Anthropology - Learning, memory and cults Flashcards
(39 cards)
Def - Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning (also known as instrumental conditioning) is a process by which humans and animals learn to behave in such a way as to obtain rewards and avoid punishments.
Def - Response
A response is a clearly defined, measurable unit of behavior discussed in terms of its result (e.g., pressing a lever, indicating yes vs. no on a survey item) or its physical characteristics (e.g., raising an arm).
Def - Reinforcement
Reinforcement is defined as a consequence that follows an operant response that increase (or attempts to increase) the likelihood of that response occurring in the future.
Def - Latent learning
Latent learning is a type of learning which is not apparent in the learner’s behavior at the time of learning, but which manifests later when a suitable motivation and circumstances appear. This shows that learning can occur without any reinforcement of a behavior.
Def - Mnemonics
any device or technique used to assist memory, usually by forging a link or association between the new information to be remembered and information previously encoded.
Def - Law of vividness
Assuming the action of the other laws to remain constant, the deeper, the more intense, or the more vigorous the original impression, the more permanent is its retention, and the easier its reproduction.
Def - cerebellum
The portion of the brain in the back of the head between the cerebrum and the brain stem. The cerebellum controls balance for walking and standing, and other complex motor functions.
Def - Alzheimer’s disease
a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks
Def - Law of effect
The law of effect stated that those behavioral responses that were most closely followed by a satisfying result were most likely to become established patterns and to occur again in response to the same stimulus.
Def - Classical conditioning
a type of learning that happens unconsciously. When you learn through classical conditioning, an automatic conditioned response is paired with a specific stimulus. This creates a behavior.
Def - Generalization
the tendency to respond in the same way to different but similar stimuli. For example, a dog conditioned to salivate to a tone of a particular pitch and loudness will also salivate with considerable regularity in response to tones of higher and lower pitch.
Def - Brainwashing
brainwashing, also called Coercive Persuasion, systematic effort to persuade nonbelievers to accept a certain allegiance, command, or doctrine. A colloquial term, it is more generally applied to any technique designed to manipulate human thought or action against the desire, will, or knowledge of the individual.
Def - Memory
the faculty of encoding, storing, and retrieving information (Squire, 2009). Psychologists have found that memory includes three important categories: sensory, short-term, and long-term.
Def - Law of recency
a memory phenomenon in which the most recently presented facts, impressions, or items are learned or remembered better than material presented earlier.
Def - Law of frequency
the more frequently two things are experienced together, the more likely it will be that the experience or recall of one will stimulate the recall of the second.
Def - Cortex
the layer of gray matter that covers the outside of the cerebral hemispheres in the brain and is associated with higher cognitive functions, such as language, learning, perception, and planning.
Def - Mind control
Mind control is the process by which individual or collective freedom of choice and action is compromised by agents or agencies that modify or distort perception, motivation, affect, cognition and/or behavioral outcomes.
Def - Declarative memory
Declarative memory, also known as explicit memory, is distinct from other memory types as it is concerned with the intentional recollection of factual information, previous experiences and concepts (explicit memories).
Def - Stimulus
A stimulus is anything that can trigger a physical or behavioral change. The plural of stimulus is stimuli. Stimuli can be external or internal. An example of external stimuli is your body responding to a medicine.
Def - Extinction
Extinction in psychology refers to the fading and disappearance of behavior that was previously learned by association with another event. That means a conditioned response is weakened and the target behavior eventually stops and becomes extinct.
Def - cult
a religious or quasi-religious group characterized by unusual or atypical beliefs, seclusion from the outside world, and an authoritarian structure.
Def - Association
a connection or relationship between two items (e.g., ideas, events, feelings) with the result that experiencing the first item activates a representation of the second. Associations are fundamental to learning theory and behaviorism.
Def - Hippocampus
Hippocampus is a complex brain structure embedded deep into temporal lobe. It has a major role in learning and memory. It is a plastic and vulnerable structure that gets damaged by a variety of stimuli. Studies have shown that it also gets affected in a variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Def - Temporarl lobe
The temporal lobes sit behind the ears and are the second largest lobe. They are most commonly associated with processing auditory information and with the encoding of memory.
