04 05 2012 I Excursion through the history of the psychology of learning A Classification of Life 1 Updated by Carl Linnaeus 2 Charles Darwin a Foundation for understanding the similarities and differences across life b Understanding of the different types of life forms across the globe and the similarities between them c Idea of natural selection i Definition difference in reproduction of classes of entities that differ in one or more hereditary traits ii Phenotypic variability behavioral traits may vary iii Heritability offspring inherit parent s traits iv Differential reproduction fitness advantage members of a population with one level of a trait will bear more offspring than members of the population with a different level of that trait d Nevertheless the difference in mind between man and higher animals great as it is certainly is one of degree and not kind II Comparative analysis of behavior A Psychology is the study of behavior B Behavior is produced by physiological mechanisms C These mechanisms have been selected by past environments D Evolution by natural selection explains the continuity and diversity in behavior among species 1 This allows scientists to use animal models to study human behavior because many of the mechanism of behavior are shared among a wide range of species 2 Elementary forms of learning in rats and mice because of the genetic manipulations that are possible pigeons and humans seem to operate via the same mechanisms and processes a Evidence for this homology i Body structure regulatory genes conserved across the Animal kingdom ii Homology of circadian clock Biochemical mechanism that oscillates with a period of 24 hours Basic molecular mechanism of the biological clock have been defined in many different types of creatures Genes involved in clock are conserved in most creatures iii Exploratory behavior and novelty seeking Neurotransmitter differences that relate to exploratory in honey bees match neurotransmitters that relate to novelty seeking in humans iv Conserved cellular molecular pathways of learning Use of sea slugs III Iceberg metaphor of human behavior A Conscious behavior is only 10 B The other 90 are 1 Instrumental conditioning 2 Pavlovian conditioning 3 Sensitization 4 Habituation 5 Modal action patterns 6 Kinesis 7 Taxis 8 Reflexes IV Methodological investigation of behavior A Psychology 1 Experimental Causes inferred from well controlled experimental manipulation focus more on questions of mechanisms of behavior rather than function 2 General process approach Explain the greatest variance of observable phenomena with the smallest number of general laws or principles 3 Reductionist break molar behavior into elemental processes B Biology 1 Observational a Ethology the study of animals in their natural environments i Focus on the function of a behavior rather than mechanisms 2 Adaptationist approach Explains species specific behavior in terms of unique histories of natural selection 3 Reductionist and holistic a Elementar processes ecosystems C The two are mutually informative and equally useful V Learning A Enduring change in the mechanisms of behavior involving specific stimuli and or responses that results from prior experience with those or similar stimuli and responses B NOT changes in behavior due to 1 Fatigue 2 Changing stimulus conditions 3 Physiological motivational fluctuations 4 Maturation C The process 1 Information enters the system exteroceptively as well as interoceptively 2 Short term acquisition is either stored or not 3 If it is stored it can be retrieved and used to make a decision at a later date 4 This can be influenced by a Motivation b Stimulation c Affect d Arousal e Attention D Different Mechanistic levels 1 Psychological a Determinant of performance i Learning factors Stimulus response strength ii Contextual variables Sensory perception detection Motivation Motor control Memory retrieval Attention 2 Neurobiological 3 Neurochemical 4 Cell molecular VI How to study learning A Science causality is studied through controlled experimentation B Compare effect of manipulation to putative cause against a control condition lacking the manipulation C Groups 1 Experimental group receives critical manipulation 2 Control group receives all the same treatment as experimental group except for the manipulation D Theory a set of assumptions that interrelate observable tasks E Intervening variable a working variable not necessarily real 1 Example hunger it is real sort of but is it relevant as a psychological entity a Hours since last meal hunger amount of food eaten at next opportunity 2 Other examples a Thirst b Learning c Intelligence d Motivation e memory F Hypothetical construct the essence of something that really exists has properties that have not yet been empirically determined 1 Example association a rat as an association between an auditory tone and the presence of food 2 Other examples a Representation b Mental image c expectations