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MCAT Behavioral Sciences Unit 3: Learning and Memory

Terms in this set (62)

learning
specifically the way in which we acquire new behaviors
stimulus
anything to which an organism can respond, including all of the sensory inputs
habituation
the process of becoming used to a stimulus
dishabituation
can occur when a second stimulus intervenes, causing a resensitization to the original stimulus
classical conditioning
an unconditional stimulus that produces an instinctive, unconditioned response is paired with a neutral stimulus. With repetition, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that produces a conditioned response
Spontaneous recovery
Recurrence of an extinguished conditioned response, usually following a rest period
associative learning
the creation of pairing, or association, wither between two stimuli or between a behavior and a response
generilization
a broadening effect by which a stimulus similar enough to the conditioned stimulus can also produce the conditioned response
discrimination
an organism learns to distinguish between two similar stimuli
operant conditioning
links voluntary behaviors with consequences in an effort to alter the frequency of those behaviors
behaviorism
the theory that all behaviors are conditioned. The four positive relationships between stimulus and behavior are: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, negative punishment
reinforcement
the process of increasing the likelihood that an individual will perform a behavior
positive reinforcers
increase a behavior by adding a positive consequence or incentive following the desired behavior

ex: getting paid
negative reinforcers
they increase frequency of a behavior, but they do so by removing something unpleasant

ex: taking an aspirin when having a headache
primary reinforcer
A stimulus or event that is naturally or inherently reinforcing for a given species, such as food, water, or other biological necessities.
conditioned reinforcer (secondary reinforcer)
A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as secondary reinforcer.
escape learning
the role of the behavior is to reduce the unpleasantness of something that already exists, like a headache
avoidance learning
meant to prevent the unpleasantness of something that has yet to happen
punishment
uses conditioning to reduce the occurrence of a behavior
positive punishment
adds an unpleasant consequence in response to a behavior to reduce that behavior

ex: thief gets arrested for stealing
negative punishment
is the reduction of a behavior when a stimulus is removed

ex: parents forbids child from watching tv as a consequence for bad behavior
Fixed-ratio (FR) schedules
reinforce a behavior after a specific number of performances of that behavior
Variable-ratio (VR) schedules
Reinforce a behavior after a varying number of performances of the behavior. Works the fasted
Fixed-interval (FI) schedules
Reinforce the first instance of a behavior after a specified time period has elapsed. Works the slowest
Variable-interval (VI) schedules
Reinforce a behavior the first time that behavior is performed after a varying interval of time
shaping
the process or rewarding increasingly specific behaviors
latent learning
learning that occurs without a reward but that is spontaneously demonstrated once a reward is introduced
instinctive drift
difficulty in overcoming instinctual behaviors
observational learning
the process of learning a new behavior or gaining information by watching others.
mirror neurons
affect observational learning. Located in the frontal and parietal lobes of the cerebral cortex and fire both when an individual performs an action and when that individual observes someone else preforming that action
Modeling
observational learning throughout one's lifetime based on behaviors of those around an individual
encoding
refers to the process of putting new information into memory
automatic processing
information is gained without effort
controlled (effortful) processing
active memorization
self-reference effect
we tend to recall information best when we can put it into the context of our own lives
maintenance rehearsal
the repetition of a piece of information to either keep it within working memory or to store it in short-term and eventually long-term memory
sensory memory
consists of both iconic and echoic memory; lasts a very short time
short-term memory
similar to sensory memory, fades quickly but over the course of approximately 30 seconds without rehearsal

7 +/- 2 rule
working memory
requires short-term memory, attention, and executive function to manipulate information
long-term memory
requires elaborative rehearsal and is the result of increased neuronal connectivity
implicit (nondeclarative or procedural) memory
consists of our skills and conditioned responses
explicit (declarative) memory
consists of those memories that require conscious recall
semantic memory
the facts that we know
episodic memory
our experiences
Types of Memory summary
recognition
process of merely identifying a piece of information that was previously learned
retrieval
of information is often based on priming interconnected nodes of the semantic network
context effects
memory is aided by being in the physical location where the encoding took place
state-dependent memory
Long-term memory retrieval is best when a person's physiological state at the time of encoding and retrieval of the information is the same.
Serial position effect
Our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list. (primacy and recency effect)
Alzheimer's disease
a degenerative brain disorder thought to be linked to a loss of acetylcholine in neurons that link to the hippocampus. Have characteristic neurofibriallary tangles and b-amyloid plaques

exact causes are not well understood
dementia
loss of cognitive function
Korsakoff's syndrome
form of memory loss caused by thiamine deficiency in the brain; marked by retrograte amnesia and anterograde amnesia and sometimes confabulation
Agnosia
loss of the ability to recognize objects, people, or sounds, though usually just one of the three
proactive interference
old information is interfering with new learning
retroactive interference
when new information causes forgetting of old information
prospective memory
remembering to perform a task at some point in the future

ex: remembering to buy milk when walking past the grocery store
Misinformation effect
Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event.
Source amnesia
Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined.
neuroplasticity
change in neural connections caused by learning or a response to injury
synaptic pruning
weak neural connections are broken while strong ones are bolstered, increasing the efficiency of our brains' ability to process information
long-term potentiation
responsible for the conversion of short-term to long-term memory, is the strengthening of neuronal connections resulting from increased neurotransmitter release and adding of receptor sites
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