Unit VI

Memory

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

The Memory Process

• Encoding
• the processing of information into the memory system
• Storage
• the retention of encoded material over time
• Retrieval 
• the process of  getting the information out of memory

Recall v. Recognition

• with recall- you must retrieve information from your memory (fill-in-the-blank)
• with recognition- you must identify the target from possible thought (multiple-choice)

Flashbulb Memory 

• a clear moment of an emotionally significant moment or event

Types of Memory

• Sensory Memory
• immediate, initial recording of sensory information in the memory system
• stored just for an instant, and most gets unprocessed 
• Short-Term Memory
• memory that hold a few items briefly
• seven digits (plus or minus two)
• information will be stored long-term or be forgotten
• working memory
• another way of describing the use of short-term memory
• 3 parts
• audio
• visual
• integration of audio and visual (controls where your attention lies)
• Long-Term Memory
• the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system

Automatic Processing

• unconscious encoding of incidental information
• you can encode space, time, and word meaning w/o effort
• things can become automatic with practice

Effortful Processing 

• encoding the requires attention and conscious effort
• rehearsal is the most common effortful processing technique
• through enough rehearsal, what was effortful becomes automatic

Encoding

• the next-in-line effect
• we seldom remember what the person has just said or done if we are next

Spacing Effect

• we encode better when we study or practice over time
• DO NOT CRAM

Serial Positioning Effect

• tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list

Types of Encoding

• semantic encoding- the encoding of meaning, like the meaning of words
• acoustic encoding- the encoding of sound, especially the sounds of words
• visual encoding- the encoding of picture images

Tricks to encode

• use imagery: mental pictures
• mnemonic devices use imagery

Chunking

• organizing items into familiar, manageable units 
• often will occur automatically

Types of LTM

• Explicit (Declarative)- recalls facts with conscious thought
• Implicit (Nondeclarative)- routine; recall without declarative memory

Relative Failure

• Practice interference
• the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information
• retroactive interference
• the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

Misinformation Effect

• incorporation misleading information into one's memory of an event

Video: 

Learning

Associative Learning

• learning that certain events occur together (diet and workout)

Types of Learning

Classical Conditioning

• Ivan Pavlov- studied dog behavior
• learned response to an UCS

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

• a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

• the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the UCS

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with the UCS, comes to trigger a response

Conditioned Response (CR)

• the learned response to a previously neutral stimulus

Pavlov's 5 Stages of Learning

1. Acquisition 
• the initial stage of learning 
• the phase where the neutral stimulus is associated with the UCS so that the neutral stimulus comes to elicit the CR (thus becoming the CS)
2. Extinction 
• the diminishing of a conditioned response
3. Spontaneous Recovery
• the reappearance after a rest period of an extinguished conditioned response
4. Generalization
• the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the CS to elicit similar responses
5. Discrimination 
• the learned ability to distinguish between a CS and other stimuli that does not signal UCS.

Operant Conditioning

• a type of learning in which behavior is stregnthed if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment

Classical v. Operant

• they both use acquisition, discrimination, SR, generalization, and extinction
• classical conditioning is automatic
• operant conditioning involves behavior where one can influence their environment with behaviors which have consequences 

The Law of Effect

• Edward Thorndike 
• rewarded behavior is likely to occur

B.F Skinner

• Shaping
• procedure in operant conditioning in which reinforcers guide behavior closer and closer towards a goal
• Reinforcer
• any event that STRENGTHENS the behavior it follows 
• two types: positive and negative
• Positive Reinforcer 
• stregnthens a response by presenting a stimulus after a response 
• Negative Reinforcer
• strengthens a response by reducing or removing an adverse stimulus

Punishment

• any event that WEAKENS the behavior that it follows
• Positive punishment 
• something bad is added in order to decrease an unwanted stimulus 
• spanking, speeding ticket
• Negative Punishment
• something good is removed to cause an unwanted behavior to decrease 
• taking phone up, grounded

Primary Reinforcer

• an innately reinforcing stimulus

Conditioned (Secondary) Reinforcer

• a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer

Reinforcement Schedules 

• Continuous Reinforcement 
• reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs
• Partial Reinforcement
• reinforcing a response only part of the time 
• the acquisition process is slower
• greater resistance to extinction 
• Fixed-Ratio Schedule
• a schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of resoponses
• Variable-Ratio Schedule
• a schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses
• Fixed-Interval Schedule
• schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed 
• Variable-Interval Schedule 
• schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

Token Economy

• every time a desired behavior is performed, a token is given
• they can trade tokens in for a variety of prizes (reinforcements)
• used in homes, prisons, mental institutions, and schools

Observational Learning

• Albert Bandura and his BoBo Doll
• we learn through modeling behavior from others
• observational learning + operant learning = Social Learning Theory

Latent Learning

• sometimes learning is not immediately evident 

Insight Learning

• some animals learn through the "ah ha" moment

States of Consiousness

• sleep, hypnosis, drugs

Sleep

• sleep is a stage of consciousness
• less aware of our surroundings

Why do we Daydream?

• can help us prepare for future events
• can nourish our social development
• can substitute for impulsive behavior

Fantasy Prone Personalities

• someone who imagines and recalls experiences with lifelike vividness and who spends considerable time fantasizing 

Biological Rhythms

• annual cycles: seasonal variations (bears hibernation)
• 28 day cycles: menstrual cycle
• 24 hour cycle: our circadian rhythms 
• 90 Minute cycle: sleep cycle 

Circadian Rhythms

• our 24 hour biological clock
• our body temperature and awareness changes throughout the day
• it is best to take a test or study during your circadian peaks

Sleep Stages

• there are 5 identified stages of sleep 
• it takes about 90-100 minutes to pass through the 5 stages 
• the brains's waves will change according to the sleep stage you are in
• the first 4 stages are known as NREM sleep
• 5th is call REM sleep

Stage 1

• kind of awake, kind of asleep
• only lasts for a few minutes, and you usually experience it once a night
• eyes begin to roll slightly
• your brain produces theta waves (high amplitude, low frequency)

Stage 2 

• follows stage 1 and is the "baseline" of sleep 
• part of the 90 minute cycle and occupies approximately 15-60% of sleep
• more theta waves that get progressivley slower
• begin to shop sleep spindles (short bursts of rapid brain waves

Stages 3 and 4

• slow wave sleep
• you produce delta waves
• if awoken you will be very groggy
• vital for restoring the body's growth hormones and good overall health
• may last 15-30 minutes 
• it is call "slow wave" sleep because brain activity slows down dramatically from the "theta" rhythm of stage 2 to a much slower rhythm called "delta" and the height or amplitude of the waves increase dramatically

REM Sleep

• Rapid eye movement
• brain is very active
• dreams usually occur in REM
• body is essentially paralyzed
• composes 20-25% of normal nights sleep 
• breathing, heart rate and brain wave activity quicken 
• vivid dreams can occur
• from REM, you go back to stage 2

Sleeping Disorders

Insomnia

• persistent problems falling asleep
• affects 10% of the population

Narcolepsy

• suffer from sleeplessness and may fall asleep at unpredictable or inappropriate times
• directly into REM sleep
• less than .001% of the population

Sleep Apnea 

• a person stops breathing in their sleep 
• wake up immediately, gasps for air, then falls back asleep
• very common, especially in heavy males

Night Terrors

• a sleep disorder charcterized by high arousal and an appereance of being terrified
• occur in stage 4, not REM, and are not often remembered

Sleep-Walking (Somnambulism)

• sleepwalking is a sleep disorder affecting and estimated 10% of all humans at least once in their lives
• sleep walking most often occurs during non-REM sleep early in the night.

Dreams

• a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind
• Manifest content
• the remembered story line of a dream
• Latent Content
• the underlying meaning of a dream

Freud's Wish-Fulfillment Theory

• dreams are the key to understanding our inner conflicts
• ideas that are hidden in our unconsciousness
• manifest and latent content

Information-Processing Theory

• dreams act to sort out and understand the memories that you experience that day
• REM sleep does increase after stressful events

Activation-Synthesis Theory

• during the night our brain stem releases random neural activity, dreams may be a way to make sense of this activity

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