learning and memory Flashcards
what is learning
‘’Learning is a process by which experience produces a relatively enduring and
adaptive change in an organism’s capacity for behavior.’’
‘’A Psychological process/es by which knowledge is acquired through experience.’’
But how do we measure an internal non-observable process?
‘’Learning involves a relatively enduring change in knowledge and/or behaviour
resulting from specific experiences.’’
But how, where do we know what we know?
‘’Learning is a process which involves relatively enduring changes of neural
correlates underpinning knowledge and/or behaviour resulting from specific
experiences.’’
Non- associative learning: habituation
what is it
example
One of the simplest learning forms
Decreasing response to a certain stimulus as a result of repeated exposure over time
Type of learning occurring consistently across almost all species
Gill and siphon withdrawal reflex I Aplysia
A classic example in humans in the habituation of startle response to loud noises
what is Hedonic habituation
Hedonic habituation is habituation to pleasurable stimuli
Non- associative learning: sensitization
Progressive heightened awareness/responsiveness to a stimulus or class of Simuli for a period of time
Enhanced response to a range of different stimuli
In Aplysia, the withdrawal syndrome re-appears when stimulation after habituation is paired with a noxious stimulus
An example in humans is pain or dug sensitization
Perceptual learning
Learning to recognize entirely new things or variations in things that we already know and adapting to that change
This type of learning is closely interlinked with perceptual and memory processes
It it not only perception but an increase in sensitivity to sensory stimuli as a response to training
The extrastriata cortex plays an important role
what is motor learning
what parts of the brain play a role
Learning of sequences of motor responses
The motor cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus and cerebellum play a role
Associative learning
Changes ion knowledge or behavior that result from the association of two o more events/stimuli or of a stimulus and a response
We associate two or more things that occur together in space and time, particularly if it is frequent and it accompanied by a significant event
It allows anticipation of an event on the basis of another
associative learning- classical conditioning
The unconditioned stimulus (shock) and consequent response (avoiding the shock) are conditioned to the previously neutral stimulus (fence) to produce the conditioned response (avoid the fence)
histroy of classical conditioning
Pavlov and his dogs
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) stimulus that would normally trigger innate response (food)
Unconditioned response (UCR)reflexive automatic response to the UCS (salivation)
Conditioned stimulus (CS) stimulus that begins to have effect on the
unconditioned response after it has been repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned response (CR) originally unconditioned response after it has come to be elicited by a conditioned stimulus.
cc- what is acquisition
learning through a new behavior through conditioning
Conditioning neutral stimulus should b presented before the conditioned stimulus (bell before food)
The conditioned stimulus must follow immediately after the conditioned (neutral) stimulus begins to be presented
definition of assoicative learning
learning the relationship between two pieces of information
classical conditioning defintion
when we learn that a stimulus predicts another stimulus
operant conditioning defintion
when we learn that a behvaiour leads to a cerrtain outocme
cc- what is second order conditioning
Pairing a conditioned stimulus (bell/tone) with a new neutral stimulus (light). A dog may be conditioned to salivate at the sight of light
cc- what is extinction
learning behaviour ceases
Repeated presentation of the conditioned stimulus without unconditioned stimulus results in a weaker conditioned response until it disappears
cc- what is spontaneous recovery
extinguished behaviour reappears
The response is not totally unlearned
Weaker
cc- what is generalisation
conditioned response to a neural stimulus similar to the conditioned stimulus
Can be trained to discriminate
the brain bases of cc
Amygdala is key
Responds to aversive stimuli mainly (shock, unpleasant noise)
The US and CS coverage is the lateral nucleus, where synapses are strengthened
From there, axons project to the central nucleus
theraputic uses of cc
what are the three
sytematic desensitisation, flooding and aversion therapy
what ssystematic desenstistion
This therapy aims to remove the fear response of a phobia and gradually substitute a relaxation response to the conditional stimulus using counter-conditioning
There are three critical components to systematic desensitisation:
Dear hierarchy
Relaxation training
Reciprocal inhibition – two emotion states cannot exist at the same time
what si flooding
To demonstrate the irrationally of the fear , a psychologists would put the person in a situation where they would face their phobia
Under controlled conditions and using psychologically - proven relaxation techniques, the subject attempts to replace their fear with relaxation
what is aversion therapy
The unwanted behaviour(US) is paired with an unpleasant stimulus (CS)
With repetitions, the stimulus become associated, and the person develops an aversion to the unwanted behaviour
Antabuse therapy to treat alcoholism
what are limitations of the therapeutic uses of cc
Has shown to work across a wide range of species, including us
But
It cannot teach NEW behaviours to the organism
It can only elicit innate behaviour with stimuli
operant conditioning
First introduced by Thorndike (1998) who originally set out to disprove advanced intelligence in animals
Cat in a puzzle box experiment
The law of effect means that reward strengthens behaviours,
and unsuccessful actions are decreased
Initially, the cat’s responses were largely instinctual, but over time;
the pressing lever response was strengthened while the others
were weakened
Formed the basis for Skinner’s operant conditioning principles
Operant conditioned involved a voluntary action
