Transcript Learning AND Memory Notes

Learning: Classical Conditioning,
Operant Conditioning, and Social
Learning Theory
Chapter 8
LEARNING
• Learning is defined as a relatively permanent
change in an organism’s behavior due to
experience.
• Experience is the key element.
• The idea of learning breeds hope.
• From the simple (flatworms) to the complex
(humans), learning has been measured in
many organisms.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
• Conditioning is the process of learning
associations (the linking of 2 events).
• Classical conditioning is the linking of 2 stimuli
and thus to anticipate events. The stimulus
precedes the response, and the response is
often reflexive.
• For example, lightening signals thunder and
we physically brace ourselves for it. An
expanding balloon has been paired with
popping so we flinch/squint in preparation.
ELEMENTS OF CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING
• Pavlov a physiologists studying digestive
processes. (Won the Nobel prize for his
work!)
• Surgically attached saliva collection tubes to
dogs to measure salivation. Discovered that
food causes salivation, but with time, other
stimuli would evoke salivation that originally
would not. Only through the pairing of food
was the connection made and thereby
salivating occurred.
• The real experiment
• A joke
ELEMENTS OF CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING
• Food, unconditioned stimulus (UCS) >>
salivating, unconditioned response (UCR)
• Metronome ticking + food (UCS) >> salivating
(UCR)
• Metronome ticking, conditioned stimulus (CS)
>> salivating (CR)
• You too can experience classical conditioning…
How to classically condition yourself:
• Go to a room that can be thoroughly darkened
with the flip of a switch, have a mirror and a
bell.
• Ring the bell, turn out the lights, wait 15
seconds, turn the lights back on, wait another
15 seconds, and repeat ~20 times.
• Now leaving the lights on, ring the bell and
watch your eyes.
Important things to remember about
classical conditioning:
• UCR and CR are the same outcome and are
typically reflexive (salivating, eye dilation,
fear, arousal)
• Unconditioned means occurs naturally,
does not have to be learned (loud noises
make us startle, food makes us drool: UCS
and UCR)
• Conditioned means it has to be learned,
the stimulus and response do not pair
naturally.
Elements of Classical Conditioning
• Acquisition: the initial learning of the S-R
(stimulus-response) relationship
– CS must occur before the UCS for classical conditioning
– Not much time can elapse between the two
Conditioning serves a function, it helps an
animal (humans, too!) survive and reproduce.
There are some things that are easier for us to
become conditioned to due to “survival of the
fittest.”
Elements of Classical Conditioning
• Higher-order conditioning: When conditioning
occurs when the conditioned stimulus (CS, like a
bell) is paired with a new neutral stimulus (like a
light) and can result in the new neutral stimulus
becoming a new conditioned stimulus.
• Example: Pair the bell that causes drooling with a
light, and eventually the light will cause drooling
without it ever being paired with food.
• Example: Seeing a police car yields anxiety
because at one time a police car lead to a
speeding ticket that resulted in anxiety.
Elements of Classical Conditioning
• Extinction: the diminished responding that
occurs when the CS no longer signals an
impending UCS. After several trials of the
tone alone, the salivating would gradually
diminished…BUT
• Spontaneous recovery: the reappearance of a
CR after a rest (no longer being exposed to the
conditioned stimulus), suggests the extinction
suppresses the CR but doesn’t eliminate it
completely.
Elements of Classical Conditioning
• Generalization: the tendency to respond to
stimuli similar to the CS.
– “Little Albert” experiment: A loud noise (UCS) that
scared him (caused him to cry, UCR). This noise
was paired with a white rat several times (CS).
Soon the rat caused the same response (crying)
without the noise. This same response was seen
when exposed to white rabbit, cotton balls, Santa
mask, etc.
– If you would like to know what happened to “Little
Albert” go the www.thepsychfiles.com and search
“Little Albert.”
Elements of Classical Conditioning
• Discrimination: the learned ability to
distinguish between a conditioned stimulus
which predicts a UCS and other irrelevant
stimuli.
– You would respond differently to a pit bull and a
golden retriever
– As a young child you learn the difference very
quickly between your parents and strangers.
Elements of Classical Conditioning
• Classical conditioning has been used to
explain:
– Phobias (a neutral stimulus paired with an anxiety
or fear provoking experience resulting in that
stimulus evoking fear/anxiety)
– Advertisers hope to bank on your arousal by
utilizing attractive people and situations to
encourage you to purchase their products
– Immuno-suppression has been measured in rats
using a classically conditioned stimulus. Does this
mean we can boost immune responses through
classical conditioning?
Cognition’s Influence
• Pavlov and Watson highly underestimated the
role of cognition.
• It has been concluded by others that CS>>CR
result implies the animal learns predictability
and expectancy, which are cognitive
constructs. (Rescorla)
• If classical conditioning was simply “stamping
in” associations, alcohol + nauseating drug
would lead to the end of alcoholism, but it
doesn’t. Why?
Biology’s Influence
• Biological predispositions of each species
dispose it to learn the particular associations
that enhance its survival.
• Taste aversion tests show that the CS and UCS
pairing does not have to be close together.
(Unless you consider the vomiting experience
to be a “revisiting” of the food.)
• Rats developed aversions to tastes but not to
sights or sounds when sickened. (Garcia) This
means that there are some things we cannot
easily be conditioned to due to our biology.
Biology’s Influence
• Natural selection favors traits that aid survival.
We fear snakes and spiders but not flowers.
Nature prepares us to learn things necessary
for survival.
• Learning enables animals to adapt to their
environments.
Pavlov’s Legacy
• Classical conditioning is one way virtually all
organisms learn to adapt to their
environment.
• He showed how the process of learning can be
studied objectively and scientifically. He
revealed a scientific model for studying
psychology…BEHAVIORISM
Operant Conditioning
• Conditioning is the process of learning
associations (the linking of 2 events).
• Operant conditioning: the association of
behaviors with consequences. Organisms are
more likely to repeat reinforced (rewarded)
behaviors and less likely to repeat punished
behaviors.
Distinguishing Classical & Operant
• Classical conditioning is a pairing of stimuli to
get an automatic response (reflexive).
• Operant conditioning is the action operating
on the environment to produce a rewarding or
punishing stimulus/consequence.
• To distinguish ask, “Who has control over their
behavior?” (We can’t control reflexive
responses.) If it is the organism, it is operant
conditioning.
Elements of Conditioning
• Both classical and operant
conditioning involve acquisition,
extinction, spontaneous recovery,
generalization, and discrimination.
Elements of Operant Conditioning
• Thorndike’s law of effect: If a response in the
presence of a stimulus leads to satisfying
effects, the association between the stimulus
and the response is strengthened.
• Though he changed the terminology, this is
exactly what Skinner found to be true in terms
of “reward” and “punishment.”
Elements of Operant Conditioning
• BF Skinner and his box
Elements of Operant Conditioning
• Acquisition of an association will often occur
by the process of shaping, especially with
simpler animals.
• Shaping: procedure in which reinforcers
(typically food) gradually guide an animal’s
behavior toward a desired behavior.
• REINFORCER IS SOMETHING THAT INCREASES
BEHAVIOR.
Elements of Operant Conditioning
• REINFORCER IS
SOMETHING THAT
INCREASES BEHAVIOR.
– Positive reinforcement
involves presenting a stimulus
after some response that is
worth repeating. (Praise,
stickers, money, attention are
all positive reinforcers.)
• Negative reinforcement
involves the removal of
something aversive.
(Fastening a seat belt to
stop the dinging, aspirin to
get rid of a headache, giving
in to stop a tantrum.)
Elements of Operant Conditioning
• Though simple, some applications and situations
are ineffectual. Food is only a reinforcer is the
organism is hungry. There must a value in the
reinforcer. “Token economy” often quits working
with students if over-used.
• Something that is reinforcing once may not
always be reinforcing. What works for one may
not work for another.
• Primary reinforcers meet biological needs (ex:
food) and secondary reinforcers may be
associated with primary reinforcers (ex: money)
Elements of Operant Conditioning
• Children who have been taught to delay
gratification (choose a big reward tomorrow
instead of a little reward right now) become
more socially competent and more likely to be
high achievers (Mischel & others, 1989)
• \\ktadmfs09\staffdocuments\R0201467\My
Documents\Learning and memory\Oh, The
Temptation on Vimeo.mht
• Unfortunately, small and immediate is often
more alluring, ie drugs, alcohol, sex, etc.
because of the “pleasure center” pathway.
Elements of Operant Conditioning
schedules of reinforcement
• CONTINUOUS: The
reinforcement always
happens in order to
reach acquisition. Used
in shaping.
• INTERMITTENT:
reinforcement is used
only some of the time.
This is typically used
after acquisition has
been established.
• Can take the form of
fixed or variable and
ratio or interval
Elements of Operant Conditioning
schedules of reinforcement
• RATIO SCHEDULES:
Require the organisms
to respond a certain
number of times, either
fixed or variable.
• INTERVAL SCHEDULES:
Require the organisms
to respond over a
certain amount of time,
either fixed or variable
Elements of Operant Conditioning
• Intermittent/variable and ratio (# of trials)
reinforcement has the most lasting effect on
increased likelihood of repeat behavior:
– Think slot machines and gambling (variable-ratio)
and is highly related to other addictive behaviors,
too!
– Occasionally giving in to a tantrum will put a child
on an intermittent reinforcement schedule
thereby producing the most persistent behavior.
Elements of Operant Conditioning
• PUNISHMENT DECREASES BEHAVIOR.
• There have been numerous studies on the
effectiveness of punishments such as
spankings. To sum it up, punishment tells you
what not to do and reinforcement tells you
what to do.
• Punishment can also lead to other undesirable
effects such as creating fear and
teaching aggression.
Elements of Operant Conditioning
Increase
behavior
Decrease
behavior
Addition of
something
Removal of
something
Positive
reinforcement
Negative
reinforcement
(adding something good,
ex: stickers)
(taking away something
bad, ex: ending a tantrum)
Punishment
Omission
training
(adding something bad, ex:
spanking)
(taking away something
good, ex: grounding)
Cognition’s Influence
• Learning can occur without obvious rewards;
rats will explore a maze and learn it. (But they
will learn it faster if rewarded.) This is known
as latent learning, learning that becomes
apparent only when there is some incentive to
demonstrate it. (Tolman)
• Overjustification effect: occurs when
rewarding a behavior that is already enjoyed
causes the loss of intrinsic interest in the
behavior. You may not be rewarded for good
grades because your parents want you to
value the achievement not the reward.
Biological Influence
• An animal’s natural predisposition constrain
its capacity for operant conditioning. People
will be far more successful in training animals
to do tasks they are naturally predisposed to
do.
Skinner’s Legacy
• Reinforcement and training in schools (token
economies)…computerized systems was
Skinner’s ideal
• Reinforcers influence productivity, so in
business, many allow employees to participate
in company ownership and reap what they
sow.
• At home, bill paying/energy conservation,
parenting, personal behavior modification.
REVIEW: CLASSICAL VS. OPERANT
• Whenever Allie takes are dog out for a walk, she
always wears the same blue jacket. Eventually her
she sees her dog get excited every time she puts on
the blue jacket.
• A successful rock bank is on tour. They play a lot of
their new music, but the crowd doesn’t respond.
Then when they play their old hits, the crowd goes
while. They make a point to play more old hits than
their new music.
• When Cindy and Mel first fell in love, they loved to
listen to the music of a particular band. Now, 12
years after marriage, they still get warm, romantic
feelings when they hear that same band.
BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION
• Have you ever wanted
to quit a bad habit or
take up a good habit?
What are some
effective techniques?
– Reward yourself
(positive reinforcement)
– Punish yourself? (Have
you ever used the nasty
tasting nail polish to help
you stop biting your
nails?)
Social Learning Theory aka
Observational learning
• SLT: Learning is purposeful and goes beyond
the scope of mechanical S-R relationships.
People can learn by simply watching others.
• Cognitive learning: focus is on how
information is obtained, processed, and
organized. What are the thought processes?
– Learned helplessness: People need to know their
actions make a difference or they will give up.
(This is often a cause of depression.)
Observational Learning
• Behaviors we learn to mimic simply by
observing. Watch someone burn themselves,
learn not to touch it.
• The process if known as modeling. Monkey
see, monkey do! Modeling is a way of
learning through observation and mimcry.
• Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment…You can find
it on YouTube!
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdh7Mng
ntnI
Observational Learning
• Anti-social models often lead to anti-social
behaviors:
– All states (except VT) had copy cat threat postColumbine
– Abusive husbands often had abusive fathers as
models
– Monkeys raised in aggressive environments tend
to be aggressive
Observational Learning
• Pro-social models have pro-social effects
– Gandhi, Chavez, and MLK, Jr made history with
nonviolent protesting
– Parents can be powerful models of pro-social
behavior
Imitation of a model depends on reinforcement or
punishment of the imitator or model, and we are
likely to imitate those we perceive as similar to
ourselves, as successful, or as admirable.
MEMORY
CHAPTER 9
You are what you
remember.
• Memory is any indication that learning has
persisted over time. It is our ability to store
and retrieve information.
• To remember any event we must do 4
things:
o
o
o
o
Pay Attention
Encode
Store
Retrieve
Model of Memory
Information-processing model
• Sensory memory (seconds) >> encoding >> short
term memory/working memory (minutes) >>
encoding >> long term memory (maybe forever)
• Working memory is the more current term as it
represents the action of making associations with
old information.
ENCODING
• Automatic processing: information encoded with
little effort, ex: remembering how to get to your
next class.
• Effortful processing: information that can only be
remembered with effort and attention, ex: most
school work
Rehearsal is often helpful. In some cases, the
rehearsal turns effortful processing into automatic.
Think about what it has been like to learn to read or
to drive.
Ebbinghaus’ study of
learning & forgetting
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JIH
BAZ
FUB
YOX
SUJ
XIR
DAX
LEQ
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VUM
PID
KEL
WAV
TUV
ZOF
GEK
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Ebbinghaus’ study of
learning & forgetting
What he discovered is the amount
remembered depends on the time
spent learning.
Even after we have learned something,
additional rehearsal (over learning)
increases retention.
Later research reveals that learning
quickly = forgetting quickly. That’s why
the spacing effect is so important
Encoding
. Testing is effective too! Spacing out studying
and self assessment are the best for learning.
• Another interesting phenomenon:
o Try to recall the list of nonsense syllables
again…which do you remember?
o (You can also see this by attempting recall all of
the US presidents in order
o What typically happens is we remember the
beginning (primacy effect) of the list and the
end (recency effect). This is known as the serial
position effect.
SEMANTIC ENCODING:
ENCODING MEANING
• Research shows that encoding meaning tends to
be very powerful.
• When we encode meaning, remembering is much
more successful.
• We can especially recall information that can be
related to ourselves: self-reference effect…this is
powerful for learning psychology
• What is remembered depends on the time spent
learning it and you making it meaningful.
VISUAL ENCODING:
ENCODING IMAGERY
• We remember words and phrases that lend
themselves to a visual image.
• Mnemonic: visual imagery utilized to aid memory;
concrete concepts are easier to visualize…think
Michael Britt’s Erikson’s 8 stages Peg Word system
o One is a bun, two is a shoe, three is a tree…
• Method of loci: The mental walk; technique utilizing
spacial relationships (like a map of your house) to
items to be memorized (digits, names, etc.)
• Link method: Link consecutive words in a list to one
another through creative, imaginative visual
imagery…the more bizarre the better.
TRY THIS: Use one of the above mentioned
techniques to memorize this list
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Milk
Eggs
Fruit
Laundry detergent
Dog food
Diapers
Hot dogs
Bread
Toilet paper
Vanilla ice cream
Cheerios
Band aids
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Spaghetti sauce
Rice
Cheese
Yogurt
ACOUSTIC ENCODING:
ENCODING SOUNDS
• Using rhyme is very powerful in enhancing memory.
• Attorney Johnnie Cochran is famous for saying, “If
the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” (Of OJ
Simpson.) He didn’t say, “If the glove doesn’t fit,
you must find him not guilty.”
• You put all 3 together: semantic, acoustic, and
visual and you have a VERY powerful tool to
enhance memory.
ORGANIZING FOR
ENCODING
• Chunking: organizing information into
meaningful units
o Acronyms: using the first letters to remember
something, ex: HOMES, ROY G BIV
o Hierarchies: organizing information by levels of
importance, think of a flowchart, p. 327
o Acrostic: using letters to
make a saying/poem
STORAGE
• Sensory memory: the initial recording of sensory
information
o Iconic memory: fleeting photographic memory of images
o Echoic memory: fleeting auditory memory aka: echo chamber lasts 3-4
seconds
• Working/Short-Term Memory: Has a capacity of 7
+/-2 chunks (George Miller) of information but will
be lost if not actively rehearsed for encoding. STM is
slightly better with information we hear than see.
STORAGE
• Long-Term Memory: It is estimated that the
average adult has 1 billion bit of information in
memory and the capacity for a thousand to a
million times more…essentially LTM is limitless.
• Where are they?
o Memories do not reside in a single place.
o Most recent research suggests memories form at the
synapse with serotonin playing a significant part. Based on
the research of Kandel & Schwartz observations of the
learning in sea slugs. Long-term potentiation (LTP) is where
increased activity at the synapse when learning occurs
strengthens the potential for neural firing. The more it is
used the better is works.
o Adequate sleep is necessary for cementing
memories!
STORAGE
• Hormones released due to stress often enhance
memories. This explains why traumatic events are
so memorable. (Along with reliving/retelling of the
event.) This is in direct conflict with the idea of
repression!
• It has been documented that flashbulb memories
can be stored & retrieved very accurately. They
are not error-proof, though, especially if the stress of
the event is prolonger/intense.
• The hippocampus is the primary part of the brain
involved in memory in conjunction with various parts
of the cerebral cortex and amygdala for emotional
links.
TYPES OF MEMORY
• Implicit memory: retention without conscious
recollection, procedural memory, how
to…impossible to explain
• Explicit memory: memory of facts and experiences
that one can consciously know and declare,
declarative memory…easy to explain.
RETRIEVAL
• Tests show we are better at relearning and
recognition than recall.
• Memories cannot be accessed without the right
cues. Priming helps activate the necessary
associations. We are typically not aware of the
priming when it occurs.
• Context effects help in remembering by giving
environmental clues. Ex: revisiting an old school.
May experience déjà vu. There are a variety of
theories related to explaining déjà vu.
RETRIEVAL
• State-dependent memory: Though being
depressed or chemically impaired doesn’t
help memory, often things that occur in that
state cannot be remembered unless again
in that state.
• Mood congruent: tendency to recall
experiences that are consistent with one’s
current good or bad mood. This often leads
to a persistent good or bad mood.
• Note p. 354, improving memory
FORGETTING
• Encoding failure…never got in there in the first
place
• Storage decay….lose the pathway to the
information
• Retrieval failure…its in there, but you just can’t find
your way down the path
o Interference: proactive interfere (forward acting) old info prevents you
from remembering something new; retroactive (backward acting is when
new learning prevents you from remembering old information like me with
names….I’m sorry, but it is highly likely I won’t remember your name easily
next semester when I meet my new students.
IMPAIRMENT TO
MEMORY
• Marijuana usage…how and why:
o http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120301143424.htm
• Amnesia…impaired memory
o Patient H.M., after a surgical procedure lost necessary tissue for
forming new memories. Older memories remained intact.
Learning/training can still happen in these people, but they
cannot teach or explain how they learned what they know.
They can still form implicit memories (skills…impossible to
explain)
o Clive Waring…cannot lay down new memories but can
completely recall how to play music and to conduct.
IMPAIRMENT TO
MEMORY
• Damage to the hippocampus often disrupts the
development of explicit memory (knowledge memory,
explainable). Your left and right hemispheres seem to
be specialized for certain tasks so damage to one or
the other has different outcomes. (verbal vs. visual)
• Lack of language development & slow to mature
hippocampus are contributing factors to infantile
amnesia. (We tend to not remember information prior
to age 3.)
IMPAIRMENT TO
MEMORY
• Alzheimer’s disease: A protein plaque builds up in
the brain causing the death of neurons. Alzheimer’s
patients also seem to lack acetylcholine.
THINKING AND LANGUAGE
CHAPTER 10
IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE
• It is the most tangible indication of our
thinking power.
• Humans have proudly claimed that it is
language that sets us above the animals
• http://www.learner.org/vod/vod_window.ht
ml?pid=1530
CHARACTERISTICS OF
LANGUAGE
• Phonemes: set of basic sounds
• Morpheme: smallest unit of language that
carries meaning (a, -ed, it, I, -est)
• Grammar: a system of rules (semantics &
syntax)
– Semantics: rules we use to derive meaning
from morphemes such as adding –ed for past
tense
– Syntax: rules for ordering words in sentences
CONCEPT FORMATION
• We form concepts (mental groupings of
similar objects) to simplify our world.
Without concepts, every item would need
a unique word.
• REMEMBER: Schema, assimilation &
accommodation???
• To simplify further we arrange our
concepts into hierarchies.
MENTAL SET
• Is like a perceptual set except it affects
problem solving.
– Assume that you’re the engineer of a
passenger train. At the first station, 20
passengers get on. At the next station, 5
passengers get off and 12 get on. At the next
station, 7 get off and 10 get on. At the next
station, 20 passengers get off and 5 get on.
At the next station, 8 passengers get off and 3
get on.
MENTAL SET
• 1. How old is the engineer of the train?
• 2. How many stations were there?
• 3. How many passengers are left on the
train?
• 4. Altogether, how many passengers have
gotten off the train since the first station?
• 5. Altogether, how many passengers have
gotten onto the train anywhere along its
route?
MENTAL SET
• ANSWERS:
– 1. Your age
– 2. 6
– 3. 15
– 4. 50
– 5. 65
In terms of mental set, we pay attention to only
some aspects of a problem and ignore others,
hence most of us missing #1. Only what we
are tuned into can be processed.
PROBLEM SOLVING
• Problems may be solved using trial and error
• By algorithms (step-by-step procedure that
guarantees and answer)
• http://www.cut-theknot.org/recurrence/hanoi.shtml
• By heuristics (basic rules of thumb strategy)
• By insight (sudden flash of insight)
– “What occurs once in every minute, twice in
every moment, but never in a thousand years?”
OBSTACLES TO PROBLEM
SOLVING
• Confirmation bias: eagerness for
information that confirms our ideas.
• Fixation: the inability to see a problem
from a different perspective
• Heuristics:
– Representativeness: judge based on how
well they represent our prototypes
– Availability: judge based on available
information in our memories
OBSTACLES TO PROBLEM
SOLVING
• Overconfidence: tendency to over
estimate the accuracy of our knowledge
and judgments.
• Framing: the way an issue is presented
that may influence a person, “1 in 20” has
much more impact than “10 in 200.”
• Belief perseverance: tendency to cling to
beliefs in the face of contrary evidence.