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MCAT Psychology > Learning > Flashcards

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1
Q

Associative Learning

A

is a way of pairing together stimuli and responses or behaviors and consequences.

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2
Q

Classical Conditioning

A

An unconditioned 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

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3
Q

Operant Conditioning

A

behavior is changed through the use of consequences

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4
Q

Operant Confitioning Chart

A
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5
Q

Reinforcement Schedule

A

The schedule of reinforcement affects the rate at which the behavior is performed. Schedules cam be based either on a ratio of behavior to reward or on the amount of time, and can be either fixed or variable.

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6
Q

Behaviors learned through variable ratio schedules are

A

the hardest to extinguish

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7
Q

Reinfrocement Schedule

A
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8
Q

Reinforcement Graph

A
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9
Q

Acquisition

A

In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.

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10
Q

Extinction

A

Disappearance of the conditioned response.

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11
Q

Spontaneous Recovery

A

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

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12
Q

Generalization

A

The tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses.

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13
Q

Avoidance Conditioning

A

Learning in which the learned behavior allows the subject to avoid the stimulus altogether by employing a specific response.

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14
Q

Escape Learning

A

Through operant conditioning, this is the process of learning to engage in a particular behavior in order to get away from a negative or aversive stimulus

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15
Q

Memory

A

The persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information.

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16
Q

Encoding

A

is the process of putting new information into memory. It can be automatic or effortful. Semantic encoding is stronger than both acoustic and visual encoding

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17
Q

Automatic Processing

A

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings

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18
Q

Effortful Processing

A

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

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19
Q

Self Reference Effect

A

tendency to better remember things related to ourselves

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20
Q

Maintenance Rehearsal

A

A system for remembering involving repeating information to oneself without attempting to find meaning in it

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21
Q

Elaborative Rehearsal

A

rehearsal involving repletion and analysis, in which a stimulus may be associated with (linked to) other information and further processed

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22
Q

Retrieval

A

the process of getting information out of memory storage

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23
Q

Spacing Effect

A

the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice

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24
Q

Spreading Activation

A

one node of semantic network activated, the other linked concepts around it are also unconsciously activated

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25
Priming
The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.
26
Retrieval Cues
Environmental stimuli or pieces of information that are associated in some way with the memory being sought.
27
Context Effect
A retrieval cue by which memory is aided when a person is in the location where encoding took place.
28
State Dependent Memory
The theory that information learned in a particular state of mind (e.g., depressed, happy, somber) is more easily recalled when in that same state of mind.
29
Serial Position Effect
our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list
30
The Tendency to remember early and late items is known as the
primacy and recency effect respectively
31
Agnosia
is the loss of the ability to recognize objects, people, or sounds. It is usually only one of the three and usually caused by damage to the brain.
32
Amnesia
loss of memory
33
Retrograde Amnesia
An inability to retrieve information from one's past.
34
Anterograde Amnesia
an inability to form new memories
35
Confabulation
process of creating vivid but fabricated memories
36
Interference
Blockage of a memory by previous or subsequent memories.
37
Proactive Interference
Previously held knowledge prevents successful retrieval of more newly learned information.
38
Retroactive Interference
the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information Newly learned material prevents successful retrieval of older memories.
39
Prospective Memory
remembering to do something in the future
40
Sensory and Short Term Memory
are transient and are based on NTS activity.
41
Misinformation Effect
incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event
42
Source Monitoring Error
a specific type of error of recollection where a memory is incorrectly attributed to the wrong source. It involves confusion between semantic and episodic memory
43
7 +/- 2 Rule
Short term memory can hold 7 +/- 2 pieces of information
44
Working Memory
requires short term memory, attention and executive function to manipulate information
45
Long Term Memory
requires elaborative rehearsal and is the result of increased neuronal connectivity (it can be explicit or implicit)
46
Explicit (declarative) Memory
stores facts and stories
47
Implicit (non-declarative) memory
stores skills and conditioning effects
48
Facts are stored via
Semantic Networks
49
Recognition of Information is Stronger than
Recall
50
Recall
A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.
51
Recognition
a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test
52
Retrieval of Information is
Often based on priming of interconnected nodes of the semantic networks.
53
Memories can be lost through
1. disorders (Alzheimer's disease, and Korsakoff's Syndrome) 2. agnosia 3. decay 4. interference
54
Long Term Potentiation
is responsible for the conversion of short term to long term memory, it is the strengthening of neuronal connections resulting from increased neurotransmitter release and adding of receptor sites.
55
Mental Set
a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past
56
Functional Fixedness
The tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving.
57
Inductive Reasoning
A type of logic in which generalizations are based on a large number of specific observations.
58
Deductive Reasoning
reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general principle and then applying that principle to a specific case (The sun rises every morning; therefore, the sun will rise on Tuesday morning.)
59
Fluid Intelligence
problem solving skills
60
Crystalized Intelligence
use of learned skills and knowledge
61
Heuristics
Sets of strategies, rather than strict rules, that act as guidelines for discovery-oriented problem solving. Rules of Thumb
62
Representative Heuristic
judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead one to ignore other relevent information
63
Base Rate Fallacy
using prototypical or stereotypical factors while ignoring actual numerical information
64
Disconfirmation Principle
Idea that states that if evidence obtained during testing does not confirm a hypothesis, then the hypothesis is discarded or revised.
65
Confirmation Bias
a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
66
Belief Persistence
in decision making, the tendency to cling to initial beliefs when confronted with disconfirming evidence
67
Overconfidence
The tendency to be more confident than correct--to overestimate the accuracy of one's beliefs and judgments.
68
Intuition
an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning
69
Recognition Primed Model
In this model, the decision maker is assumed to generate a possible course of action, compare it to the constraints imposed by the situation, and select the first course of action that is not rejected.
70
Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Prejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue.
71
Adaption (Piaget)
Piaget theorized that new information is processed via adaptation
72
Assimilation (Piaget)
is the process of classifying new information into existing schema
73
Accommodation (Piaget)
is the process by which existing schemata are modified to encompass this new information.
74
Circular Reactions
Primary: Set off by chance, like sucking one's thumb. Secondary: 4-8 months, oriented to objects outside of one's body like rattles. Tertiary: 18 months, goal directed behavior like dropping over the side of the crib.
75
Symbolic Thinking
the use of words and numbers to stand for ideas
76
Egocentrism
in Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view
77
Centration
in Piaget's theory, the tendency of a young child to focus only on one feature of an object while ignoring other relevant features
78
Availability Heuristics
Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind, we presume such events are common
79
Piaget's Theory of

MCAT Psychology (6 decks)

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