Psychology 101 Exam 2 Study Guide Be Familiar with the following terms concepts 1 Difference between classical conditioning and operant conditioning Classical Conditioning A type of learning in which a neutral stimulus brings about a response after it is associated with a stimulus that naturally brings about a response Learning through associations Ivan Pavlov Russian psychologist Studied this concept by studying dogs salvation o Paired a bell with meat to make dog salivate Operant Conditioning A type of learning in which a voluntary response is strengthened or weakened depending on favorable and unfavorable consequences Studied by B F Skinner Exhibits Thorndike s Law of Effect responses that lead to a satisfying consequences are more likely to be repeated 2 Neutral stimulus unconditioned stimulus unconditioned response conditioned stimulus conditioned response Neutral stimulus A stimulus that before conditioning does not bring about a desired response bell Unconditioned stimulus A stimulus that naturally brings out a response without having been learned meat Unconditioned response A response that is natural and needs no training salivating to the meat Conditioned stimulus The once neutral stimulus bell that when paired with the unconditioned stimulus brings about a desired response formally caused by the unconditioned stimulus Conditioned response A conditioned response that follows a previously neutral stimulus 3 Positive and negative reinforcement positive and negative punishment Positive reinforcement When a stimulus is added to the environment that brings an increase in a preceding response Ex Giving a raise for good performance reward Negative reinforcement An unpleasant stimulus whose removal leads to an increase in probability that a preceding response will be repeated in the future Ex Applying ointment to relieve an itchy rash leads to a higher likelihood of applying the ointment o Increases behavior that removes an unpleasant stimulus Positive punishment Weakens the responses behavior by introducing adding an unpleasant stimulus Ex Spanking a child for misbehaving Negative punishment A removal of something pleasant to decrease an unwanted behavior Taking TV privileges away from a child who is failing a class Reinforcement is more effective than punishment 4 Shaping latent learning Shaping behavior The process of teaching a complex behavior by rewarding closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior Break down behavior into pieces phases o 1 step at a time When teaching a more complicated task reinforce each step until the whole task is learned Latent learning Learning in which a new behavior is acquired but not demonstrated until some incentive is provided for displaying it 5 What is observational learning and what famous experiment was used to demonstrate it Observational learning Learning by observing the behavior of another person or model potent way of learning Exhibited by Bandura s Bobo doll experiment o Children were shown a film of an adult wildly hitting an inflatable toy called a bobo doll o When the children were given the opportunity to play with the doll most mimicked the same aggressive behavior the adult on the film showed Observational learning is important in acquiring skills in which operant conditioning technique of shaping is inappropriate 6 Mirror neurons Neurons that fire when we observe another person carrying out a behavior Suggests that the capacity to imitate others in inate Suggests a genetic basis for observational learning 7 Components of memory Memory The process by which we encode store and retrieve information Encoding Storage Retrieval Recording information in a usable form The maintenance of material saved in memory for future use To locate and recall information you have stored 8 Types of memory sensory working short term long term Sensory memory Initial momentary storage of information lasts a brief second an exact replica of the stimulus you perceived in a Sensory register o Iconic memory o Echoic memory reflects information from the visual system stores auditory information coming from the Short term memory Memory that holds information from 15 to 25 seconds where information first gains meaning Chunking a grouping of information that can be stored in short term Rehearsal The repetition of information that has entered short term o Helps transfer short term working memory to long term brief instance ears memory memory memory Working memory temporary memory stores that manipulate and rehearse information Contains a central executive processor involved in reasoning and decision making o Coordinates three distinct storage and rehearsal systems visual and spatial information holds and manipulates material relating to Visual store Verbal store speech words and numbers episodes or events Episodic buffer contains information that represents Long term memory Store house of information with almost unlimited capacity Consists of several different memory modules memory for factual information names o Procedural memory o Declarative memory faces dates etc bike about the world as well as for the rules of logic o Semantic memory Memory for general knowledge and facts memory for skills and habits i e riding a o Implicit memory information that we did not intentionally learn o Explicit memory purposefully consciously remembering information 9 Semantic networks and mnemonic devices Semantic networks mental representations of clusters of interconnected information Helpful for pulling information from long term memory Association between different pieces of information o Suggests how information and knowledge is organized within memory Mnemonic devices formal techniques for organizing information in a way that makes it more likely to be remembered Ex HOMES is a mnemonic for the great lakes Considered elaborative rehearsal 10 Causes of memory failures Cue dependent forgetting forgetting that occurs as a result of insufficient retrieval cues to rekindle information that is in memory Decay loss of information in memory through nonuse Interference The phenomenon by which information in memory disrupts the recall of other information Proactive interference the learning of new information the retrieval of information that was learned earlier Retroactive interference information learned at an earlier time disrupts information learned at a later time disrupts Alzheimer s disease A progressive brain disorder that leads to a gradual and irreversible