7/25/2016

CHAPTER 5 Learning
Learning: Any relatively permanent change in behavior brought by experiences
or practice.

Classical Conditioning
NS -> No Rxn
NS UCS UCR
CS CR

BELL(NS) -> FOOD (UCS) >DOG >(UCR) (RXN)

Pairing = close in time, ideally 5 seconds apart.
Neutral Stimulus = provokes no reaction, has no effect because it is neutral.
Unconditioned Stimulus happens naturally, and does not need to be conditioned
(food), the food is not reacting

BELL (NS) (not paired) FOOD (UCS) -> DOG Reaction (UCR) = no conditioning

BELL (CS) Dog Reaction (CR)

CSCR = when paired NS to the UCS and then finally removed the UCR

Extinction: occurs when taking a very long time to add the CS

Remember
-

CS must come before UCS

CS-> UCS MUST be CLOSE in Time
CS -> must be Paired with UCS several times
CS is distinctive from other forms of stimuli

Stimuli anything coming into the system that has an effect on the senses
Stimulus Generalization response to similar stimuli as the CS

Extinction: CS UCS CR

happens over time, if not reinforced

Higher Order Conditioning

Stage 1: NS
UCS UCR -> CS1 -> CR
Stage 2: CS1 CR HOC CS2 -->> CR NS

page 171

Higher order conditioning can go as high as 7, 8 9

Little Albert
-

John B Watson.
Conditioned emotional response CER

Conditioned Taste Eversions (CTR)

-

Illness within 6 hours

Fear based
Survival instinct
Page 175
What did Little Albert have? He had a Conditioned Emotional
Response.

Operant Conditioning
-

Voluntary Learning

Edward Thorndike
-

Law of Effect: Action Pleasurable Experience Repeated Action

BK Skinner
-Effect of consequence on behavior, they are reciprocal

Classical VS Operant

See page 179

Classical: Involuntary stimulus before response
Operant: Voluntary Consequence after behavior

Reinforcers
Reinforcement: To strengthen

Anything that, when following a response causes that response to be more likely to
happen again

Remember: Reinforces can be

+ or -

Positive: Addition of something

Negative: Removal of a Negative

Example: Negative Reinforcement = Pain Medication

Example: Child is playing with pots and pans, makes tons of noise, the dad yells
and screams each time child makes too much noise = NEGATIVE
REINFORCEMENT, banging on the pans REMOVED the dads yelling. OPERANT
Conditioning
Example: When a teenager goes to their parents and looks for a
compliment/approval but the parent yells and says GO away, the teen will no
longer go to the parent.

Positive Reinforcement is more effective in parenting than punishment because it

increases the likelihood that the child will do it again

Types of Reinforcement:
-

Primary: Meets a basic need, example food

Secondary: Association with primary reinforcers in the past, money

Reinforcement Schedules
Partial Reinforcement Effect
FI: Fixed Time = Paycheck (slow response)
VI: Variable Time = Pop Quizzes (Slow & Steady)
FR: Fixed # of Responses (Slow Responses) piecework, or getting punches for a
free sandwich until you hit 10
VR: Number changes = slot machines (Fast & Frequent), example: casino and a
slot machine

Punishment
-

Stimulus that causes a response, less likely to occur again

Punishment: Weakens ResponsesReinforcement: Strengthens Responses
Page 184

Drawbacks of Punishment

Child learns to avoid the punishment not behavior

Child lies to avoid the punishment
Creates and fear and anxiety
Hitting promotes aggression

Operant Conditioning all behavior is purposeful

Operant Conditioning in Controlling Behavior

Discriminative Stimulus: Provides a CUE for making a certain response in order to
obtain reinforcement (Police Siren).
Discriminative Stimulus happens in both classical and operant conditioning

Extinction:
Classical Conditioning: Removal of an Unconditioned Stimulus
Operant Conditioning: Removal of Reinforcement

Additional Terms
-

Generalization response to a stimulus that is similar to the original CS

Spontaneous recovery- re-occurrence of a previously extinguished
conditioned response
Shaping small steps to a larger goal
Behavior modification: use of operant conditioning to change behavior

Cognitive Learning
-

Insight Learning: Wolfgang Kohler:

Requires a sudden coming together
An Aha! Moment
Not through trial and error
Example: 3 levers, 3rd level supplies food, but will only work till animal
push 1 and 2. Then removing 1 and 2, and then just having. Eventually
hell have insight just to hit 3, through mistake

Bandura & Bobo Doll

Albert Bandura = developed social learning

Studied Observational Learning/vicarious learning
Looked at aggression in children
Learning / performance distinction learning without performance

Example: Learning through social learning, what we do and not do. Social
Learning is very important in schooling, home vs public schooling, not getting
social learning in homeschooling

Elements of Observational Learning

-

Attention pay attention

Memory remember what they see, and the response that others receive
Imitation to do what others do
Desire to receive what others have received

Learned Helplessness
-

Martin Seligman
Failure to act or escape
Past failures
Secondary gain - the advantage that occurs secondary to stated or real
illness

Chapter 6 Memory
Processes of Memory
-

Encoding
Storage
Retrieval

Will You Remember?????

Cat-House-Summer

Encoding
-Sensory Information Encoding Usable Form - turns sensory information
into a usable form
- This is accomplished differently in each storage system

Storage
-

Retaining Information for SOME period of Time

Time period varies depending on the storage system used

Retrieval
-

Biggest problem for most people

Mostly in long term memory, the memory is unlimited and never stops

Encoding Specificity: Encoding and retrieval conditions are similar

Models of Memory
1) Information processing
2) Parallel distributed Process (PDP)
3) Levels of processing

1) Information Processing Model

-

Most comprehensive
Most influential
Examines the way info is handled in each stage

2) Parallel Distributed Process (PDP)

-

Simultaneous processing
Creation and storage
Retrieve many aspects of memory all at once
Much faster reactions and decisions

3) Levels of Processing Model

-

How long will I remember this?

Duration depends on the depth and effort made in understanding the
meaning of something
Paramount to learning anything
Page 211

Visual Learning versus Meaning(ful) learning

-

What did you see

What did you understand
Depth of processing will equal the retention time
o More in depth you are with something the longer you will your
retention will be

Information Processing Model

Three Types of Memory
1) Sensory
2) Short-Term
3) Long-Term

Sensory Memory
-

Iconic

First stage of memory

Neural images in the nervous system
Sensory info travels through system
Double Take: Brief memory of what is experienced through the sense. A
double take can be taken two ways:
o Iconic Visual
example: Naked man walking down the street
o Echoic Auditory

Icon = image
George Sperling 1960
o Showed people a row of letter (but they could only remember 4-5
letters, regardless of length)
o Partial Report Method Grid of Letters with different Tones,
allowed people to remember that
o Wanted to look at the duration of visual memory

Capacity of Iconic Memory Everything that can be seen at one time

There is a difference between memory and recall If I show you 50 things and you
can remember all 50 things, you can recall them = FALSE

Masking
-

Old information is pushed out to make room for new information

visual
Happens within .25 seconds with Iconic

Eidetic Imagery ability to access a visual memory over long periods of time
Iconic Memory
-

Allows us to view our surroundings as continuous & stable

Allows enough time for the brain stem to decide if the information is
important enough to bring it into consciousness *

Echoic Sensory Memory

-

Brief
The What Phenomenon
In 4 seconds: you hear the echo of whatever was just said to you in your
head
Limited to what can be heard at any given moment
Useful for meaningful conversations

Short Term Memory STM

-

Held up to 30 seconds

Selective Attentions converts to Short Term Memory (STM)

o Ability to focus on one stimulus in the face of several stimuli
o Bottle neck theory selective memory
Selective STM

Cocktail effect there is lots of sensory stimuli but you can pick out a single
stimulus, i.e. hearing your name is a loud crowded room

Importance of Conscious Information

-

Conscious information comes from actively thinking and paying attention

to a stimuli to covert to Short Term Memory (STM)
Only converts that which is considered important

Working Memory
-

Part of Short Term Memory (STM)

Its what is on top of your DESK (working memory, STM), in terms of
memory
Active System
Processes Info present in Short Term Memory (STM)

3 Parts of Working Memory:

1) CEO decides what to pay attention to and use
2) Sketch Pad- the brain is sketching what youre seeing
3) Recorder plays dialogue in persons head

Capacity: can only remember 7 items at a time

If you want to remember more:
Chunking - taking larger groups and putting them together

Short Term Memory:

-

12-30 seconds without rehearsal, unless it has meaning

Maintenance rehearsal: paying attention to information, repeating a
phone number over and over

Long Term Memory:

-

Capacity is Unlimited

Long Term Memory is encoded images

Meaningful form through elaborative rehearsal

Long Term Memory Types:

1) Non Declarative
2) Declarative

Non-Declarative
-

Things we know how to do i.e. tying shoes, riding a bike

Emotional memory
Habits
Implicit memory

Declarative:
-

Explicit memory
All the things people know
Facts and info (semantic) i.e. names of planets, 2+2, Jeopardy!
Personal Knowledge (episodic) i.e. first day of school, first gf,
birthdays, anniversaries

Long Term Memory Auto Encoding (6.8)

Automatic Encoding things we notice and keep track of automatically. i.e.
traffic, weather

Flashbulb Memory
Emotionally Charged Memories
-

Vivid and exact

Less exact over time than other type of memories
o Gibblet: The strength of your emotions the time of an incident have
a huge impact on remembering, memory fades because the
emotion fades

Reconstructed Memories (6.9)

Reconstructed Memories: memories are revised, edited, and altered

CONTIOUSLY

Constructive Processing Memories

-

Memories are inaccurate over time

Sir Fredrick Bartlett (1932) process of creating a story instead of
reading a story already written.
o Viewed memory as problem solving activity
o Problem = Memory
o Solution = use of current knowledge inferring for evidence to
create the memory

Constructive Processing View

-

Memories are built from encoded pieces

Each time a memory is retrieved it may be altered or revised to include
new information
Info at encoding may be left out
I knew it all along we discard incorrect info and replace with accurate
info. (after the fact)

Hindsight Bias (6.9)

-

Tendency of people to falsely believe that they would have accurately

predicted an outcome without having been told about the evidence
Monday Morning Quarterback

Memory Retrieval Problems

-

Misinformation effect
False memory syndrome

Misinformation Effect
-person is exposed to information after the event

False Memory Syndrome

-

Creation of inaccurate or false memory through the suggestions of other

(Hypnosis)

Reasons why we Forget (6.10)

1) Encoding Failure
2) Memory Trace Decay Theory
3) Interference Theory

Encoding Failure Failure to encode information into memory

Memory Trace Decay
-

Physical change at the neuronal level

Over time (traces) may decay
Walking in the grass footprints fade away with single use, repeated
footprints imprint a path, if you dont use it, you lose it

Interference Theory
-

Proactive forward new learning

Retroactive backward

Proactive Interference (6.11)

-

Tendency for older material to interfere with new learning

Retroactive Interference
-

New information interferes with the retrieval of older information

Biological Basis of Memory (6.12)

-

Non Declarative: things kept in the cerebellum

Short Term Memory (STM): kept in the prefrontal cortex and temporal
lobe
Fear Memories: located in the amygdala (seed of emotions, can
override prefrontal cortex)
Semantic and Episodic Long Term Memory (LTM): Frontal and
Temporal Lobe
Receptor Cites:
o Long Term Potentiation: change in sensitivity
o Increase number of cites
o Changes in Dendrites

Fun Fact: Amygdala gives the memory an impression of love at first sight

Purpose of Biological Changes

-

To increase the neuronal connections & make existing neural connections

more sensitive to stimulation

Consolidation
-

Changes that takes place as a memory is forming (can take minutes in

STM or years in the form of LTM)

Hippocampus
-

Responsible for the formation of new Long Term Memories (LTM)

Declarative Memories
Henry Gustav Molaison (died 2008) at age 82
o could no longer remember declarative memories after his
hippocampus was removed to try to prevent his seizures

Organic Amnesia (6.13)

-

Concussions
Brain Injury
Trauma to the brain
Alcoholism

Retrograde Amnesia
-

Point of the injury backwards

Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT)

Anterograde Amnesia
-

Point of injury forward

Can still remember things like playing an instrument

Fun fact: New memories can be wiped within seconds with anterograde
amnesia the information is being relearned over and over again

CHAPTER 7 (7.1)
-

Cognition: To know mental activity that goes on in the brain when a

person is processing info, organizing it, understand it, and comparing it to
other info
This includes memory

Example test question: Cognition does not include memory: FALSE

Mental Images
-

Representations that stand in for objects or event and have a picture like
quality
Using mental images: takes longer to go through a mental image that is
larger or covers more ground. (Window Exercise).
Kossylns Fictional Island subjects took longer to complete the task
when the locations on the image were farther apart
Rotating Objects when an image is rotated in the mind
See an Object create an object ***
Same brain areas

**Not using optic neural pathways to create an object versus:

**When someone suggests or see an image, you are planting the that image,
uses same neural pathways

Concepts
-

Ideas that represent a class or category of object, events or activity i.e.

fruit
Allow for communication with others
Allow for us to recognize things
Formal Concepts: rigid terms in definition

Prototype:
-

Concepts that closely matches the defining characteristics of the concept

Apple fruit

Problem Solving and Decision Making (7.2)

-

Problem Solving: Goal must be reached by thinking and behaving in a

certain way

Decision making: identifying, evaluating, choosing among several

alternatives

Trial & Error

-

Mechanical Solutions
Trying until one works

Drawbacks: can cause harm and take a long time, will not always result in a correct
solution right away

Algorithms
-

Specific step-by-step procedures to solve problems

Will always result in a correct solution if the correct solution exists (math
problems)

Heuristics
-

Rules of Thumb applies to many solutions

Representative: shares characteristics (plants)
Availability: Frequency of events occurring (K in what position) based on
past knowledge
Working backwards: GPS vs. Map

Insight
-

Aha moment
Understanding something on a deeper level
Being abet to utilize something completely
Higher level of learning and memory

Barriers to Problem Solving & Decision Making

-

Function Fixedness: Screw Driver need to fix something with a screw

driver, but cant find the screw driver and waste a lot of time looking for it
when something else would have sufficed
Mental Sets: It always worked before
Confirmation Bias: Only paying attention to evidence that confirm our
beliefs, while ignoring other evidnce

Convergent & Divergent Thinking (7.3)

-

Convergent: All directions to one single point

Divergent: One single point out to several directions

What is a pen? Convergent thinking: all paths converge to one point: i.e. has ink,
used to write, comes in various colors, tubular
How else could a pen be used? Divergent thinking: to hold up hair, to make a hole in
paper, to murder someone, as an emergency tracheotomy
Divergent leads to creativity and thinking outside the box
Example of a student using divergent thinking: Choosing topics and questions for
research papers

Language (7.9)
Definition: System of combing symbols (words) so that an infinite number of
meaningful statements can be made for the purpose of communicating with other
-

Also to represent our own mental activity

Grammar (7.9)
- Define: System of rules governing the structure and use of a language
- Norm Chomsky (Linguist): Innate ability to understand & understand &
produce language through Lad
LAD: Language Acquisition Device

LAD
-innate program
Contains schema for human language - schema (plan or blueprint)
-

Used by children for language development

Imitation
Reinforcement
Shaping

Parts of Grammar (7.9)

-

Phonemes

Morphemes
Syntax
Semantics
Pragmatics

Phonemes (7.9)
-

Basic unites of sound in language

Car day
Role of the Letter A is much different

Morphemes (7.9)
-

Smallest unites of meaning with language

Playing = play__ing

Syntax (7.9)
-

System of rules for combining words & phrases to form sentences

John kidnapped the Boy
John, the kidnapped Boy

Semantics (7.9)
-

Rules for determining meaning of words and sentences

Same semantics different syntax
Johnny hit the ball
The ball was hit by Johnny.

Pragmatics (7.9)
-

Practical aspects of communicating with others

How to take turns in conversations
Use of gestures to emphasize
Intonation: Rhythm & Emphasis

Language & Thought

Piaget v. Vygotsky

Jean Piaget
- Concepts preceded & aided language development
- Mental schema of Mama prior to saying Mama

Piaget Collective Monologue

-

A childs speech is totally unrelated to the speech of others

o Egocentric Speech: No regard for listener
An increase in Childs Socialization = Decrease in Egocentric Speech

Lev Vygotsky
-

Language helps develop concepts for children

Language helps children control behavior (bx) & social behavior (bx)
Words form the concept Mama
Egocentric Speech: Helps the child form thoughts & control actions
organize actions
Which was correct re: Language & Concepts? Lev Vygotsky was correct

Linguistics Relativity Hypothesis (7.10)

-

Supir Whorf
Thought processes & concepts are controlled by language
The words we use determine the way we think about the world (reflect on
this). Gibble: Determines our attitude, how we see the world, how we
think about the world, but also about themselves, and prejudices
Gibble: Movie projector, pure objectivity doesnt exist because you exist

Cognitive Universalism
-

Concepts are universal & influence development of language

Turn to page 274, concept map. Dont worry about animal part

Chapter 8
Research Methods
-

Longitudinal: Same participants studied at various times looks at age

related changes
Cross Section: Several different age groups at one time
Cross Sequential: Combination of longitudinal & cross sectional
different participants of various ages compared at several points in time
commonly over 6 years age related differences & ages related changes

Nature V. Nurture
-

Nature: Inherited Characteristics

o Personality
o Growth
o Intellect

o
-

Social Skills

Nurture: influence of environment on inherited traits

o Parenting styles
o Socioeconomic status
o Surroundings

DNA & Genes

-

DNA: Genetic Codes 7 Chromosomes

Dominant & Recessive Genes: Influence Physical & Behavioral Traits

Physical Development (8.6)

-

Reflexes: Aids in Survival

Movement: Milestones

Brain Development (8.6)

-

100 Billion Neurons

Triples in Weight (from birth to 3 years)
Birth 3 years
o New dendrites
o Axon terminals
o Increase in Synaptic Connections
After Birth: Synaptic Pruning: Unused connections & nerve cells cleaned
away to make room for function connections & cells.

Stages of Development
-

Germinal
Embryonic
Fetal

Germinal
-

Fertilization within the first 2 weeks

Development of placenta
Development of umbilical cord
Cell differentiation cells start to divide through mitosis, you begin to
see cells differentiating into their respective roles, i.e. skins cells, organ
cells

Embryonic

Within the 2nd week through 8th week

Embryo
Cell Specialization: Organs & Structures
8 weeks: Primitive
o Eyes
o Nose
o Lips
o Teeth
o Arms
o Legs
o Heart
Stresses plays a factor, nutrition, environment, all come into play during
this stage

Critical Periods (in weeks)

-

2-5: Central Nervous System:

2.5 6.5: Heart
3.5 8: Arms & Legs
3.5 8.5: Eyes
7-12: Teeth
Why is this important to be aware of??? There are a lot of factors that
come into play that we dont have control over, and a lot of things we do.
Pre-natal care is crucial to birth. Emotional and Psychological development
and the impact it will have on that childs life.

HAZARDS
-

Teratogen: any drug, chemical, virus, stress, or other factor that can
cause a birth defect.
FAS: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome:
o Physical & Mental Defects
o Stunted Growth
o Facial
o Brain Damage

Fetal Period
-

8th weeks to Birth

Fetus
Increase 20 times in size of fetus
Page 290 concept map

Piaget Cognitive Theory

-

Schemas Mental Concepts formed through experiences & events

Assimilation: Understanding new things based on schemas already
processed.
Accommodation: Process of altering or adjusting old schemas to
accommodate new information
Balance: Assimilation Accommodation = Equilibration

Piaget Cognitive Development Structuralist View

Sensorimotor Stage
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Birth to 2 years
Object Permanence
Representational though
Schemas: Object Constancy
Deliberate interaction with objects
Object Permanence: critical to language development & symbolic
thought
Visual Closure part of an object is hidden, therefore it does not
register or exist for the child, also prominent in patients with CVAs
and strokes

Preoperational Stage
-

Ages 2 to 7
Egocentrism: Limitation only seen through their own perspective
Centration: paying attention to Only 1 feature.
Gibblet: Can cause an
issue because the child is only paying attention to one thing, running into
something chasing the ice cream truck
Fail at conservation one wide container has liquid, put the same
amount of water in a taller container, the child well see it as more
Irreversibility - the ability to work things backwards

Concrete Stage
-

Ages 7 to 12
Absence of centration
Unable to deal with abstract thinking

Formal Operations
-

12 years of age to adult

Abstract thinking
Hypothetical thinking
Not everyone would reach formal operations

Vygotsky
-

Important of social and cultural interactions

Scaffolding: leading & providing examples. i.e. Teachers use this with
students that excel quicker, increases socialization and modeling
Zone of Proximal development (ZPD): Accomplished alone versus with help.
Gibblet: Vygotsky believed it was a platform for learning, child would
excel with scaffolding as opposed to traditional learning, i.e. notes,
lectures, taking in the info to whatever level

Personality Social Relationships

-

Temperament: Behavior & Emotional Characteristics

o Easy
o Difficult
o Slow to warm up
o Last into adulthood
o Hereditary
You could have children in the same family with two different
temperament levels, the parent can discern the difference, their
temperament will play a role in how easy their life with be with social
interactions

Attachment
-

Emotional bond with primary caregiver (primarily the mother)

First 6 months
Critical to psychological development
Identity of self
Separation of self from others
Dependency versus Independency
Self Concept

Adolescent

Kohlbergs Levels of Morality (page 311)

o Preconventional
o Conventional
o Postconventional

Concept Map page 313

Eriksons Psychosocial Stages of Development (page 304) - criticized

for using his own children, along with other test children
o Make sure you know each developmental crisis
The basics of each one

Not so much the age of each stage, but what is happening

Identity Conflicts
Brain Development
Use of language & self-expression
We talk AT them not WITH them

Adulthood
-

Erikson: Intimacy versus Isolation (Relationships)

Generativity versus Stagnation (Parenting)
Ego Integrity versus Despair (Mortality)
Page 319

Putting it all Together

-

How would all 3 theories look at an individual

How would Kohlbergs theory play a role latter on in development
What stage are you currently in and how do the theories apply to your
own life?

On the test: He will give us an age group or particular person and ask us to apply all
3 three things we talked about to that person, from Eriksons standpoint, or
Kohlbergs standpoint. Possible compare and contrast

What could possibly be on the exam

Know your classical conditioning
Know operant conditioning, know the difference between the two, know
BK skinner
Understanding reinforcers, understanding what reinforcers do
Types of reinforcers
Reinforcement schedules
Bandura and Vychosky, Observational learning (Bandura) vs Social
Learning (Vychosky)
MEMORY
Encoding, Storage, Retrieval, Different Models
Information processing be the most comprehensive
PDP using in our jobs, juggling multiple things at once
3 types of Memory
Iconic, Capacity, Eidetic,
How we go from short term to long term
What is the working memory, when do we use it?
Whats that magic number?
Meaningful form through elaborative rehearsal - LTM
Give examples of non-declarative and declarative
Reasons why we forget
Remember the difference between retro and antero
Remember what LT potentiation means, what are receptor cites?
BIOLOGICAL BASIC OF MEMORY=STOMPING THROUGH THE GRASS

The importance of the Hippocampus

Chapter 7
HOW DOES THE BRAIN SEES IMAGES?
Algorithms, heuristics.
Convergent and Divergent, know the difference and provide some
examples
Language, grammar
Multiple Choice, True and False, Essays are the same style, with
an option to create your own