers strengthen behavior
-they increase the FREQUENCY and INTENSITY of the behavior it follows
-includes primary, secondary positive, and negative reinforcers

Front 32

primary reinforcer

Back 32

unlearned, inborn reinforcer
-like food, water, sex and oxygen

Front 33

secondary reinforcer

Back 33

-value is LEARNED thru its assocation w/ primary reinforcers or w/ other secondary reinforcers
- like money ->can buy other things

Front 34

positive reinforcers

Back 34

-increase the likelihood that a behavior will occur
-strengthens the behavior
-add something positive
ex. turn in hw -> praised by teacher -> always turn in hw

Front 35

negative reinforcers

Back 35

-also INCREASE the likelihood a behavior will occur
- do it by REDUCING or ELIMINATING something unpleasant
- remove something negative

Front 36

punishment

Back 36

any event whose presence DECREASES the likelihood that ongoing behavior will occur
-WEAKENS/SUPPRESSES behavior

Front 37

superstitious behavior

Back 37

-when something we do is followed closely by a reinforcer, we tend to repeat that behavior
-even if the behavior was not actually responsible for producing the reinforcemnt

Front 38

shaping (o.c)

Back 38

reinforcement is given for successive approximations to teh desired behavior - eventually leading to desired behavior being learned

Front 39

escape conditioning

Back 39

ex: shock floor - dog learns to jump over fence to escape shock

Front 40

avoidance conditioning

Back 40

ex: light -> shock -> jump over fence
learns when light goies on -> jump over fence

Front 41

learned helplessness

Back 41

failure experiences lead to a sense of "helplessness"
reapeated failure -> leanred helplessness

you give up and are less likely to try in similar future situations

ex: solving puzzles

*learned helplessness is associated with many of the symptoms characteristic of depression

Front 42

punishment

Back 42

decreasing a behavior by administering an aversive stimulus following a behavior OR by removing a positive stimulus

Front 43

extinction

Back 43

decreasing a behavior by not rewarding it

Front 44

premack principle

Back 44

a high-frequency activity (something you do often) can be used to reinforce low frequency behavior
ex. watching tv, talking on the phone, spending time with friends

access to the preferred activity is contingent on completing the low-frequency, non-preferred behavior.
ex. do hw then u can watch tv

Front 45

continuous reinforcement

Back 45

100% - response is reinforced each time it occurs
LEARNING and EXTINCTION occur rapidly

Front 46

partial reinforcement schedule

Back 46

responses are sometimes reinforced and sometimes not
Initial learning is slower but greater resistance to extinction.

Front 47

interval schedule (fixed/variable)

Back 47

reinforcement occurs after a certain amount of time has passed
fixed interval- reinforcement is presented after a fixed amount of time
variable interval - reinforcemnt is delivered on a randomvariable time schedule - ex : pop quiz

Front 48

ratio schedules

Back 48

reinforcment occurs after a certain number of responses/behaviors
fixed ratio - reinforcement presented after a fixed number of responses
ex: get paid 1 dollars for making 5 widgets.
variable ratio - reinforcement delivery is varaible but based on an overall average # of responses - MOST RESISTANT TO EXTINCTION
ex. lottery ticket, slot machine

Front 49

fixed

Back 49

"every"/predictable

Front 50

variable

Back 50

varies/unpredictable

Front 51

fixed ratio

Back 51

reinforcer given after fixed number of behaviors

Front 52

observational learning

Back 52

Albert Bandura
- modeling/imitation

Basic processes:
1. attention
2. retention
3. reproduction
4. motivation

Front 53

punishment

Back 53

S-R-->negative outcome
1. add negative/undesirable outcome
2. remove something desireable
3. suppress behavior
4. can work quickly

Front 54

problems with punishment

Back 54

1. effects may be temporary
2. may imitate punisher - aggressive behavior
-associate punishment with punisher
3. may produce fear, anxiety, avoidance, - can disrupt learning process
4. may produce anger, resentment, leads to aggression
5. can reduce self-esteem
6. merely inhibits/suppresses behavior - it doesn't teach desired alternative behavior
7. angry parents may not think clearly and lose control

Front 55

effective use of punishment

Back 55

1. prompt
2. consistent/predictable
3. reinforce more appropriate alternative behavior
4. reinforcement strong enough to be a deterrent but not excessive/abusive
5. punish the behavior not the person
6. at times a conditioned punisher should be used. a conditioned punisher is a word (hey, no wrong) and or body posture (frowns) that predicts that punishment will occur if the offending behavior continues - this eventually becomes an informaitonal signal & can reduce the need for actual punishment

Front 56

encoding

Back 56

put information into memory

Front 57

storage

Back 57

holding information in memovery over time

Front 58

retrieval

Back 58

finding stored information in memory and bringing it back into consciousness

Front 59

3 types of memory codes

Back 59

1. acoustic = sound (better than visual)
2. visual
3. semantic - general meaning

the type of coding we use influences what we remember

Front 60

3 stage information processing

Back 60

information is processed in 3 stages
1. sensory registers
2. short term memory
3. long term memory

Front 61

sensory memory

Back 61

-information from sense
- information is held very briefly (often less than 1 second before being lost)
- information selectively attended to and encoded goes to short term memory

acoustic info lasts longer than visual info

Front 62

short term memory

Back 62

-short duration - about 18 seconds
- limited capacity 7 (+ or - 2) bits of information
- also called "working memorY"
-if information is attended to and processed further it goes to LTM
-acoustic coding dominates STM
-elaborative rehearsal is best for storing info in LTM

Front 63

chunking

Back 63

combite bits of related info into meaningful units or groupings of info

Front 64

primacy effect

Back 64

first words in a list remembered better

Front 65

recency effect

Back 65

last words in a list remembered better

Front 66

long term memory

Back 66

-unlimited duration
- unlimited capacity
- elaborative rehearsal is the best for storing into in LTM
-semantic coding - dominates LTM "general meaning" vs "the exact words" are stored
-ltm memory is subject to distortion

Front 67

3 categories of info stored in LTM

Back 67

1. episodic memory - memory of events in ur life
2. semantic memory - generalized knowledge of the world/facts
3. procedural chememroy - knowledge of how to do things

Front 68

context dependent memories

Back 68

we remember items better if we try to recall them when we are in a setting simmilar to the one in which we learned the info - ex test in a classroom

Front 69

state dependent memories

Back 69

we remember items better if we try to recall them when our internal state is similar to the one in which we learned the info (ex mood)
-when u feel angry or sad, negative events are more likely to be remembered

Front 70

constructing memories

Back 70

- our memories are affected by what we PERCEIVE and by what we ALREADY KNOW about the world
- we use existing knowledge to
1. organize new info as we receive it
2. fill in the gaps in the info that we encode and retrieve
-called constructive memory

Front 71

schemas

Back 71

- are mental representations of categories of objects, places, events, and people
-provide a basis for making inferences about incoming information during the encoding stage
-guide what we pay attention to and influence what we recall

Front 72

eye witness testimony

Back 72

- eyewitness can only remember what they preceive, adn they perceive only what they attended to
leading questions can alter witnesses memory
-misinformation effect
-fact that witness rports many details is no guarantee that all of them were remembered correctly
-witnesses confidence is often much highter than the accuracy of their reports

Front 73

flashbulb memories

Back 73

- clear vivid memories of unique, surprising, or strongly emtoinal moments in ur past

Front 74

eidetic imagery

Back 74

photographic memory
- more common in children

Front 75

overlearning

Back 75

even after material is learned, additional repetition
-increases retention inf LTM

Front 76

forgetting - theories

Back 76

can be a problem w/ encoding, storage, retrieval, or some combination of these

7 theories:
1. trace decay theory
2. interference theory
3. trace trnasformational
4. repression theory
5. loss of access
6. selective attention
7. test anxiety

Front 77

interference theory

Back 77

storage or retrieval of info is impaired by teh presence of other information

Front 78

trace decay theory

Back 78

due to the passage of time

Front 79

trace transformation

Back 79

remembering is an active process (vs passive), info stored will be distorted or transformed to make it more stable or consistent with other knowledge we are remembering

Front 80

repression theory

Back 80

(freud) we unknowingly, unconsciously protect ourselves from unacceptable (anxiety provoking, threatening, embarassing) or painful information by driving it out of our consciousness to maintina a favorable image

Front 81

loss of access

Back 81

we never forget anything - info is just temporarily inaccessible
- info not lost just buried or the retrieval cues are inadequate
-tip of the tongue phenomenta
-penfield elctrode experiment

Front 82

selective attention

Back 82

we attend selectively to some details, others are forgotten

Front 83

test anxiety

Back 83

need to decrease arousal, improve study skills, decrease negative self statements that increase worry

Front 84

improve ltm

Back 84

1. organize info - outlide and relate info so it makes sense to u
2. alter/rested
3. time and effort are requried to study and review material - overlearning
4. reduce interferences
5. spaced vs. massed learning (dont cram for exams)
6. use MNEUMONIC techniques (method of loci, acronyms)

Front 85

rna and memory

Back 85

-planaria experiement

Front 86

4 facts about alzheimers

Back 86

1. is its irreversible as of now
2. not a normal part of the aging process
3. 4th leading cause of death in the elderly
4. the earlier the condition appears, the shorter the survival time