Learning and Memory
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69 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Learning | the process by which experience or practice results in a relatively permanent change in behavior or potential behavior |
| Conditioning | the acquisition of specific patterns of behavior in the presence of well-defined stimuli |
| Classical or Pavlovian conditioning | type of learning in which a response naturally elicited by one stimulus comes to be elicited by a different, neutral stimulus |
| Operant or instrumental conditioning | type of learning in which behaviors are emitted to earn rewards to avoid punishments |
| Unconditioned stimulus US | stimulus that invariably causes an organism to respond in a specific way |
| Unconditioned response (UR) | response that takes place in an organism whenever an unconditioned stimulus occurs |
| Conditioned stimulus | originally neutral stimulus that is paired with an unconditioned stimulus and eventually produces the desired response in an organism when presented alone |
| Conditioned response | after conditioning, the response an organism produces when only a conditioned stimulus is presented |
| Desensitization therapy | conditioning technique designed to gradually reduce anxiety about a particular object or situation |
| Taste aversion | conditioned avoidance of poisonous food |
| Operant behavior | behavior designed to operate on the environment in a way that will gain something desired or avoid something unpleasant |
| Reinforcer | a stimulus that follows a behavior and increases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated |
| Punisher | a stimulus that follows a behavior and decreases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated |
| Law of effect | Thorndike's theory that behavior consistently rewarded will be 'stamped in' as learned behavior |
| Positive reinforcer | Any event whose presence increases the likelihood that ongoing behavior will recur |
| Negative reinforcer | Any event whose reduction or termination increases the likelihood that ongoing behavior will recur |
| Avoidance training | Learning a desirable behavior to prevent an unpleasant condition such as punishment from occurring |
| Response acquisition | 'building phase' of the conditioning during which the likelihood or strength of the desired response increases |
| Intermittent pairing | pairing the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus on only a portion of the learning trials |
| Skinner box | box that is often used in operant conditioning of animals. It limits the available responses and thus increases the likelihood that the desired response will occur |
| Shaping | reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior |
| Extinction | decrease in the strength or frequency of a learned response due to failure to continue pairing the US and CS or the withholding of reinforcement |
| Spontaneous recovery | the reappearance of an extinguished response after the passage of time |
| Stimulus generalization | transfer of a learned response to different but similar stimuli |
| Stimulus discrimination | learning to respond to only one stimulus and to inhibit the response to all other stimuli |
| Response generalization | giving a response that is somewhat different from the response originally learned to that stimulus |
| Primary reinforcer | reinforcer that is rewarding in itself, such as food, water, and sex |
| Secondary reinforcer | reinforcer whose value is learned through association with other primary or secondary reinforcers |
| Contingency | a reliable 'if-then' relationship between two events such as a CS and US |
| Blocking | prior conditioning prevents conditioning to a second stimulus even when the two stimuli are presented simultaneously |
| Schedule of reinforcement | in partial reinforcement, the rule for determining when and how often reinforcers will be delivered |
| Fixed-interval schedule | reinforcement schedule that calls for reinforcement of a correct response after a fixed length of time |
| Variable-interval schedule | reinforcement schedule in which a correct response is reinforced after varying lengths of time after the last reinforcement |
| Fixed-ratio schedule | reinforcement schedule in which the correct response is reinforced after a fixed number of correct responses |
| Variable-ratio schedule | reinforcement schedule in which a varying number of correct responses must occur before reinforcement is presented |
| Cognitive learning | learning that depends on mental processes that are not directly observable |
| Latent learning | learning that is not immediately reflected in a behavior change |
| Cognitive map | a learned mental image of a spatial environment that may be called on to solve problems when stimuli in the environment change |
| Learning set | ability to become increasingly more effective in solving problems as more problems are solved |
| Social learning theory | view of learning that emphasizes the ability to learn by observing a model or receiving instructions, without firsthand experience by the learner |
| Observational learning | learning by observing other people's behavior |
| Vicarious reinforcement/punishment | performance of behaviors learned through observation that is modified by watching others who are reinforced or punished for their behavior |
| Token economy | a behavioral technique in which rewards for desired acts are accumulated through tokens, which represent a form of money |
| Cognitive map | a mental image of where one is located in space |
| Cognitive approach | a way of learning based on abstract mental processes and previous knowledge |
| Learning curve | gradual upward slope representing increased retention of material as the result of learning |
| State-dependent learning | the fact that material learned in one chemical state is best reproduced when the same state occurs again |
| Transfer of training | a learning process in which learning is moved from one task to another based on similarities between the tasks |
| Positive transfer | a transfer of learning that results from similarities between two tasks |
| Negative transfer | an interference with learning due to differences between two otherwise similar tasks |
| Information processing | the methods by which we take in, analyze, store, and retrieve material |
| Schema | an organized and systematic approach to answering questions or solving problems |
| Elaboration | the process of attaching a maximum number of associations to a basic concept or other material to be learned so that it can be retrieved more easily |
| Mnemonic devices | unusual associations made to material to aid memory |
| Principle learning | a method of learning in which an overall view (principle) of the material to be learned is developed so that the material is better organized |
| Chunking | putting things into clusters or 'chunks' so that items learned are in groups, rather than separate |
| Forgetting | an increase in errors when trying to bring material back from memory |
| Overlearning | the process of learning something beyond one perfect recitation so that the forgetting curve will have no effect; the development of perfect retention. |
| Forgetting curve | graphic representation of speed and amount of forgetting that occurs |
| Recall | the ability to bring back and integrate many specific learned details |
| Recognition | the ability to pick the correct object or event from a list of choices |
| Interference theory | the belief that we forget because new and old material conflict with one another |
| Amnesia | the blocking of older memories and/or the loss of new ones |
| Short-term memory | the memory system that retains information for a few seconds to a few minutes |
| Long-term memory | the memory system that retains information for hours, days, weeks, months, decades |
| Sensory memory system | direct receivers of information from the environment - for example, iconic, acoustic |
| Iconic memory | a very brief visual memory that can be sent to the STM |
| Acoustic memory | a very brief sound memory that can be sent to the STM |
| Eidetic imagery | an iconic memory lasting a minute or so that keeps images 'in front of the person' so objects can be counted or analyzed, also called 'photographic memory' |
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