ATTENTION, PERCEPTION, LEARNING, MEMORY & FORGETTING (Free Access)

Attention

  • Attention is your tendency to respond to some stimuli more than others at any given time or to remember some more than others
  • Eg: Seeing or hearing your own name or seeing your photograph
  • The process through which certain stimuli are selected from a group of others is generally referred to as attention
  • Attention is a selective process
  • Attention has a focus as well as a fringe
    • The field of awareness is centered on a particular object or event-focus
    • When the objects or events are away from the center of awareness-fringe
  • Attention involves
    • Alertness
      • Readiness to deal with stimuli that appear before her/him
    • Concentration
    • Search
  • Attention requires effort-Effort allocation
  • The field of awareness is centered on a particular object or event, it is called focus or the focal point of attention.
  • When the objects or events are away from the center of awareness and one is only vaguely aware of them, they are said to be at the fringe of attention.
  • Alertness refers to an individual’s readiness to deal with stimuli that appear before her/him eg: School race
  • Concentration refers to focusing of awareness on certain specific objects while excluding others for the moment eg: class room
  •  Search-an observer looks for some specified subset of objects among a set of objects eg: picking up outfits

Processes

  • Pre-attentive process
    • The stimuli stands out immediately- you don’t have to shift attention from one object to another.
  • Attentive process
    • It requires searching through the items in series

Types

  • Selective
    • Selective attention is concerned mainly with the selection of a limited number of stimuli or objects from a large number of stimuli
  • Sustained
    • Refers to our ability to maintain attention on an object or event for longer durations
  • Divided
    • Sometimes we can also attend to two different things at the same time eg: listening to music and reading * practice

Factors affecting selective attention

  • External factors
    • The features of stimuli-
    • Large, bright, and moving stimuli easily catch our attention.
    • Stimuli, which are novel and moderately complex
  • Internal factors (factors that lie within the individual)
  • Motivational factors and Cognitive factors
    • Motivational factors relate to our biological or social needs (hunger)
    • Cognitive factors include factors like interest, attitude, and preparatory set. Objects or events, which appear interesting, are readily attended by individuals

Theories of selective attention

  • Filter theory
  • Broadbent (1956)
  • According to this theory, many stimuli simultaneously enter our receptors creating a kind of “bottleneck” situation.
  • They enter the selective filter, which allows only one stimulus to pass through for higher levels of processing
  • Other stimuli are screened out at that moment of time. Thus, we become aware of only that stimulus, which gets access through the selective filter

Filter-attenuation theory

  • Triesman (1962) by modifying Broadbent’s theory.
  • This theory proposes that the stimuli not get access to the selective filter but a filter also weakens their strength.
  •  Thus some stimuli manage to escape through the selective filter to reach higher levels of processing.

Multimode theory

  • Johnston and Heinz (1978).
  • This theory believes that attention is a flexible system that allows selection of a stimulus over others at three stages.
  • At stage one the sensory representations (e.g., visual images) of stimuli are constructed
  • At stage two the semantic representations (e.g., names of objects) are constructed
  • At stage three the sensory and semantic representations enter the consciousness

SENSATION AND PERCEPTION

  • Sensation is process where stimuli is detected by sense organs and the same information is relayed via nerve transmission where the information is translated by the brain.
    • Sensation involves the detection of stimuli by the sense organs and is limited to simply detecting the stimuli 
    • Whereas perception is the organisation of all the sensations in order to understand the meaning of events taking place in the environment. Perception, in that sense, is the step after sensation.  
    • The process of sensation can be understood by the figure given below:
    • Incoming stimuli–>Sensory Receptors–>Nerve Impulse to the Brain (Transduction)–>Feature Detectors (Analysis of Stimulus)–>Reconstructed into Neural Impulse–> Comparison with preexisting schemas–> Recognition & Interpretation
  • Transduction is the process by which characteristics of a stimulus are converted into nerve impulses.
  • (Study tip:Remember VIBGYOR as the colours of the Rainbow, violet is 400 nm and Red is 700 nm. Since NET is a MCQ based exam remembering one part of this equation shall suffice i.e. knowing that violet (V) is 400 nm will automatically mean that Red (R) is 700 nm)

The sensory systems

  • There are 5 sensory systems in the human body, namely, vision (sight), audition (hearing), olfactory (smell), gustation (taste) and somesthetic senses (touch).
  • Vision: Stimulus for vision is detected by the human eye through electromagnetic ways or light waves.
  • These are measured in Nanometers (nm). Human eye is capable of sensing light waves between 700 to 400 nanometers
  • 400 to 700 nanometers is also commonly referred to as the VIBGYOR
  • The Human Eye: Light waves, as stimuli, enter the eye and reach the visual cortex (the part of the brain that senses visual stimuli) in the following manner: 
  • Light Waves–>Cornea–> Pupil–> Iris–>Lens–> Retina–> Optic Nerve–> Visual Cortex
    • Cornea is the transparent protective structure surrounded by the aqueous humor
    • Pupil is the adjustable opening which is usually black and dilates or constricts adjusting to the amount of light.
    • Iris are the muscles surrounding the pupil and they control the size of the pupil
    • Lens an elastic structures that becomes thinner to focus on distant objects and thicker to focus on nearby objects
    • Retina isa multilayered light sensitive tissue at the rear of the fluid-filled eyeball.
  • (Study tip: Remember the sequence of light sensation for the human eye as: C before a P, I before an L, R before an OV)
  • The lens reverses the incoming image (stimuli) from right to left and top to bottom and projects it upon the retina. Later, the brain changes this upside down visual input back to normal and we see the images that we perceive.
  • The lens is also responsible for clarity of close or far away vision. 
    • Myopia occurs when clear near sight exists but problem with seeing far away objects clearly, also known as Nearsightedness. Myopia requires the “minus” power spectacles
    • Hyperopia occurs with difficulty in seeing close by objects but clear far away objects, it is also aptly known as farsightedness. Hyperopia requires the “plus” powered spectacles.
  • (Study tip:remember myopia as minus power, and hyperopia as plus powered. Associate the two with people in your life and create a mental image)
  • The Retina is the seat of the light sensitive photoreceptors. Retina is also considered as an extension of the Brain. 
  • There are two types of Light sensitive photoreceptors, namely, Rods and Cones.  They convert light energy into nerve impulses through protein molecules called photopigments.
    • At the center of the retina there is Fovea. It is the place of densely connected cones and no rods, helping in clear and detailed colour vision.
  • Rods– (Dossenbach, 1998)
    • Mostly present in the periphery, away from the fovea.
    • More sensitive to light and therefore function best under dim light
    • Useful for dark adaptation. Dark adaptation is the progressive improvement in brightness sensitivity that occurs overtime under conditions of low illumination.
    • Also responsible for achromatic vision i.e. Black and white
    • 120 million rods in the eye
  •  Cones- Present in the fovea and slowly reduces in number while moving away.
    • Function best under bright illuminations
    • Responsible for colour vision
  • (Study tip 1: C for cones, C for colour vision. Therefore, rods are for black and white vision.)
  • (Study tip 2: Colour vision = most detailed vision, therefore, more cones in fovea which is the seat of visual acuity or sight with fine details. Less rods near fovea, more in the periphery)
  • Rods and cones connect to synapses of bipolar cells which have synapse with 1 million ganglion cells which have axon connections to the Optic Nerve.
  • (Study tip 1: Remember this as RCB-GO like a chant for Royal Challengers Bangalore GO!!)
  • Near the Fovea exists a place where there are no photoreceptors and hence, doesn’t assist vision, it is aptly named Blindspot.

Theories of Colour Vision

  • Trichromatic Theory- Thomas Young & Hermann von Helmholtz
    • Proposed that each individual cone is sensitive to one type of colour
    • Suggested that there are 3 types of colour receptors in the retina which respond to Blue, Green or Red colour.
    • If all three are stimulated then white is produced
    • Similarly, yellow = red + green receptor stimulation
    • The reason for dissatisfaction with this theory was that it could not explain the concept of After Image clearly.
    • After Image occurs when a visual sensation persists for a time after the original stimulus is removed. This visual sensation is differed from the original stimulus and cannot be explained by the three colour receptor theory but can be done by Ewald Hering’s Opponent Process theory.
  • (Study tip- BGR for color specific photo pigments)
  • Opponent process theory – Ewald Hering
    • Agreed with TCT in that there are three types of cones but proposed that these 3 types of cones have two types of colour receptors each which respond to two different wavelengths.
    • Receptors are Blue or Yellow; Red or Green; Black or White
    • This system explained After image perfectly
    • Proposed that this process also takes place in the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus located in the Thalamus.
    • This theory as incorrect with their understanding of cones but the mechanism for afterimage was correct
  • (Study tip- RG remains the same from above; Blue is with Yellow (BY); and B&W)
  • Dual Process theory – Valberg
    • Combination of the two theories for colour transduction process
    • TCT was correct about the concept of specific cones having specific photo pigments
    • Opponent process was incorrect about opponent process taking place in the cones, however correct in the sense that research has shown that this process takes place in the Ganglion cells extending till the visual cortex rather than the cones.
  • Colour deficient vision is of two types:
    • Dichromats are blind to one system of either Blue Yellow (BY) or Red Green (RG)
    • Monochromats are sensitive to only black & whites combinations
    • Related to sex linked inheritance and men are more prone to colour deficient vision.
  • Nerve Impulses move from optic nerve to the visual cortex and then these are analyzed by the visual association cortex, interpreting the incoming information with previously existing memories and knowledge, leading to perception.
  • Audition
    • Stimulus for audition or hearing is detected by the ears through pressure waves (sound waves) through a conducting medium. It is a form of mechanical energy
    • Sound has two major characteristics called Frequency and Amplitude.
    • Frequency is the number of sound waves or cycles per second. These cycles are measured in Hertz (Hz). 1 Hz = 1 Cycle. Normal human ear can hear between 20-20,000 Hz.
      • Frequency is related to pitch. Pitch is the quality that defines the “highness” or “lowness” of any sound.
      • More cycles of frequency per second = Higher Pitch, therefore, Higher Hz = Higher pitch.
    • Amplitude is the vertical size of the sound wave. It is also defined as the amount of compression and expansion of molecules in the conducting medium. 
      • Amplitude is related to loudness. Amplitude is measured in Decibels (dB). Human ear can hear between 0-140 dB, where 140 dB can cause deafness. 
      • Each increase of 10 decibels is equal to a tenfold increase in loudness.
  • The Human ear: Sound waves enter the ear and the reach the auditory canal in the following manner
  • Pinna à Auditory Canal à Hammer/Malleus à Anvil/Incus à Stirrup/Stapes) à Oval window à Cochlea à Basilar Membrane à Organ of Corti à Auditory Nerve à Thalamus à Auditory cortex
    • Pinna is the external or the visible part of the human ear. It helps in funneling the sound into the ear.
    • Auditory canal is the passageway to the ear drum.
    • Ear drum is also known as the tympanic membrane. It is a membrane which vibrates in response to the incoming stimuli (Sound waves) and passes it on the middle ear
    • Middle ear comprises of 3 tiny bones called Hammer/Malleus, Anvil/Incus, Stirrup/Stapes. They function to increase the amplitude of the sound waves by more than 30 times.
      • Hammer/Malleus is first bone and is firmly attached to the ear drum.
      • Anvil/Incus is the second bone attached to the hammer
      • Stirrup/Stapes is third bone attached to the Anvil on one end and the oval window on the other.
    • Inner ear comprises of the Cochlea, Basilar Membrane and the Organ of corti
      • Cochlea is a coiled, nail-shaped tube which is about 3.5 centimeters (1.4 inches) in length and is filled with fluid. Vibrations from the Hammer, anvil, and stirrup of the middle ear set the fluid inside the cochlea into motion.
      • Basilar Membrane is a sheet of tissue that runs within the cochlea.
      • Organ of Corti rests on the basilar membrane. It contains thousands of tiny hair cells that are the actual sound receptors. 
        • The tips of the hair cells are attached to another membrane called the tectorial membrane that hangs on the basilar membrane along the entire length of the cochlea. These hair cells synapse with the auditory nerve.
  • The entire process functions as follows: 
  • Sound waves strike the eardrumà pressure is created by the hammer anvil, and stirrup of the middle ear at the oval windowà this pressure sets the fluid inside the cochlea into motionà The fluid waves then vibrate the basilar membrane and the tectorial membraneà this causes a bending of the hair cells in the organ of Cortià release of neurotransmittersà neurotransmitters attach to the auditory nerveànerve impulses sent to the brain (Musiek & Baran, 2006).
    • The neural process is different for judging the pitch and loudness of any sound. 
    • Loudness: In case of loudness of sound or amplitude, high-amplitude sound waves cause the hair cells to bend more and release more neurotransmitters, therefore increasing the neural firing in the auditory nerve. Moreover, certain neurotransmitters have higher thresholds and fire only when the sound is of high amplitude or intense sound.
    • Pitch: There are two theories regarding pitch perception
    • Frequency theory by Ernest Rutherford
      • In this theory Rutherford propagated that the rate of firing of auditory neurons is equal to the frequency of the sound waves. Eg. If a neuron fires at a rate of 100, the frequency is also 100 Hz. 
      • Problem: The issue with the theory begins with frequencies above 1000 Hz as no neuron can fire at that speed and we know that humans can hear sounds of frequency higher that 1000Hz up till 20000 Hz.
    • Place theory of pitch perception propagated by Herman von Helmholtz supported by research by Georg von Bekesy
      • Bekesy found that high frequency waves produced waves that were at their height near the oval window, while low frequency waves produced slow waves that peaked near the cochlear canal.
      • The Place theory suggested that specific points in the cochlea, fluid waves peak depending on the frequency of the waves which also influence the bending of the hair cells.
      • This theory successfully explained pitch perception of varying frequency levels.
  • Sound localization is the ability of the nervous system to locate the source of sound by using information about time and intensity differences as perceived by the two ears.
  • Hearing loss is of two major types:
    • Conduction deafness: this is related to the problems of the mechanical systems (outer and middle ear) which are responsible for transmitting sound waves to the cochlea. 
    • Nerve deafness: this is related to damage of receptors in the inner ear or auditory nerve usually due to loud noise. Treatments include cochlear implants which send incoming auditory information directly to the brain. 
    • Hearing impairment is related to difficulties in hearing and not related to complete loss in hearing
  • Taste or gustation
    • Taste buds are responsible for taste perception. They are chemical receptors concentrated along the tip, edges, and back surface of the tongue. 
      • 9000 taste buds
      • When a substance is chewed it interacts with the saliva and lodges into one of the receptors and creates complex patterns of neural activity which have four major qualities.
      • We have instinctual understanding of taste qualities and can discriminate toxin substances.
    • Four major qualities:
      • Sour, Sweet, Salty and Bitter as given by Hans Hering.
      • Fifth quality is called Umami (brothy taste eg. Soup) given by Lindermann. 
      • Umami increases the intensity of other taste qualities.
  • Olfaction or smell
    • Olfaction is the sense of smell. 
      • Receptors are long cells located at the nasal cavity and have numerous membranes.
      • 40 million receptors are present. They are known as cilia.
    • Olfactory bulbs are structures that receive neural input from the cilia or receptor cells of the nasal cavity
      • They are located in the forebrain, above the nasal cavity
      • Each odorous chemical has limited receptors in the olfactory bulb, and specific odors are coded in terms of the specific area of the olfactory bulb.
    • Pheromones are chemical odors which exist in natural body scents which may affect human behavior but not as extensively as they affect animal behaviour.
      • May be related to menstrual synchrony where women’s menstrual cycles begin to start in similar time once they begin to live together for a long time. Martha McClintock.

Somesthetic or Tactile or Skin/Body sense

  • Three major types
    • Touch is body sense
    • Kinesthesis is body sense
    • Equilibrium is vestibular sense
  • Touch has 4 major characteristics
    • Pressure is felt by pacinian corpuscles, free nerve endings, and basket cells
    • Pain is felt by free nerve endings
    • Warmth and Cold together form Temperature which is felt by free nerve endings
    • Pain Gate theory is a theory of pain perception suggested by Malzack and Wall. 
      • They claim that the spinal cord has a “gate” which decides whether to send the signal of pain to the brain or not, at the same time, the brain decides whether this “gate” should remain open or close, depending on its ability to tolerate the incoming pain. This is done through a chemical called Substance P.
  • Skin receptors are located in the somatosensory cortex of the brain.
  • Kinesthesis is the feedback one receives from one’s muscles and joints about the position and movement of the body.
    • Receptors are located in the nerve endings of muscles, joints and tendons. They are called proprioceptive receptors. 
  • Vestibular or equilibrium sense works in conjunction with kinesthetic senses.
    • Vestibular sense is the sense of body orientation
    • Receptors are located in vestibular apparatus of the inner ear
      • One part consists of three semicircular canals which contain receptors for head movement
        • They lay left-right, backward-forward, or up-down.
        • Depending on the head movement, the fluid in these canals moves appropriately and send signals to the brain about the position of the head.
        • They also respond to acceleration or deceleration. But remain in their position while at constant speed.
      • Vestibular sacs are responsible for information about the position of the body and whether it is titled or straight.
    • Motion sickness results as a disagreement between the movement of the eyes and the movement of the body. It is known as the sensory conflict theory.

PERCEPTION

  • Perception is a process that involves interpretation of the incoming sensory information by organizing them and attaching some meaning.
  • Perceptual process:
  • Raw sensory information is picked up by our sense organs by paying selective attention to them. 
  • These sensations, once attended to, are converted into nerve impulses and sent to the brain where they are filtered in accordance to their features and compared with existing mental frameworks (schemas)
  • Following which they are organised and interpreted as stimuli with meaning relevant to the individual.
  • Perception is carried out in two ways by the brain:
  • Bottom up processing: In this method, elements from the external stimuli are selected as individual elements and then combined to form a unified perception.
  • Top down processing: In this method, the incoming sensory information is understood with reference to existing concepts, ideas or expectation. Individual elements of the stimuli are not taken as independent entities are not as important as the whole stimuli.
  • (Study Tip: Top down is like a boss making decisions based on experience. Bottom up is a fresher where everything is new and is creating an opinion)
  • Perception is essentially a form of hypothesis testing based on incoming sensations. Perception is heavily dependent on where attention is focused. There are two processes that are involved with attention:
  • Focusing it on certain stimuli
  • Filtering out other extraneous elements in the environment
  • Shadowing: requires using both of the above mentioned processes. Shadowing refers to the process where two stimuli are simultaneously presented and the individual is asked to pay selective attention to one while ignoring the other.
  • Inattentional blindness is a phenomenon where an unattended stimulus fails to register itself into an individual’s consciousness.
  • Factors affecting attention are its intensity, novelty, movement, contrast, repetition, and the individual’s motives and interests.
  • Perceptual Organisation – Gestalt principles
    • “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”
    • Gestalt psychologists sought to understand and created laws which explain how individuals organize perception into a whole rather than individual elements. These are:
    • Figure-ground relations: It is the tendency to organize stimuli into a central figure and a background.
      • In terms of vision the central figure appears to be on top
      • Distinct colour or contrast in borders make that part appear as part of the Figure
    • Similarity: When stimuli are seen as parts of a similar whole although they may be independent of each other.
    • Proximity: Elements of the stimuli which are near each other are perceived to be part of the same whole.
    • Closure: The tendency to close the gap of figure/stimuli to give it a definite form.
    • Continuity: The tendency to link individual elements of a stimuli together so that they form a continuous line that makes sense.
    • Contiguity: Objects which appear nearer in time are thought to be related to one another e.g. ventriloquists.
    • Common region: objects that are located in a common area or region are seen as part of the same group.
    • Perceptual schema is a mental representation of critical or distinctive features of stimuli such as people, events etc. It was propagated by Richard L. Gregory. 
    • The case of the USS Vincennes suggested that perception is influenced by expectations and due to a perceptual set
      • Perceptual set is a predetermined readiness to assess a stimuli in a certain way
    • Perceptual constancies are the tendency to view familiar stimuli as the same under varying circumstances. There are two types of visual perceptual constancies:
      • Shape constancy: to recognize stimuli as being the same even though they are seen from different angles.
      • Brightness constancy: the tendency to perceive the relative brightness of objects as similar under different conditions of illumination.
Source: VeryWellMind.com
  • Depth Perception: The world we live in exists in a three dimensional plane where we are constantly making spatial movements. 
    • These movements are extremely precise and any digression from this precision can lead to unfortunate effects. 
    • An intriguing aspect of spatial understanding is that our retina can only process images in a two-dimensional plane while it is the brain that is required to create an understanding of three dimensional vision by recreating this two dimensional image into a three dimensional object. 
    • This requires an understanding of depth perception which is understood by the brain with the assistance of visual cues that exist in the environment known as monocular and binocular cues.
  • Monocular cues: these are depth cues which require the assistance of only one eye. Here, patterns of light and shadow effects are noted for creating the 3D effect. The following are types of perception using monocular cues:
    • Linear perspective: The tendency to view two running parallel lines as converging at a distance while looking at a 2D image.
    • Interposition effect: The tendency to perceive objects that cut a part of other objects as being closer to us.
    • Texture: the tendency to observe an object to be further away as the texture appears smooth and the tendency to observe an object as being closer as the texture appears grainer.
    • Relative size: The tendency to perceive one object being further away from another, provided they are of similar sizes, depends on the size of the image. The object that casts a smaller image is perceived to be further away.
    • Motion parallax: While in motion it is the tendency to perceive objects that are alongside us to be moving in an opposite direction while objects in a distance appear to move in a similar direction and they also appear to be moving slower.
    • Aerial perspective: The tendency to observe hazier objects as being farther away.
    • Height in a horizontal plane: The tendency to perceive objects that are further away as belonging to a higher plane compared to an object that is closer.

LEARNING

  • “Learning is a relatively enduring change in an individual’s behaviour.”
  • There are four types of learning. They are as follows: 
  • Habituation: it is decrease in the strength of a response due to repeated stimulus. 
  • Classical conditioning
  • Operant conditioning 
  • Observational learning  
    • Classical conditioning: 
      • Classical Conditioning takes place when an unconditioned stimulus, which evokes an unconditioned response, is associated with a neutral stimulus for a period of time such that the neutral stimulus converts into a conditioned stimulus and begins to evoke the same response which is now known as conditioned response. 
      • Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, was the first to study and write about the basic principles of classical conditioning.
      • KEY POINTS: 
      • Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) – A stimulus that leads to an involuntary response (unconditioned response).
      • Unconditioned response (UCR) – an involuntary response to an unconditioned stimulus.
      • Neutral stimulus (NS) – Stimulus that gives no specific response. 
      • Conditioned stimulus (CS) – The neutral stimulus, after continually being paired with the Unconditioned stimulus becomes capable of producing the response similar to the unconditioned stimulus.
      • Conditioned response (CR) – Response to a conditioned stimulus. Similar to the unconditioned response.
      • Acquisition – period of learning the response. 
      • Normal classical conditioning stages: 
        • UCS ———————————> UCR
        • NS + UCS ————————-> UCR 
        • NS=CR 
        • CS ————————————> CR 
      • Forward conditioning is the best form of classical conditioning. It is of two major sub types:
      • Delayed Conditioning- this is the fastest type of conditioning. Here the CS is presented first, followed by the UCS. But they overlap in their timing such that towards the end of the CS, the UCS starts.
      • CS+UCS(timing overlap) —-> UCR/CR
    • Trace conditioning– Here, CS is presented first, then after a short delay the UCS is presented.
      • CS+(short delay)UCS —-> UCR/CR
      • Two other types of conditioning are:
      • Simultaneous conditioning: As the name suggests, both CS and UCS are presented at the same time, i.e. simultaneously.
      • CS+UCS (simultaneously)—–> UCR/CR
      • Backward Conditioning: Here the UCS is presented first followed by the CS.
      • UCS+CS—> UCR/CR

Basic concepts in classical conditioning 

  • Extinction: it is the disappearance or weakening of a learned response (CS=CR) following the removal or absence of the unconditioned stimulus.
  • Spontaneous recovery: the reappearance of a learned response after extinction has occurred if the UCS presented again.
  • Generalization: the tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to the original conditioned stimulus with the conditioned response.
  • Discrimination: the response to stimuli is limited to only the conditioned stimulus and no other stimulus. 
  • Higher order conditioning: this occurs when a new neutral stimulus is paired with an existing conditioned stimulus such that it develops into a conditioned stimulus by itself and evokes the conditioned response. 
    • Conditioned responses formed out of higher order conditioning are weak and extinguish faster.
  • Two explanations for the working of classical conditioning: 
  • Stimulus substitution: Pavlov’s assumption that the same part of the brain is activated for unconditioned stimulus which is then replaced by the conditioned stimulus. 
    • Pavlov stated that classical conditioning occurred because the conditioned stimulus became a substitute for the unconditioned stimulus by being paired closely together.
      • The problem with this explanation is that it can’t explain why conditioning takes place when the conditioned stimulus occurs after the unconditioned stimulus. E.g. Backward conditioning.
  • Cognitive perspective: states that conditioning takes place due to expectancy of the unconditioned stimulus after the conditioned stimulus is presented. 
    • This is a modern theory.
  • Operant conditioning: 
    • Operant conditioning (instrumentalconditioning) refers to the learning of voluntary behaviour through the effects of pleasant and unpleasant consequences (rewards or punishment) that follow the behaviour. According to Skinner, behaviour is controlled by its own consequences.
    • Prior to the development of operant conditioning Thorndike theorized his law of effect.
    • Thorndike’s law of effect: states that if a response is followed by pleasurable consequences, it will tend to be repeated, and if followed by an unpleasant consequence, the response will not be repeated. Positive response increase same behaviour but negative response decrease the same behaviour. 
      • Operant conditioning agreed and disagreed with parts of the law of effect. 
    • (Note: B.F Skinner coined the term operant conditioning) 
    • According to operant conditioning there are two main types of consequences to a behavior/response: 
    • Reinforcement: the strengthening of the repetition of behaviourbecause of its consequence. 
      • Positive Reinforcement: the strengthening of a response (behaviour) by the addition or experience of a pleasurable consequence after that behaviour. 
      • Negative Reinforcement: the strengthening of a response (behaviour) by the removal or avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus after that behaviour.
    • Punishment: the weakening of the repetition of behaviourbecause of its consequence. 
      • Positive punishment: weakening of a response because of the addition or experiencing of an unpleasant consequences after that behaviour. 
      • Negative punishment: weakening of a response by the removal of pleasurable consequences after that behaviour.
      • Punishment is most effective
        • Immediately after the behaviour that needs to be weakened
        • When reasons for punishment is consistent 
        • When wrong behaviour is paired with the right behaviour; post the punishment.

Concepts of operant conditioning: 

  • Primary reinforcer: any reinforcer that occurs naturally especially if it meets a basic biological need. E.g. Hunger. 
  • Secondary reinforcer: any reinforcer that becomes reinforcing after being paired/associated with a primary reinforcer. E.g. money. 
  • Operant extinction: weakening and disappearance of a response because it is no longer reinforced. 
    • Resistance to extinction is the degree to which non reinforced responses persists. 
  • Shaping: involves using successive approximation towards the attainment of a final response.
    •  Successive approximations are small steps involved in shaping. 
  • Chaining: developing a sequence (chain) of responses by reinforcing each response in order to perform the next response. Usually starts with final response and works backwards 
  • Operant generalization: An operant response occurs to similar stimuli like the one that has been reinforced. 
  • Operant discrimination: operant response will occur to only one particular stimulus but not to the other, leading to stimulus control. 
  • Escape conditioning: learning of a response in order to terminate an aversive stimulus/consequence. Built on the concept of negative reinforcement. 
  • Avoidance conditioning: learns to avoid an aversive stimulus leading to stimulus control. Avoidance behaviour is self reinforcing because of the relief of avoidance itself. Propagated by Richard Solomon
    • Two theories are involved with respect to avoidance conditioning i.e. both classical conditioning and operant conditioning is involved. 
  • Schedules of reinforcement: 
  • Continuous reinforcement: every response is reinforced. 
  • Partial reinforcement: sometimes the responses are reinforced. Four types:
  • Ratio: takes place after a certain percentage/number of response have occurred. 
  • Interval: Reinforcement takes place after a certain amount of time interval has passed.
  • Fixed schedule: Reinforcement takes place after fixed amount of time or trails (response) 
  • Variable schedule: Reinforcement takes place after variable number of times or trails (response).
  • Together these types of partial reinforcement schedules form 4 major types of schedules of reinforcement.
  • Fixed ratio schedule – reinforcement after a fixed number of trails. Increase rates of responding and increased pausing after response. 
  • Variable ratio schedule – reinforcement after variable number of trails. Increase rates of responding, less pausing of response due resistance to extinction. E.g. Gambling.
  • Fixed interval schedule – the first response after a fixed time interval in reinforced. 
  • Variable interval schedule: first response after a variable time interval is reinforced.
  • For learning a new response continuous reinforcement is better than partial reinforcement. 
  • For delayed extinction of a response, partial reinforcement is better than continuous reinforcement. 
  • Insight learning: Kohler propagated Insight learning or cognitive learning. The research included the ape joining three sticks to reach a banana through a moment of insight.
  • Edward Tolman propagated expectancy model, latent learning and cognitive map. His research involved rats learning the different routes in a maze from where he developed the concepts of cognitive map and latent learning. 
    • Expectancy model: the presentation of the conditioned stimulus created an expectancy of the unconditioned stimulus which leads to the response.
    • Cognitive map: is mental representation of a spatial layout
    • Latent learning: it is the type of learning that takes place and is not shown until there is an incentive to perform
  • Martin Seligman propagated the concept of learned helplessness and positive psychology movement.
    • Learned helplessness: is a mental state where an individual bears aversive and painful stimuli and is mostly, unwilling to avoid those painful stimuli, even if they are “escapable,” because it has presumably learned over time that those stimuli cannot be controlled or avoided.
  • Observational learning: 
    • The type of learning which occurs when one learns by observing/ imitating the behaviour of others. 
    • Albert Bandura propagated thesocial cognitive theory – which is the type of learning that occurs when an individual observes the behaviour of others and then implements the same producing behavioural change in their own lives. His experiments included children observing the treatment of the bobo doll by experiment assistants and learning from their behaviour.
    • The four step process for observational learning are: 
      • Attention: paying attention to the behaviour that we want to model 
      • Retention: remembering the modeled behaviour 
      • Reproduction: practicing that modeled behaviour
      • Motivation: situations where that behaviour is required must exist. 
  • (Study Tip: ARe RepM)
    • Observational learning takes place in the following ways: 
    • Imitation: is copying the behaviour one observes
    • Modeling: is observing the behaviour that one wants to copy from another source who is then referred to as the model.
    • Self efficacy – an individual’s belief about their capability to produce desired outcomes. 
      • No single part of the brain controls learning. Hypothalamus and dopamine pathway are involved.

MEMORY

  • Memory is a process involving encoding, storage and retrieval of information.  
  • According to studies conducted by Atkinson and Shiffrin, memory has the following components:
  • Sensory Memory: here incoming sensory information is held briefly by sensory registers.
    • Iconic storage is the visual sensory register which holds incoming visual information. 
      •  First studied by George Sperling. 
      • If visual memory can be held for a longer period of time then it is called eidetic imagery.
    • Echoic storage is the auditory sensory register which holds incoming sounds for a brief amount of time.
    • Iconic storeholds lesser information than the echoic store.
    • Because sensory information is very rapid, new incoming information quickly covers up old information in a process called Masking.
    • Information passes from sensory memory to short term memory if selective attention is paid to the specific sensory information.
  • (Study Tip: Iconic from icon which comes from sight. Echoic from echo, which comes from hearing. And we can hear a lot more compared to what we can see. Therefore, echoic storage is more)
    • Short term memory: Specific sensory information is paid selective attention and this information is stored for a limited amount of time in the STM.
      • Information is stored in memory codes which are mental representations of the type of information e.g. visual, phonological, semantic and motor codes.
        • Auditory information is stored for longer than any other type of memory code
      • Capacity to hold information:
        • Numerical is 7 numbers plus or minus 2. (7+2 or 7-2). This was studied by George Miller
          • More information can be stored if the information is chunked into smaller more meaningful units. This is calledchunking.E.g. phone numbers. 
        • Time: 20 seconds (Peterson & Peterson)
      • Baddeley added another component to this process known as the working memory which is a replacement for the short term memory.
    • Working Memory: According to Baddeley, working memory is a limited capacity system that temporarily stores and processes information. It has the following 4 components:
      • Phonological Loop: incoming auditory information is stored here as mental representations
      • Visuospatial sketchpad: incoming visual and spatial information is stored here as mental representations
        • Both phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad can be active simultaneously.
      • Episodic buffer: this is temporary storage area where information from long term memory, visuospatial sketchpad and phonological loop are integrated, manipulated and made available for use.
      • Central Executive: directs the overall functioning of all the units.
  • Long term memory: stores information of our durable memories. It is considered unlimited therefore information is often said to be stored and available but due to forgetting they are inaccessible.
    • Serial position effect is an interesting phenomenon that occurs between STM and LTM. Here the ability to remember any item on a list depends on its position on that list. This is related to recall and not recognition. There are two types of retrievals:
      • Primacy effect: we remember the first few items on a list. This is because this information has transferred from the STM to the LTM and hence, retrievable.
      • Recency Effect: we remember information which were present at the end of the list. This is due to the information still present in our STM
      • Most items at the middle of the list are forgotten or inaccessible.
  • (Study Tip: Primacy comes from primary meaning early, therefore information that comes first is remembered; Recency comes from recent, therefore information that comes recently is remembered)

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