Learning (Chapter 6)

Learning – A process through which experience produces lasting change in behavior or mental processes

Classical Conditioning - a basic form of learning in which a stimulus that produces an innate reflex becomes associated with a neutral stimulus, which acquires the power to elicit the same response.

Video explaining classical conditioning

Extinction – Weakening of a conditioned association in the absence of an unconditioned stimulus or reinforcer

Spontaneous recovery –Reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a time delay


Little Albert regains his identity

Classics in the History of Psychology (Watson and Raynor)

Stimulus generalization

Stimulus discrimination

Taste-aversion learning – Biological tendency in which an organism learns to avoid food with a certain taste after a single experience, if eating it is followed by illness

Classical conditioning in advertising

The Law of Effect: the idea that responses that produced desirable results would be learned, or "stamped" into the organism




Operant Conditioning - rewards and punishments are consequences that influence the likelihood of the behaviors they follow recurring in the future.



Positive reinforcers –Stimulus presented after a response that increases the probability of that response happening again

Negative reinforcers – Removal of an unpleasant stimulus, contingent on a particular behavior

Link about reinforcement and punishment



Primary reinforcers: reinforcers, such as food and sex, that have an innate basis because of their biological value to the organism.

Secondary reinforcers: stimuli, such as money or tokens, that gain their reinforcing power by a learned association with primary reinforcers.

Continuous reinforcement

Partial reinforcement (also called intermittent reinforcement)

Extinction

Schedules of Reinforcement

• Fixed Ratio


• Variable Ratio


• Fixed Interval


• Variable Interval

Shaping: an operant learning technique in which a new behavior is produced by reinforcing behaviors that are similar to the desired response

Punishment

Positive punishment: the application of an aversive stimulus after a response

Negative punishment: the removal of an attractive stimulus after a response

Problems with punishment

• Power usually disappears when threat of punishment is removed


• Often triggers aggression


• May inhibit learning new and better responses


• Is often applied unequally

Alternatives to punishment

• Extinction


• Reinforcing preferred activities


• Prompting and shaping

Insight learning – Problem solving occurs by means of a sudden reorganization of perceptions (Kohler)

Cognitive map – a mental representation of physical space (demonstrated by Tolman, who also demonstrated latent learning)

Observational learning


Overview of Observational Learning


Potential homework articles

Berkeley Police Rewards Good Drivers with Treats
Conditional Behavior at the Zoo
Positive reinforcement helps children avoid junk food

A quick recap of classical conditioning.

Cartoon explaining classical conditioning (Added February 15)

Consciousness

Chapter 5

States of Mind

Conscious – Brain process of which we are aware

Nonconscious – Brain process that does not involve conscious processing (e.g. heart rate, breathing, control of internal organs)

Preconscious – Information that is not currently in consciousness, but can be brought into consciousness if attention is called to it

Unconscious – Many levels of processing that occur without awareness

Daydreaming – Mild form of consciousness alteration in which attention shifts to memories, expectations, desires, or fantasies, and away from the immediate situation

Sleep and Dreaming



Circadian rhythms

Jet lag

Rapid eye movements (REM)

Sleep paralysis




Non-REM (NREM) sleep

REM rebound

The Function of Sleep

• To conserve energy
• To restore body (neurotransmitters, neuron sensitivity)
• To flush out useless information from the brain

Sleep debt –Deficiency caused by not getting the amount of sleep that one requires for optimal functioning

Why We Dream

Freud believed dreams served the following two functions:

• To guard sleep
• To serve as sources of wish fulfillment
• Manifest and latent content

Dream content

• Varies by culture, gender, and age
• Frequently connects with recent experience
• May help us form memories
  

Activation-synthesis theory – Theory that dreams begin with random electrical activation coming from brain stem; dreams are brain’s attempt to make sense of this random activity

Sleep Disorders

Insomnia – Involves insufficient sleep, the inability to fall asleep quickly, frequent arousals, or early awakenings

Sleep apnea – Respiratory disorder in which person intermittently stops breathing while asleep

Narcolepsy – Involves sudden REM sleep attacks accompanied by cataplexy

Cataplexy – Sudden loss of muscle control that occurs before narcoleptic sleep attack; waking form of sleep paralysis

Night terrors – The screaming of a child in deep sleep, who, once awakened, has no memory of what mental events might have caused the fear

An altered state of consciousness occurs when some aspect of normal consciousness is modified by mental, behavioral, or chemical means.

• Hypnosis
• Meditation
• Psychoactive drug states

Hypnosis – Induced state of altered awareness, characterized by heightened suggestibility and deep relaxation

Hypnotic analgesia – Diminished sensitivity to pain while under hypnosis

Meditation – Form of consciousness change induced by focusing on a repetitive behavior, assuming certain body positions and minimizing external stimulation

Exam Prep Links/Resources

SQ3R - A reading and Study Skill System

(More concise version of a handout I gave you in class.)

Flash Presentation about Theoretical Perspectives in Psychology

Flash Presentation on Descriptive Research Methods

Sensation and Perception

Synesthesia video
The Science of Picky Eaters (video)

More about synesthesia



Sensation: process of receiving, translating, and transmitting raw sensory data from the external and internal environments to the brain.

Perception: process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting sensory data into useful mental representations of the world.

Transduction – Transformation of one form of energy into another – especially the transformation of stimulus information into nerve impulses

Receptors –Specialized neurons that are activated by stimulation and transduce (convert) it into a nerve impulse

Sensory adaptation – Loss of responsiveness in receptor cells after stimulation has remained unchanged for a while








Absolute threshold – Amount of stimulation necessary for a stimulus to be detected

Difference threshold – Smallest amount by which a stimulus can be changed and the difference be detected (also called just noticeable difference – JND)

Signal detection theory –
Perceptual judgment as combination of sensation and decision-making processes






Visual cortex –Part of the brain – the occipital cortex – where visual sensations are processed

Hearing

• Pitch – Sensory characteristic of sound produced by the frequency of the sound wave


• Loudness – Sensory characteristic of sound produced by the amplitude (intensity) of the sound wave


• Timbre – Quality of a sound wave that derives from the wave’s complexity

Position and Movement

• Vestibular sense –Sense of body orientation with respect to gravity

• Kinesthetic sense –Sense of body position and movement of body parts relative to each other

Olfaction: Sense of smell



Pheromones –Chemical signals released by organisms to communicate with other members of the species


Gustation: the sense of taste

Skin senses: touch, warmth, and cold

Pain and the placebo effect

Perceptual constancy – Ability to recognize the same object under different conditions, such as changes in illumination, distance, or location




(some examples are size and shape constancy)

Gestalt psychology – View that much of perception is shaped by innate factors built into the brain

Figure and Ground

Subjective contours – Boundaries that are perceived but do not appear in the stimulus pattern


Closure



Perceptual set


Depth Perception

Binocular cues
--retinal disparity and binocular convergence

Monocular cues
--relative size
--interposition
--relative motion

Stroop effect
Ames Room explanation
Ames Room diagram
Visual cliff experiment (video)
vision and art

Potential homework articles

Do the menstrual cycles of women living together tend to synchronize?
Finding the Perfect Mate: Male Pheromones and Female Attraction
Are there Human Pheromones?

Chapter 2

Explore the Nervous System (From a web site called "Neuroscience for Kids--but don't let the name fool you.)

Memorize the parts of the brain (mnemonic devices)

Bandura's experiment on imitation of aggression

Optical Illusion Girlfriend

http://www.unbc.ca/assets/lsc/handouts/sq4r.pdf

Chapter 1 Supplemental Notes

"Clever Hans"

Psychology: Scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Pseudopsychology: looks like psychology on the surface, but not done according to the scientific method
Psychology's Historical Roots

Wilhelm Wundt and Structuralism

• Wundt founded the first laboratory/school of psychology in 1879
• Devoted to uncovering basic structures that make up mind and thought
• Used a method called Introspection as a way of attempting to study these structures

William James and Functionalism

• Believed mental processes could best be understood in terms of their adaptive purpose and function
• Influenced by Charles Darwin
• James wrote the first psychology text book
  

Gestalt psychologists

• Interested in how we (actively) construct “perceptual wholes”

Behaviorism

• Argued psychology should deal solely with observable events

B.F. Skinner



John B. Watson

Psychoanalysis

• Asserted mental disorders arise from conflicts in the unconscious mind

Sigmund Freud

Discovering Psychology Video

How do psychologists develop new knowledge?

By using the scientific method, and conducting an empirical investigation

Guided by a larger theory, an investigator proposes a hypothesis (which means "little theory") or specific prediction about the relationship between two variables

For the purposes of a study, a scientist must come up with operational definitions of the variables being studied

Afterwards, other researchers may attempt to replicate the study, to see if they get the same results.

Five types of psychological research

1. Experiments

• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Experimental and control groups
• Use of placebos (in double-blind studies)
  
• Random assignment

2. Correlational studies

Look for relationships between naturally occurring variables.

Strength of relationship is computed by a correlation coefficient, a number that indicates how well you can predict the value of one variable if you know the other.

Correlation coefficients range from -1.0 to +1.0.
The sign indicates direction, and the size indicates strength.

Remember: Corrolation does not equal causation

3. Surveys



4. Naturalistic observations



Laboratory Observations

5. Case studies



Bias could affect the way an experimenter designs a study, collects data, or interprets results

Ethical issues in psychological research

• Informed consent
• Deception and debriefing