Learning, Memory, and Intelligence

“The question we have to ask is “Is our children learning?’”

President George W. Bush

Assignment

• Turn over your piece of paper

And…

• Write the National Anthem

Conditioning

• In psychology, learning is also known as conditioning.

• The first type of learning to be formally studied is called classical conditioning, which was discovered by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov

Classical Conditioning

• Conditioning occurs by connecting a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus, producing an unconditioned response.

• Over time, the neutral stimulus will produce the response without the unconditioned stimulus present.

• At this point, the neutral stimulus is now known as the conditioned stimulus, which produces the conditioned response.

• Note: neutral stimulus must occur before the unconditioned stimulus for the conditioning to take place

Example

1. UCS (reflex hammer) ---> UCR ( knee jerk reflex)

2. NS (Justin Bieber Picture) + UCS - UCR

3. CS (Picture) - CR (knee jerk reflex)Note: Classical conditioning often used to

explain phobias

Issues in Classical Conditioning

Generalization

Discrimination

Extinction

Operant Conditioning

• Most associated with B.F. Skinner (John Watson, of “Little Albert” infamy, began what is called behaviorism)

• Classical conditioning most concerned with activity prior to the behavior, while operant conditioning of what occurs as a response to the behavior

• According to Skinner, behaviors that are reinforced after they occur are more likely to continue

Reinforcing behavior

• Key: Make sure that it is reinforcing for the individual

• Types:1. Primary: satisfies a survival need

2. Secondary: learned

Reinforcing behavior

• Positive Reinforcement: adding a pleasant consequence in order to promote a desired behavior

• Negative Reinforcement: removing something unpleasant as a consequence in order to promote a desired behavior

• Punishment: adding an unpleasant consequence in order to exterminate a behavior

Schedules of Reinforcement• In order to get a desired behavior to continue, it must be

reinforced. There are five different methods to reinforce the desired behavior.

1. Continuous: reinforced every time2. Fixed-ratio: reinforced on specified quantity3. Variable-ratio: reinforced based on unspecified quantity4. Fixed-interval: reinforced on specified amount of time5. Variable-interval: reinforced on unspecified amount of timeNote: variable schedules work best in maintaining the behaviorAlso, for operant conditioning to work the best, the

reinforcement/punishment should follow the behavior as soon as possible.

Shaping and Chaining

• Shaping: crafting new behaviors from old ones (learning to write cursive after printing)

• Chaining: learning to connect a set of different behaviors together in order to form a single behavior

• Shaping/Chaining often reinforced through successive approximations.

Social Learning

• Not all learning takes place through directly doing the behavior

- Some takes place by watching the actions of others, or using prior learned material to master new situations. This is collectively known as social learning

Modeling

• Learning through watching the actions of others

• Also known as imitation or observational learning

• Controversy: Does watching TV make people more likely to engage in destructive/inappropriate behaviors? (Bandura “bobo doll”)

What is Intelligence?

• The capacity to acquire and apply knowledge

• Major controversies: How should an individual’s intelligence be measured? Also, can intelligence be accurately measured?

Measuring Intelligence• IQ = Intelligence Quotient. The term popularized by Dr. Lewis Terman in

1916. Terman later taught Harry Harlow (of wire monkey/attachment fame)

• Terman was also a proponent of eugenics

• Originally, the IQ test was used to compare a child’s intelligence against same-age children.

• First large-scale testing was done on American soldiers during World War I

• Mental Age X 100 = IQ Chronological Age

Intelligence Controversies

1. Nature v. Nurture: Is intelligence a matter of genetics (nature), or is it a product of environment (nurture)?

- research indicates that genetics may account for up to 70% of intelligence (Bouchard).

- however, studies indicate that siblings raised together have more similar IQ scores than

those raised apart- Flynn Effect: Successive generations are scoring higher on

IQ scores. This is evidence that environment plays a role in intelligence (e.g. more people go to college/finish high school than a century ago).

Intelligence Controversies

2. Cultural Bias: some argue that IQ test are slanted toward certain racial/ethnic groups, making the scores unfair to those of certain minority groups

Intelligence Controversies

3. Is there more than one type of intelligence?- traditionally, IQ tests measure only certain types of

ability, typically linked to academic learning- Howard Gardner (1983, 1999) proposed that eight

different types of intelligence exist:1. Linguistic/Verbal 5. Kinesthetic2. Logical/Mathematical 6. Interpersonal3. Spatial 7. Intrapersonal4. Musical 8. Naturalist

Other Intelligence Theories

• Charles Spearman: Two-Factor Theory. Intelligence is made up of general factor (overall intelligence) and specific abilities (s factors).

• Robert Sternberg: Triarchic Theory. Intelligence is made of three parts: Practical (allows one to cope/thrive in their environment); Analytical (logical reasoning), and Creative (inventive problem solving). Think PAC-man.

• Raymond Cattell: intelligence is fluid(rapid processing of information to make new connections/novel solutions, or crystallized (knowledge acquired over lifespan). Fluid intelligence weakens with age.

• Emotional intelligence: ability to recognize emotions in other people and apply that knowledge in specific situations.

Intelligence Controversies

4. How should it be measured? Does it measure what it says it does

-Typically, intelligence is measured using two different types of tests:

A. Achievement: what you have learned (Terra Nova, ISAT, Prairie State)

B. Aptitude: What you are capable of learning (ACT, SAT, LSAT, MCAT)

Intelligence Controversies

• Also, tests are expected to be:

Valid: That the test measures what it claims to measure

Reliable: That the results are consistent over time/attempts