PSYNTRO - chapter 5 and 6

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Questions and Answers

What is the primary focus of operant conditioning?

The consequences that follow a behavior (correct)

The mental processes involved in decision-making

Learning through observation of others

The role of genetic predispositions in behavior

Which scenario best exemplifies vicarious conditioning?

A person develops a habit of eating based on meal plans

An individual starts avoiding a specific food after watching someone else react negatively to it (correct)

A child learns to fear dogs after seeing a picture of one

A student chooses to study harder after receiving poor grades

Who is credited with significantly advancing the field of operant conditioning?

Albert Bandura

Ivan Pavlov

B.F. Skinner (correct)

John Watson

What does the cognitive perspective contribute to understanding conditioning?

It focuses on the mental processes behind expectations Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the principle of operant conditioning?

Behavior is influenced by rewards and consequences Signup and view all the answers

What is the first stage of memory where information enters the nervous system through sensory systems?

Sensory Memory Signup and view all the answers

What are the three processes of memory as described in the provided content?

Encoding, Storage, Retrieval Signup and view all the answers

According to the levels-of-processing model, what aids in long-term retention of information?

Deep processing Signup and view all the answers

Which model focuses on the way information is processed through different stages of memory?

Information-processing model Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of the 'AMID' acronym in the context of memory?

To identify components crucial for imitation Signup and view all the answers

Which type of memory lasts for only a fraction of a second as a visual impression?

Iconic Memory Signup and view all the answers

What does the retrieval process in memory involve?

Recovering stored information for use Signup and view all the answers

What impact does repetition have according to the levels-of-processing model?

Improves information retention Signup and view all the answers

Which model is derived from the development of artificial intelligence and involves simultaneous memory processing?

Parallel distributed processing (PDP) model Signup and view all the answers

What does the iconic memory represent within the sensory memory process?

Visual impressions Signup and view all the answers

What is the main purpose of selective attention?

To filter out stimuli based on their physical characteristics Signup and view all the answers

What does eidetic imagery primarily refer to?

The ability to remember visual images with high fidelity Signup and view all the answers

What function do microsaccades serve?

They help prevent images in visual memory from fading Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary role of the central executive in working memory?

To control and coordinate the interaction of the other two systems Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary purpose of reinforcement in operant conditioning?

To strengthen a response Signup and view all the answers

Which type of reinforcement involves receiving a reward for every correct response?

Continuous Reinforcement Signup and view all the answers

How does chunking improve the capacity of short-term memory?

By reducing the number of items to remember into larger groups Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following describes negative reinforcement?

Removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase a behavior Signup and view all the answers

What is indicated by the cocktail-party effect?

The ability to recognize important auditory stimuli amidst background noise Signup and view all the answers

What defines the capacity limitations of echoic memory?

It is generally smaller compared to iconic memory. Signup and view all the answers

What does the law of effect state about voluntary responses?

Pleasurable consequences increase the likelihood of repetition. Signup and view all the answers

In operant conditioning, what role does a discriminative stimulus play?

It signals the availability of reinforcement for a certain behavior. Signup and view all the answers

What does George Miller's research suggest about short-term memory capacity?

It typically ranges between five to nine items. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main focus of behavior modification?

To change behavior using principles of operant conditioning Signup and view all the answers

What happens to unselected sensory stimuli during the process of selective attention?

They are diminished but not entirely lost. Signup and view all the answers

What does shaping involve in the context of operant conditioning?

Reinforcing small steps towards a desired behavior Signup and view all the answers

Why is it called short-term memory?

Because it is limited in duration and storage capacity. Signup and view all the answers

Which schedule of reinforcement describes rewarding a behavior after an unpredictable number of responses?

Variable Ratio Schedule Signup and view all the answers

What outcome does punishment aim to achieve in operant conditioning?

To weaken or reduce undesirable behaviors Signup and view all the answers

What characterizes observational learning as proposed by Albert Bandura?

New behaviors are acquired by watching others perform them. Signup and view all the answers

Which term describes a situation where a person fails to act due to a history of repeated failures?

Learned helplessness Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following describes primary reinforcers?

They fulfill basic physiological needs. Signup and view all the answers

What is the key distinction between classical conditioning and operant conditioning?

Operant conditioning deals with responses that are voluntary, while classical conditioning involves involuntary responses. Signup and view all the answers

What does a fixed interval schedule of reinforcement entail?

Reinforcement is provided after a set period of time. Signup and view all the answers

What type of memory involves personal experiences and history?

Episodic memory Signup and view all the answers

Which retrieval cue involves being in the same environment where the information was learned?

Context-dependent learning Signup and view all the answers

What phenomenon describes the feeling of struggling to recall a word despite knowing its characteristics?

Tip of the Tongue (TOT) Phenomenon Signup and view all the answers

What term describes memory for facts that can be known and declared?

Semantic memory Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for memories that are retrieved with few or no external cues?

Recall Signup and view all the answers

What does 'relatively permanent' refer to in learning?

Physical changes in the brain due to learning. Signup and view all the answers

What is an unconditioned stimulus?

A stimulus that elicits an involuntary response. Signup and view all the answers

What effect describes the tendency to remember information at the beginning and the end of a list more easily?

Serial position effect Signup and view all the answers

What type of memory involves knowing how to perform tasks, such as riding a bike?

Implicit memory Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best defines conditioned response?

A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus. Signup and view all the answers

What is stimulus generalization?

The tendency to respond similarly to stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus. Signup and view all the answers

Which of these statements is true about retrieval cues?

Multiple retrieval cues can enhance memory retrieval. Signup and view all the answers

What is the updating process of episodic memories primarily considered?

An essential survival mechanism Signup and view all the answers

What occurs during extinction in classical conditioning?

The conditioned response weakens due to repeated exposure to the conditioned stimulus. Signup and view all the answers

What retrieval method is often easier because it involves matching current information with existing memories?

Recognition Signup and view all the answers

What is spontaneous recovery?

A temporary reappearance of a conditioned response after extinction. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following defines higher-order conditioning?

When a conditioned stimulus is paired with another conditioned stimulus. Signup and view all the answers

What illustrates conditioned emotional responses?

Someone developing a phobia of dogs after being bitten. Signup and view all the answers

Conditioned taste aversions are characterized by which of the following?

A learned avoidance of a food after experiencing nausea. Signup and view all the answers

What role does stimulus discrimination play in classical conditioning?

It enables the organism to distinguish between different stimuli. Signup and view all the answers

How does the conditioned stimulus relate to the unconditioned stimulus?

The conditioned stimulus must be presented before the unconditioned stimulus. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following examples demonstrates classical conditioning?

Feeling anxious when hearing a song associated with a breakup. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes unconditioned response?

An automatic and involuntary response to an unconditioned stimulus. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Learning

Learning is any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or practice.
"Relatively permanent" means that learning involves physical changes in the brain that record what has been learned.
Without the ability to remember what happens, people cannot learn.

Classical Conditioning

Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, pioneered the empirical study of learning in dogs.
He studied the digestive system of dogs, discovering classical conditioning.
Classical conditioning involves an involuntary response to a stimulus.
- Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) is a stimulus that naturally causes an involuntary response.
- Unconditioned response (UCR) is the natural, involuntary response to the UCS.
- Conditioned stimulus (CS) is a learned stimulus that elicits a response.
- Conditioned response (CR) is the learned response to a CS.

Stimulus Generalization

The tendency to respond to a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus (CS).

Stimulus Discrimination

When an organism learns to respond to different stimuli in different ways.

Extinction

When the conditioned stimulus (CS) is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), the conditioned response (CR) decreases or disappears.

Conditioned Emotional Responses

Emotional responses can be learned through classical conditioning.
Fear, a natural emotional response, can be conditioned to a previously neutral stimulus.

Vicarious Conditioning

Learning by watching someone else respond to a stimulus.

Higher-Order Conditioning

A strong conditioned stimulus can be paired with a neutral stimulus, making the neutral stimulus a conditioned stimulus as well.

Biological Influences on Conditioning

Conditioned taste aversion, a type of classical conditioning, is a learned avoidance of a food or drink due to a negative experience.

Cognitive Perspectives

Conscious expectations can influence classical and operant conditioning.
Conditioned stimuli provide information about the unconditioned stimulus.

Operant Conditioning

Learning that applies to voluntary behavior.
The heart of operant conditioning lies in the effect of consequences on behavior.
- If an action is followed by a pleasurable consequence, it's more likely to be repeated.
- If an action is followed by an unpleasant consequence, it's less likely to be repeated

Reinforcement

Reinforcement strengthens the response that follows it.
Primary reinforcers, like food or water, fulfill basic needs.
Secondary reinforcers get their reinforcing value from their association with primary reinforcers (e.g., money or praise).

Positive Reinforcement

Increasing a behavior by adding something desirable.

Punishment

Decreasing a behavior by adding something unpleasant or removing something desirable.

Development

Operant conditioning involves developing an expectancy that a correct response will be followed by a reinforcement
Classical conditioning involves developing an expectancy that the UCS will follow the CS.

Reinforcement and Punishment

Positive reinforcement involves adding a valued stimulus to increase a behavior.
Negative reinforcement involves removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase a behavior.
Punishment involves adding an unpleasant stimulus or removing a valued stimulus to decrease a behavior.

Stimulus Control

A discriminative stimulus signals that a certain response will be reinforced in a particular situation.

Shaping

Gradually reinforcing behaviors that get closer to the desired behavior, step by step.

Comparing Classical and Operant Conditioning

End Results: Operant increases existing responses; classical creates a new response to a stimulus.
Responses: Operant responses are voluntary; classical responses are involuntary.
Consequences: Operant conditioning focuses on consequences; classical conditioning focuses on associations.
Placement/Timing: Operant conditioning is concerned with immediacy of reinforcement; classical conditioning is concerned with immediacy of CS before UCS.

Models of Memory

Information-processing model describes memory as a flow of information through three stages (sensory, short-term, and long-term).
Parallel distributed processing (PDP) model views memory as a network of interconnected nodes.

Types of Memory

Sensory memory: Holds incoming sensory information for a brief period.
Short-term memory (STM) holds information temporarily.
Working memory manipulates and processes information in STM.
Long-term memory (LTM) stores information permanently.

Retrieval of Long-Term Memories

Retrieval cues are stimuli that help retrieve memories.
Context-dependent learning means better recall when in the same environment as the learning.
State-dependent learning is easier to recall if in the same psychological or physiological state.

Recall and Recognition

Recall requires retrieving information without external cues; recognition involves matching information to stored information.

Serial Position Effect

Primacy effect: Better recall for items at the beginning of a list.
Recency effect: Better recall for items at the end of a list.

Classical Studies in Psychology

Elizabeth Loftus's research highlights the inaccuracies of memory retrieval.
Constructive processing of memories means information learned after an event can change the memory of that event.

Reliability of Memory Retrieval

False-memory syndrome: Creation of false memories through suggestion.
Encoding failure: Failure to process information into memory.
Memory trace decay theory: Loss of memory traces over time if not used.
Interference theory: Information interferes with the retrieval of other information.

Neuroscience of Memory

Areas in the brain where different types of memories are formed
Procedural memories: Cerebellum
Short-term memories: Prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe:
Semantic and episodic memories: Frontal and temporal lobes -Changes in the brain, like changes in the number of receptor sites, synapse sensitivity, and dendrites, and the formation of new proteins, play a role in memory formation.

Long-Term Memory Organization

Organized in terms of concepts and relationships.
Semantic network model: Information linked together in the brain based on related meanings.

Forgetting

Encoding failure: Information not processed into memory.
Memory trace decay theory suggests that memory traces weaken over time.
Interference occurs when information interferes with recall.

Health and Memory

Rehearsing memories during sleep can improve memory consolidation.
Sleep deprivation and a lack of acetylcholine can impair memory formation.
Exercise can enhance memory formation.

Amnesia

Retrograde amnesia: Inability to recall memories before injury.
Anterograde amnesia: Inability to create new memories after injury.
Alzheimer's disease involves both anterograde and retrograde amnesia.

Infantile Amnesia

Inability to remember early memories.

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