UNIT OUTLINE/ASSIGNMENTS/TERMS TO KNOW FOR
AP PSYCHOLOGY UNIT 4 – LEARNING, COGNITION AND TESTING
This unit introduces students to differences between learned and unlearned behavior. The primary
focus is exploration of different kinds of learning, including classical conditioning, operant
conditioning, and observational learning. Students will learn how humans convert sensory input into
kinds of information, and they examine how humans learn, remember, and retrieve information. This
unit also addresses problem solving, language, and creativity.
UNIT 4 OBJECTIVES
 Distinguish general differences between principles of classical conditioning, operant
conditioning, and observational learning (e.g., contingencies).
 Describe basic classical conditioning phenomena, such as acquisition, extinction, spontaneous
recovery, generalization, discrimination, and higher-order learning.
 Predict the effects of operant conditioning (e.g., positive reinforcement, negative
reinforcement, punishment).
 Predict how practice, schedules of reinforcement, and motivation will influence quality of
learning.
 Provide examples of how biological constraints create learning predispositions.
 Describe the essential characteristics of insight learning, latent learning, and social learning.
 Apply learning principles to explain emotional learning, taste aversion, superstitious behavior,
and learned helplessness.
 Suggest how behavior modification, biofeedback, coping strategies, and self-control can be
used to address behavioral problems.
 Identify key contributors in the psychology of learning (e.g., Albert Bandura, John Garcia, Ivan
Pavlov, Robert Rescorla, B. F. Skinner, Edward Thorndike, Edward Tolman, and John B.
Watson).
 Compare and contrast various cognitive processes:
— effortful versus automatic processing;
— deep versus shallow processing;
— focused versus divided attention.
 Describe and differentiate psychological and physiological systems of memory (e.g., short-term
memory, procedural memory).
 Outline the principles that underlie effective encoding, storage, and construction of memories.
 Describe strategies for memory improvement.
 Synthesize how biological, cognitive, and cultural factors converge to facilitate acquisition,
development, and use of language.
 Identify problem-solving strategies as well as factors that influence their effectiveness.
 List the characteristics of creative thought and creative thinkers.
 Identify key contributors in cognitive psychology (e.g., Noam Chomsky, Hermann Ebbinghaus,
Wolfgang Köhler, Elizabeth Loftus, and George A. Miller).
Date
Thursday, March 5
Friday, March 6
Monday, March 9
Tuesday, March 10
Wednesday, March 11
Thursday, March 12
Friday, March 13
Topics Discussed/Assignments Due
Classical & Operant Conditioning
Observational Learning
Memory: Encoding and Storage
Memory: Retrieval, Forgetting, etc.
Language
Problem-Solving, Decision-Making & Testing
Unit 4 Quiz (all terms)
Unit 4 Terms to Know (terms in bold will be presented through group research projects):
1. Learning
2. Phobia
3. Classical conditioning
4. Pavlov
5. Unconditioned stimulus
6. Unconditioned response
7. Conditioned stimulus
8. Conditioned response
9. Extinction
10. Stimulus generalization
11. Stimulus discrimination
12. Operant conditioning
13. Thorndike’s Law of Effect
14. B. F. Skinner
15. Reinforcement
16. Punishment
17. Skinner Box
18. Primary reinforcers
19. Secondary reinforcers
20. Shaping
21. Schedule of reinforcement
22. Continuous reinforcement
23. Intermittent reinforcement
24. Fixed-ratio schedule
25. Variable-ratio schedule
26. Latent learning
27. Mirror neurons
28. Bandura
29. Observational Learning
30. Intrinsic motivation
31. Extrinsic motivation
32. Flashbulb memory
33. Cocktail party phenomenon
34. Structural encoding
35. Levels-of-processing theory
36. Dual-coding theory
37. Self-referent encoding
38. Sensory memory
39. Short-term memory
40. Long-term memory
41. Working memory
42. Rehearsal
43. Next-in-line effect
44. Spacing effect
45. Serial position effect
46. Mnemonics
47. Method of loci
48. Chunking
49. Sperling
50. Explicit memory
51. Implicit memory
52. Anterograde amnesia
53. Retrograde amnesia
54. Source amnesia
55. Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
56. Context cues
57. Priming
58. Misinformation effect
59. Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve
60. Retention
61. Recall
62. Recognition
63. Relearning
64. Pseudoforgetting
65. Decay theory
66. Interference theory
67. Retroactive interference
68. Proactive interference
69. Repression
70. Cognition
71. Phonemes
72. Morphemes
73. Semantics
74. Syntax
75. Telegraphic speech
76. Overextension
77. Functional fixedness
78. Mental set
79. Insight
80. Confirmation bias
81. Fixation
82. Trial and error
83. Algorithm
84. Heuristic
85. Representative heuristic
86. Availability heuristic
87. Belief perseverance
88. Intelligence
89. General intelligence
90. Gardner’s 8 intelligences
91. Sternberg’s 3 intelligences
92. Emotional intelligence
93. Binet
94. Weschler
95. Standardization
96. Reliability
97. Validity
98. Bell curve
99. Flynn effect