Psychology 2330 Midterm 1

a process of change that occurs s a result of an individuals experience

the period in which the animal is acquiring a new skill

the first associationist, made the three principals of association

1. contiguity

2. Similarity

3. contrast

the belief that everyone learn empirically

the opposite of nativism

the belief that some ideas are innate and don't depend on the past

proposed that if two or more simple sensations are repeatedly presented together the product is a complex idea, and two complex ideas could combine to form a duplex idea

expanded on James Mill's idea by proposing that the length of time two sensations coexist determines the strength of association as well as liveliness or vividness, also affects the strength of association as well as being paired frequently and recency

first to put the associationist's principals to the test

continuing to practice after performance is perfect, supporting the principal of frequency

how the passage of time has a detrimental affect on performance in a memory task, supporting Brown's recency principal and Aristotle's principal of association

occurs when a participant changes their behaviour because they know they a being observed

learning the most basic principals of learning is easier to study the less complex creatures compared to humans

theory of connectionism

1. law of effect

behaviors followed by satisfying consequences are more likely to be repeated

vise vera for less than satisfying consequences

2. puzzle box experiments

1. operant conditioning

2. radical behaviorism

3. intervening variable

emphasized the role of reinforcement and punishment to shape behavior

behaviors reinforced are likely to be repeated

the importance of observable behavior and rejects the use of unobservable processes

the hypothetical construct used to explain the relationship between two observable variables

a brief burst of electrical stimulation producing long-lasting increases in strength of existing neuron connections

demonstrated in areas of the brain used for long term memories like the hippocampus and cerebral cortex

a branch of science that deals with goal-directed behaviors in both living creatures and inanimate objects

receives reference imput and actual imput

often a non-physical entity but a conceptual one

measures actual physical characteristics present in the environment

reference imput -> comparator -> actual imput -> responsive action system -> output

movement or change in orientation of the entire animal sorted into kinese and taxes

an innate behavior in which the direction of movement is random concerning a stimulus.

Is a non-directional response exhibited through random movement in response to a stimulus

an innate behavior in which the direction of movement is related to the location of a stimulus

the organism moves directly towards or away from a stimulus in a directional manner

a sequence of behaviors that has

1. it is part of all the members of a species and may be unique to it

2. suitable experiments have confirmed that it is not a result of prior learned behavior

3. the behaviors occurs in rigid order regardless of whether they are appropriate in a particular context

a sequence of behaviors that occur in a specific sequence in response to stimulus but can be interrupted

a trigger for a fixed action pattern

argued that hereditary plays a larger role in behaviors that assumed ("human nature")

argued saying certain areas of the brain are specialized to perform select functions or environmental responses

essential for language comprehension

essential for speech comprehension

a decrease in the strength of a response after repeated presentation of a stimulus that elicits response

turning towards a stimulus and stopping their current activity to orient to the stimulus

the decrements in response from trial to trial are large but get progressively smaller as habituation proceeds

after habituation the stimulus is withheld for some period of time, the repones will recover

amount of recovery depends on how much time has passed

habituation may disappear if the stimulation is not presented for a long time

but of the stimulation begins again the rate of habituation should be faster the second time, third time, fourth etc.

a reflexive response is stronger with intense stimulus

such a response is more resistant to habituation

and if a stimulus is so strong habituation might not occur at all

further learning can occur in habituation of the response to a stimulation has disappeared

transfer of habituation from one stimulus to another similar stimulus

when a stimulus a repeatedly presented there is a decrease in CA2+ influx in the presynaptic neuron leading to a decrease in neurotransmitter release in the synapse and decrease in the excitation response of the postsynaptic neuron

show habituation occurring in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus when presented with human faces

and in the cerebellum when startled with a loud noise

when an emotional response to a stimulus weakens with repeated exposure, an opposing emotional reaction is simultaneously strengthened

initial emotional response

- fast acting

- rises to a maximum and remains there for duration of the stimulus

active in response to 'a's activity

- slow rise

- slow decay

tested dogs levels of salivation when feeding and made the discovery of classical conditioning and developed procedures for studying it

a stimulus that reliably elicits a character response

a response to the unconditioned stimulus

a stimulus that does not initially evoke the unconditioned response

any response that occurs during the conditioned stimulus but before the unconditioned stimulus because its elicited by the conditioned stimulus not the unconditioned stimulus

predictive of the later development of Alzheimer's

also called conditioned emotional response (CER) where the UR is an aversive event

occasionally a CS is presented for around a minute followed by the US (usually a shock)

the user learns the association between the CS and the aversize event

used to develop behavior therapies

a change in the electrical conductivity of the skin

largely attended to emotions of fear or surprise

the CS is something consumed, the US is an injection that makes it ill

the result is little to no consumption of that food when later presented with it

the CR is almost never a exact replica of the UR

not all parts of the UR become the CR

a CR may not include come features that are not part of the UR

in some cases the CR is opposite the UR

the CS does not become a substitute for the US but rather a sign signal for the upcoming US

the technique of decreasing the effectiveness of the US after an excitatory CS

the learner first experiences a series of CS-US pairings and the CR gradually increases in strength

a simple technique for producing a reduction & disappearance of the CR

involves repeated presenting the CS without the US

presentation of a distraction stimulus before the CS causing the CS to again present a CR

if the subject receives an acquisition phase, extinction, then another acquisition phase with the same CS & US, the rate of learning is substantially faster

excitatory and inhibitory CS

elicits a CR

prevents the occurrence of a CR or reduces the size of it

simultaneous presentation of two or more CS

the transfer of the effects of conditioning to similar stimulus

a subject learns to respond to one stimulus but not to a similar stimulus

1. how strong the conditioning will be

2. whether a CS will become excitatory or inhibitory

3. when a CR occurs

the CS begins a second before the US

(strongest rapid conditioning)

CS & US begin together

it will be exhititory

it will be inhibitory

CS and US are separated by some time interval

CS begins several seconds before the us, but the CS continues until the US in presented

CS is presented after the US

in classical conditioning, more in learned than association, they learn the timing between these two events and it affects when the CR occurs

the CR is transferred rom one CS to another

range from "very-disliked" - "very-liked"

first order CS being related a positive

a treatment for phobias that rose out of labs on classical conditioning that slowly introduce extinction to a phobic person

conditional behavior therapies