Theme 2 - Learning and memory

Question 1

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 1

simultaneous stimulation of two cortical centres leads to association of activation - temporal association

Question 2

Example of classical conditioning

Answer 2

1) Pavlovs dog - ringing a bell and activation of salivation centres in the brain
2) anticipatory nausea and vomiting in cancer patients

Question 3

what is an unconditioned stimulus?

Answer 3

something that triggers an unconditioned response eg chemotherapy

Question 4

what is an unconditioned response?

Answer 4

a response to an unconditioned stimulus (eg chemo) - the nausea and vomiting associated with going to hospital for cancer patients

Question 5

what is systematic desensitisation?

Answer 5

creating a link between a feared object (eg needles) and relaxation

Question 6

what is operant conditioning?

Answer 6

learning that occurs as a result of reward or punishment for a certain behaviour - it is causal

Question 7

an example of operant conditioning in animals

Answer 7

when rats press a lever they get food - the lever pressing is reinforced due to reward

Question 8

what are primary reinforcers?

Answer 8

water, food and sex

Question 9

what are secondary reinforcers?

Answer 9

praise, money and attention (as well as removal of positive reinforcers)

Question 10

are there causal link in operant learning?

Answer 10

yes

Question 11

are there causal links in classical learning?

Answer 11

no - the dog gets the food regardless of salivation

Question 12

what behaviour can imitation and observation cause?

Answer 12

altruistic behaviour - if you see someone giving to charity, you are more likely to

Question 13

what increases the likelihood of imitation?

Answer 13

friendliness, power and similarity - (people in a position of power, friendly adults, people of the same gender or ethnicity)

Question 14

how is operant conditioning applied?

Answer 14

praise when a task is done well, immediate and frequent feedback

Question 15

what is associative learning?

Answer 15

change in behaviour as a result of an experience - can be causal (operant) or temporal (classical)

Question 16

what are the three key components in memory

Answer 16

coding, storage and retrieval

Question 17

what can lead to a problem in memory coding?

Answer 17

sensory problems

Question 18

what can leads to problems in memory storage?

Answer 18

not paying attention

Question 19

what can lead to problems with memory retrieval?

Answer 19

injury

Question 20

what is declarative memory?

Answer 20

can be explained and consciously stored eg factual information

Question 21

what is procedural memory?

Answer 21

learnt, stored unconsciously and hard to explain eg how to ride a bike

Question 22

what is sensory coding?

Answer 22

involved in acquiring new information or the reappearance of old information eg smells triggering memories

Question 23

what is the capacity of short term memory?

Answer 23

aka working memory. can store seven +/- 2 items

Question 24

what are the most crucial parts of maintaining short term memories?

Answer 24

rehersal and attention

Question 25

how does a short term memory become long term?

Answer 25

rehearsal

Question 26

what state are the neural nodes in short term/working memory?

Answer 26

active state

Question 27

what does long term memory depend on?

Answer 27

formation of associations when they are active in working/short term memory

Question 28

what is the key influence on memory retrieval?

Answer 28

their organisation when they are stored

Question 29

what is a retrieval cue?

Answer 29

similarity of contextual cues during coding a retrieval - easy to retrieve memories when you are in the same situation to where you laid them down

Question 30

what is cue overload?

Answer 30

when many different memories are associated with a specific cue eg walking to school

Question 31

when is the best learning/memory formation done?

Answer 31

when there are few distractions and optimum arousal

Question 32

what do you take in/focus on at low arousal?

Answer 32

take in less but you can have a broader focus

Question 33

what do you take in/focus on in high arousal?

Answer 33

take in lots of detail but this is within a smaller range

Question 34

what does type of arousal does the flashbulb analogy represent?

Answer 34

high arousal

Question 35

what can be a patients response to doctors anxiety?

Answer 35

think the situation is more severe therefore increased anxiety and remember fewer facts as they pay more attention to the emotion

Question 36

how can doctors boost information recall by patients?

Answer 36

repeat key points multiple times, ask for active repetition, use different communication modalities eg video, remove distractions, emotional support

Question 37

what can lead to information being forgotten by patients?

Answer 37

if its not attended to, not understood, not encoded through repitition or rehearsal, too much information given

Question 38

what type of conditioning occurs when behaviour changes as a consequence of early behaviour?

Answer 38

operant conditioning

Question 39

through what process does systematic desensitisation work?

Answer 39

classical conditioning