Psychology Learning and Conditioning Concepts

Learning

• Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior or mental processes due to experience.
• Classical conditioning: a type of learning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with another stimulus through repeated pairing.
  • Ivan Pavlov is credited with discovering classical conditioning through his famous experiment with dogs.
  • Neutral stimulus (NS): a stimulus that does not elicit a response before conditioning.
  • Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): a stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response (UCR) without prior learning.
  • Unconditioned response (UCR): a natural response to an unconditioned stimulus.
  • During conditioning, the neutral stimulus (NS) is repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus (UCS).
  • Conditioned stimulus (CS): the neutral stimulus after it has been associated with the unconditioned stimulus.
  • Conditioned response (CR): the learned response to the conditioned stimulus.
• Key processes in classical conditioning:
  • Acquisition: the initial learning of the association between the CS and UCS.
  • Extinction: the weakening of the conditioned response when the CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS.
  • Spontaneous recovery: the reappearance of an extinguished response after a period of non-exposure to the CS.
• Examples of classical conditioning:
  • Little Albert Experiment: Albert learned to fear white and furry objects after they were repeatedly paired with loud noises.
  • Advertising: Pairing cars with attractive women to boost sales.
  • Conditioned nausea: A person may experience nausea after eating a certain food, leading to a learned aversion to the food. Smell or thinking about the food (CS) can trigger nausea (CR).
• Key terms related to classical conditioning:
  • Stimulus generalization: eliciting the same response to similar stimuli.
  • Stimulus discrimination: eliciting particular responses to specific stimuli but not others.

Operant Conditioning

• Operant conditioning is a type of learning where the frequency of behaviors increases or decreases depending on their consequences.
• B. F. Skinner is a key figure in operant conditioning.
• Reinforcement: a consequence that increases the likelihood of a behavior.
  • Positive reinforcement: adding a pleasant stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior.
  • Negative reinforcement: removing an aversive stimulus to increase the likelihood of a behavior.
• Punishment: a consequence that decreases the likelihood of a behavior.
  • Positive punishment: adding an aversive stimulus to decrease the likelihood of a behavior.
  • Negative punishment: removing a positive stimulus to decrease the likelihood of a behavior.
• Schedules of reinforcement:
  • Fixed ratio schedule (FR): reinforcement is delivered after a fixed number of responses.
  • Variable ratio schedule (VR): reinforcement is delivered after a variable number of responses.
  • Fixed interval schedule (FI): reinforcement is delivered after a fixed amount of time.
  • Variable interval schedule (VI): reinforcement is delivered after a variable amount of time.
• Key characteristics of schedules of reinforcement:
  • Variable schedules: result in higher resistance to extinction and higher rates of responding.
  • Fixed schedules: result in lower resistance to extinction and lower rates of responding.
  • Shorter intervals: generally lead to higher rates of responding.
  • Higher ratios: generally lead to higher rates of responding.

Observational Learning

• Albert Bandura developed the social learning theory, which emphasizes observational learning.
• Observational learning: learning by observing and imitating others, also known as modeling.
• Four key processes in observational learning (ARRM):
  • Attention: Focusing on the behavior and its consequences.
  • Retention: Remembering the behavior and its consequences.
  • Reproduction: Being able to physically perform the observed behavior.
  • Motivation: Having a reason to perform the observed behavior.
• Examples of observational learning:
  • Bobo doll experiment: Children who observed adults acting aggressively towards a Bobo doll were more likely to act aggressively themselves.
  • Learning fears from parents: Children may learn fears from their parents' reactions to certain things.
  • Modeling behavior from media: Watching videos or movies with characters exhibiting certain behaviors can influence a viewer's own behavior.
• Vicarious reinforcement: learning by observing the consequences of others' actions.

Memory

• Memory: the retention of information over time. It involves receiving, organizing, storing and retrieving information.
• Key stages of memory:
  • Encoding: the initial processing of information into a form that can be stored in memory.
  • Storage: Maintaining the encoded information in memory.
  • Retrieval: Accessing the stored information when needed.
• Factors influencing encoding:
  • Attention: Focusing mental resources on specific information.
  • Level of processing: How deeply information is processed during encoding.
    • Structural: shallow processing, focused on physical features (e.g., capital letters, color).
    • Phenomic: intermediate processing, focused on sounds (e.g., how to pronounce a word).
    • Semantic: deep processing, focused on meaning (e.g., understanding the concept).
• Types of long-term memory:
  • Declarative/ Explicit memory: memory that can be consciously recalled and verbally articulated.
    • Episodic memory: memories of specific events or personal experiences.
    • Semantic memory: memories of general knowledge, facts, and concepts.
  • Procedural/ Implicit memory: Memory that is not consciously recalled, but rather reflected in behavior.
    • Motor skills: riding a bike, playing a musical instrument.
    • Habits: tying your shoes, brushing your teeth.
    • Classically conditioned responses: conditioned fear, phobias.
• Relationship between short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM):
  • Rehearsal: repeating information to keep it active in STM and potentially transfer it to LTM.
    • **Maintenance rehearsal: repeating information superficially
    • Elaborative rehearsal: processing information deeply by connecting it to existing knowledge.
  • Chunking: organizing information into meaningful units to improve STM capacity.
  • Biological support for the distinction: The hippocampus plays a critical role in LTM but not STM. Damage to the hippocampus can impair LTM formation.
• Retrieval: the process of accessing information from memory.
  • Retrieval cues: stimuli that aid in retrieving information from memory.
  • Encoding specificity principle: retrieval cues are most effective when they are similar to the conditions under which the information was initially encoded.
  • Context-dependent memory: memories are easier to retrieve when the retrieval context is similar to the encoding context.
  • State-dependent memory: memories are easier to retrieve when the internal state at retrieval matches the internal state at encoding.

Sensation & Perception

• Sensation: the process of detecting and receiving stimuli from the environment.

• Perception: the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, giving meaning to the world around us.

• Perceptual threshold: the point where a stimulus is strong enough to be detected.

• Just noticeable difference (JND): the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli.

• Gestalt principles: principles that explain how we organize visual information into meaningful patterns.

  • Figure-ground: perceiving an object of interest (figure) against a background (ground).
  • Similarity: grouping similar stimuli together.
  • Closure: filling in missing information to perceive a complete object.
  • Proximity: grouping stimuli that are close together.
  • Simplicity: perceiving the simplest possible interpretation of a stimulus.
  • Continuity: perceiving smooth, continuous patterns over abrupt ones.

• Types of processing:

  • Bottom-up processing: driven by the features of the stimuli.
  • Top-down processing: driven by prior knowledge, expectations, and context.

• Illusions: discrepancies between visual appearance and physical reality.

  • Ames room: a room designed to create illusions of size and distance.
  • Ponzo illusion: two lines appear to be different lengths, but are actually the same length, due to surrounding context.
  • Muller-Lyer illusion: two lines appear to be different lengths, but are actually the same length, due to the orientation of their arrowheads.

• Acquisition: the initial learning of an association between a CS and UCS.

• Extinction: the weakening of a conditioned response when the CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS.

• Spontaneous Recovery: the reappearance of a previously extinguished response after a period without reinforcement