devtl handouts ch 8
The Information Processing View of Learning
Learning: a change in behaviour or behaviour potential:
1) thinks, perceives, reacts in a new way
2) due to experiences
3) permanent
Habituation: process by which we stop attending to a repeated stimulus.
 < 4 months, slow to habituate, dishabituate
 5- 12 months, quicker (maturing cortex)
 individual differences; predicts later cognitive performance
Classical Conditioning: neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response by being
associated with some other stimulus.
UCS  UCR
UCS + CS  UCR
CS  CR

Lipsitt & Kaye (1964): demonstrated c.c. of neonates; paired nipple with
neutral tone.
Operant Conditioning: response is associated with (un)pleasant consequences.
response  reinforcement/punishment  changes likelihood of repeating
response
reinforcer: strengthens a response (more likely to occur again)
 positive reinforcer
 negative reinforcer
punisher: weakens a response (less likely to occur again)
 positive punisher
 negative punisher
Effectiveness affected by TIMING and FREQUENCY of reinforcer/punisher.
 immediate administration, especially when the response is new
 once established, partial reinforcement
Reinforcers provide information about consequences of behaviour that we use to adapt
to our environment.
Watson & Ramey (1972): rotating mobile study.
 being able to activate the mobile makes it more interesting
Punishment: effective in the short-term, harmful in long-term.
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Effective Punishment:
 immediate administration
 firm but not over-board
 consistent
 otherwise warm, accepting
 consider alternatives
 reinforce alternate behaviour
 explain yourself (creating internal attributions instead of external ones)
Observational Learning:
Bandura (1965): Bobo Doll Study
 watched film of adult model hitting Bobo doll, then put in 1 of 3 conditions
1) saw adult being rewarded with candy, pop
2) saw adult being punished with scolding, spanking
3) no consequences
 put alone in room with toys, including Bobo doll
 kids in (1) and (3) hit the doll
 kids in (2) less likely to hit doll
 Next, kids were coaxed to reproduce model’s actions. Kids in all 3 groups
could do so.
 Reinforcement increases the likelihood that the act will be performed, but
witnessing it alone is sufficient to learn it.
When can children use observational learning?
 requires construction of symbolic representation of model’s behaviour
 < 7 days old? Involuntary neonatal reflex
 8 – 12 months: voluntary imitation
 14 months: deferred imitation
Kuczynski et al (1987):
 16 months: imitate affective displays
 29 months: imitate instrumental behaviours
Computer analogy:
Hardware  nervous system
Software  mental programs
1)
2)
3)
Shiffrin (1968): Store Model
sensory store, sensory register (holds information < 1 second)
short-term memory (stores 4-7 units for several seconds)
long-term memory (permanent storehouse)
Executive control: channeling of information from step to step
1)
2)
Craik & Lockhart (1972): Levels of Processing Model
shallow processing: retain little, for a short time
deep processing: integrates with other stored information, is retained indefinitely.
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Attentional Processes:
 Miller & Harris (1988): 3 yrs olds do not use most efficient strategy; 4 yr olds
generally do.
 Children improve as they mature:
- ignoring irrelevant stimuli
- retaining and retrieving information (2-3 months, “cued recall memory” of
events; 9 months, “pure recall”; 2 yrs, recall of events from months ago; 3 yrs,
recall of events from 2 years ago)
 infantile amnesia: inability to recall anything from the first few years of life
 sense of self: 2 years old
 preschool: familiar experiences represented as “scripts” (general impressions
of what occurs and when in particular situations)
 from 3 yrs to 12 yrs, recall memory improves dramatically
Why are pre-schoolers bad at recall memory?
1) change in basic capacities
2) change in memory strategies
3) increased knowledge about memory
4) increased knowledge about the world
Memory Strategies:
* rehearsal: - 3-4 yrs, rarely use
- 5 yrs -10 yrs, spontaneously use, more efficiently
Development of Ability to use Memory Strategies:
1) mediation deficiency
2) production deficiency
3) utilization deficiency
4) mature strategy use
Kinds of Strategies:
 Semantic Organization: semantic categories (starts around age 9, 10)
 Elaboration: helpful when trying to associate two or more stimuli (starts in
adolescence)
Metacognition: knowledge about cognition and regulation of cognitive activities
Metamemory: knowledge of memory and memory processes. Increases with age, esp.
4 to 12 years.
Siegler (1981; 1983; 1991): Rule Assessment Approach
 when faced with a new problem, children first gather information and
formulate a rule to account for the phenomenon.
 we must identify the rules children use
 balance scale apparatus studies; errors represent rule-governed attempts.