UNIT 3 COGNITION

AND LEARNING

SECTION 1: CLASSICAL AND OPERANT CONDITIONING

Classical Conditioning• Russian psychologist Ivan

Pavlov pioneered research into a form of learning known as classical conditioning. In classical conditioning, one stimulus causes a response that is usually caused by another stimulus.

• Classical conditioning can help people adapt to the environment and can help eliminate troubling fears or other behaviors.

Section 1 at a Glance

Operant Conditioning•Psychologist B.F. Skinner helped pioneer research into a form of learning known as operant conditioning, in which individuals learn from the consequences of their actions.•Operant conditioning depends on the use of reinforcements and a schedule to execute them.•The principles of operant conditioning can be applied to help people or animals learn to combine a series of simple steps or actions to form complex behaviors.

• Conditioning is a type of learning that involves stimulus-response connections.

• Classical conditioning is a simple form of learning in which one stimulus calls forth the response that is usually called forth by another stimulus.

• Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov used dogs in his studies of classical conditioning.

• He trained the dogs to associate the sound of a bell with food.

• They learned that the sound of the bell meant food was coming.

Pavlov’s Dogs

Principles of Classical Conditioning

• Unconditioned stimulus: a stimulus that causes a response that is automatic, not learned

• Unconditioned response: caused by an unconditioned stimulus

• Conditioned response: a learned response to a neutral stimulus

• Conditioned stimulus: a previously neutral stimulus that causes a conditioned response

Stimulus and Response

Taste Aversions• Taste aversion: learned response to

a particular food• One-trial learning

Spontaneous Recovery• Spontaneous recovery:

Reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after some time has passed

Extinction• Extinction: Disappearance of

conditioned response when unconditioned stimulus no longer follows conditioned stimulus

Generalization Generalization: The tendency to

respond in the same way to stimuli that have similar characteristics

Adapting to the Environment

Flooding and Systematic Desensitization

• In flooding, a person is exposed to the harmless stimulus until fear responses to that stimulus are extinguished.

• With systematic desensitization, people learn relaxation techniques and then, while they are relaxed, they are gradually exposed to the stimulus they fear.

Counterconditioning• In counterconditioning, a pleasant

stimulus is paired repeatedly with a fearful one, counteracting the fear.

Applications of Classical Conditioning

• In operant conditioning, people and animals learn to do certain things—and not to do others—because of the results of what they do.

• They learn from the consequences of their actions.• In operant conditioning, voluntary responses are conditioned.• B.F. Skinner studied operant conditioning by using the “Skinner box.”• His experiment demonstrated reinforcement, or the process by

which a stimulus (food) increases the chances that a preceding behavior (a rat pressing a lever) will occur again.

• Knowledge of results is often all the reinforcement that people need to learn new skills.

Operant Conditioning and Reinforcement

Primary and Secondary Reinforcers

• Primary reinforcers are reinforcers that function due to the biological makeup of an organism.

• Secondary reinforcers are learned by being paired with primary reinforcers.

• Money is a secondary reinforcer because we have learned that it may be exchanged for primary reinforcers like food and shelter.

Positive and Negative Reinforcers

• Positive reinforcers increase the frequency of a behavior.

• In positive reinforcement, a person receives something he or she wants following the behavior.

• Negative reinforcers increase the frequency of a behavior when they are removed.

• In negative reinforcement, a behavior is reinforced because something unwanted stops happening or is removed following the behavior.

Types of Reinforcers

Rewards• Like positive reinforcement,

rewards help encourage learning.

• Some psychologists, however, prefer positive reinforcement because the concept of reinforcement can be explained without trying to guess what an organism will find rewarding.

Punishments• Punishments are quite different

from negative reinforcers.

• Punishments are unwanted events that decrease the frequency of the behavior they follow.

• Punishments tend to work only when they are guaranteed.

• Most psychologists believe it is preferable to reward children for desirable behavior than punish them for unwanted behavior.

Rewards and Punishments

• The effectiveness of a reinforcement depends on the schedule of reinforcement—when and how often the reinforcement occurs.

• Continuous reinforcement is the reinforcement of a behavior every time the behavior occurs.

• Continuous reinforcement is not always practical or possible.

• The alternative is partial reinforcement, which means a behavior is not reinforced every time the behavior occurs.

Continuous and Partial Reinforcement

Schedules of Reinforcement

• Fixed-interval schedule: a fixed amount of time must elapse between reinforcements

• Variable-interval schedule: varying amounts of time go by between reinforcements

Interval Schedules

Ratio Schedule• Fixed-ratio schedule: reinforcement

occurs after a fixed number of responses

• Variable-ratio schedule: reinforcement occurs after a varying number of responses

Extinction in Operant Conditioning

• In operant conditioning, extinction results from repeated performances of the response without reinforcement.

Shaping and Chaining• Shaping is a way of teaching

complex behaviors in which one first reinforces small steps in the total activity.

• Chaining is combining the steps of a sequence to progress toward a final action.

• Chaining can be forward or backward.

• Chaining can be used to teach complex behavior patterns to animals.

Programmed Learning• Programmed learning is based on

shaping and chaining.

• Developed by B.F. Skinner, it assumes that any task can be broken down into small steps.

• Programmed learning does not involve punishments.

• Instead, it reinforces correct responses.

Applications of Operant Conditioning

• Fixed-interval schedule: a fixed amount of time must elapse between reinforcements

• Variable-interval schedule: varying amounts of time go by between reinforcements

Interval SchedulesRatio Schedule• Fixed-ratio schedule: reinforcement

occurs after a fixed number of responses

• Variable-ratio schedule: reinforcement occurs after a varying number of responses

SECTION 2: MEMORY PROCESSES

• Memory is the process by which we recollect prior experiences and information and skills learned in the past.

• There are three different kinds of memory.

• Episodic memory is memory of a specific event.

• A flashbulb memory is a memory of an important and intense event.

• Examples of flashbulb memory: the memory of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Episodic Memory

Three Kinds of Memory

• Semantic memory is the memory of facts, words, and concepts.

• Episodic and semantic memories are both examples of explicit memory, which is a memory of specific information.

Semantic Memory

Implicit Memory• Implicit memory is memory of things that are implied, or not clearly

stated. • Implicit memory includes practiced skills and learned habits. • Skills learned often stay with people for a lifetime, even if they do not

use them very often.

• The translation of information into a form in which it can be used is called encoding.

• Encoding is the first stage of processing information.

• One type of code is visual. • People use visual codes when they

form a mental picture.• Another type of code is acoustic.• People use acoustic codes when they

use sound.

Visual and Acoustic Codes

Encoding

• Another type of code is semantic. • A semantic code represents information

in terms of its meaning.

Semantic Codes

• Storage is the maintenance of encoded information.• It is the second process of memory.

• Mechanical or rote repetition of information in order to keep from forgetting it is called maintenance rehearsal.

• The more time spent on it, the longer the information will be remembered.

• It does not connect information to past learning and is therefore a poor way to put information in permanent storage.

Maintenance Rehearsal

Storage

• A more effective way to remember new information is to relate it to information you already know.

• This method is called elaborative rehearsal.

• It is widely used in education.

Elaborative Rehearsal

Organizational Systems• Stored memories become

organized and arranged in the mind for future use.

• In some ways, the mind is like a storehouse of files and file cabinets in which you store what you learn and what you need to remember.

• Your memory organizes information into classes according to common features.

Filing Errors• Our ability to remember is subject

to error.

• Errors can occur because we file information incorrectly.

• Retrieval consists of locating stored information and returning it to conscious thought.

• Retrieval is the third stage of processing information.

• Context-dependent memories are information that is more easily retrieved in the context or situation in which it was encoded and stored.

• Such memories are dependent on the place where they were encoded and stored.

Context-Dependent Memory

Retrieval

• Memories that are retrieved because the mood in which they were originally encoded is recreated are called state-dependent memories.

• Memory is better when people are in the same mood as when the information was acquired.

State-Dependent Memory

SECTION 3: MEMORY CONTINUED

• Sensory memory is the first stage of information storage.• It consists of the immediate, initial recording of data that enter

through the senses.• Psychologists believe that each of the five senses has a register.• Mental pictures we form of visual stimuli are called icons, which are

held in a sensory register called iconic memory.• Iconic memories are very brief.• The rare ability to remember visual stimuli over long periods of time

is called eidetic imagery.• Mental traces of sounds are held in a mental sensory register called

echoic memory.

Sensory Memory

• Also called working memory, short-term memory is memory that holds information briefly before it is either stored in long-term memory or is forgotten.

• The primacy effect is the tendency to recall the initial item or items in a series.

• The tendency to recall the last item or items in a series is called the recency effect.

• There is no definitive explanation of the primacy effect or the recency effect.

The Primacy and Recency Effects

Short-Term Memory

• The organization of items into familiar or manageable units is called chunking.

• Psychologist George Miller found that the average person’s short-term memory can hold a list of seven items.

Chunking

Interference• Interference occurs when new information appears in short-term

memory and takes the place of what was already there. • Short-term memory is a temporary solution to the problem of

remembering information. • It is the bridge between sensory memory and long-term memory.

• Long-term memory is the third and final stage of information storage. • It is the stage of memory capable of large and relatively permanent storage.

• Memories are not recorded and played back like videos or movies.

• They are reconstructed from our experiences.

• We shape memories according to the personal and individual ways in which we view the world.

• We tend to remember things in accordance with our beliefs and needs.

Memory as Reconstruction

Long-Term Memory

• Schemas are the mental representations that we form of the world by organizing bits of information into knowledge.

• Schemas influence the ways we perceive things and the ways our memories store what we perceive.

Schemas

Capacity of Memory• Psychologists have not yet discovered a limit to how much can be

stored in a person’s long-term memory. • We do not store all of our experiences permanently. • Our memory is limited by the amount of attention we pay to things.• The memories we store in long-term memory are the incidents and

experiences that have the greatest impact on us.

• Forgetting can occur at any one of the three stages of memory.• Information encoded in sensory memory decays almost immediately

unless it is transferred into short-term memory.• Short-term memory will disappear after only 10 to 12 seconds unless

it is transferred into long-term memory.• Information stored in short-term memory is lost when it is displaced

by new information.• The most familiar and significant cases of forgetting involve the

inability to use information in long-term memory.

Forgetting

Recall• Recall is the second memory task and involves bringing something

back to mind.• In recall, you do not immediately recognize something you have

come across before. • You have to “search” for it and possibly reconstruct it in your mind.

Recognition• Recognition is one of the three basic memory tasks and involves

identifying objects or events that have been encountered before.• It is the easiest of the memory tasks.

Basic Memory Tasks

Relearning• The third basic memory task is relearning. • Relearning involves learning something a second time, usually in

less time than it was originally learned.

• Much forgetting is due to interference or decay. • Interference occurs when new information takes the place of what has been

placed in memory.• Decay is the fading away of a memory over time.• Both are part of normal forgetting.• There are more extreme kinds of forgetting.

• Freud says we sometimes forget things on purpose without knowing it because some memories are painful and unpleasant.

• He called this kind of forgetting repression.

Repression

Different Kinds of Forgetting

• Amnesia is severe memory loss, which is often caused by trauma to the brain.

• People with retrograde amnesia forget the period leading up to a traumatic event.

• Memory loss of events after trauma is called anterograde amnesia.

Amnesia

Infantile Amnesia• Retrograde amnesia and anterograde amnesia are extreme and rare. • One type of amnesia that everyone experiences is infantile

amnesia, which is the forgetting of events before the age of three.• Infantile amnesia is based on biological and cognitive factors.

Drill and Practice• Drill and practice, or repetition, is

one way to remember information.

• It is an effective way to transfer information from sensory memory to short-term memory and from short-term memory to long-term memory.

Form Unusual Associations

• Memory can be enhanced by forming unusual associations.

Relate to Existing Knowledge

• Elaborative rehearsal—relating new information to what you already know—is another way to improve memory.

Use Mnemonic Devices• Mnemonic devices combine chunks

of information into a catchy or easily recognizable format.

Improving Memory

SECTION 4: WHAT IS INTELLIGENCE

What Is Intelligence?• Intelligence is different from achievement.• Psychologists have developed several different theories

of intelligence.

Section 4 at a Glance

Understanding Achievement

• Psychologists say that intelligence is not the same as achievement.

• Achievement refers to knowledge and skills gained from experience.

• Intelligence makes achievement possible by giving people the ability to learn.

Understanding Intelligence

• Intelligence is the abilities to learn from experience, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with others.

The Intelligence Puzzle

Answer: Achievement refers to knowledge and skills gained from experience, whereas intelligence gives people the ability to learn from experience.

Analyze

What is the difference between achievement and intelligence?

Thurstone’s Theory of Primary Mental Abilities 1938• There are seven independent “primary mental abilities.” • They are: word fluency, verbal comprehension, spatial visualization,

facility with numbers, memory, reasoning, and perceptual speed.

Spearman’s Two-factor Theory 1904• The g factor, or general intelligence, represents the abilities to reason

and to solve problems.• Specific, or s, factors account for people’s specific abilities.

Theories of Intelligence

Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory 2003• Intelligence has three factors: analytical intelligence, creative

intelligence, and practical intelligence.• People use more than one factor at the same time.

Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences 1991• There are nine types of intelligences that are independent of one

another.• They are: verbal or linguistic; logical-mathematical; visual-spatial,

bodily-kinesthetic, musical-rhythmic, intrapersonal, interpersonal, naturalist, and existential.

Emotional Intelligence 2004 • The emotional intelligence theory consists of five factors that are

involved with success in school or on the job. • The five factors are: self-awareness, mood management, self-

motivation, impulse control, and people skills.

Answer: Spearman’s two-factor theory; general intelligence, or g, represents abilities to reason, solve problems, underlies intellectual abilities.

Summarize

Name and describe the theory of intelligence that suggested that there was a single,

basic intelligence.

SECTION 5:WHAT INFLUENCES INTELLIGENCE?

What Influences Intelligence?• Genetic factors have a strong influence on intelligence.• A nurturing environment promotes intellectual

development in children.• Advanced age limits some aspects of intelligence.

Section 5 at a Glance

Adoptee Studies• Most studies of adopted children have found that their intelligence

test scores are more like those of the biological parents than those of the adoptive parents.

• Some psychologists argue that overemphasis on heredity can undermine efforts to help children learn.

Kinship Studies• Kinship studies show that the intelligence test scores of identical

twins are more similar than those of any other group of people.• Most studies suggest that the heritability of intelligence ranges from

40 to 60 percent.• Heritability is the extent to which variations in a trait from person to

person can be explained by genetic factors.

Genetic Influences on Intelligence

Preschool Programs• Preschool programs such as Head Start have been shown to

increase intelligence test scores, achievement test scores, and academic skills of participants.

Home and Parenting• Studies have shown that home environment and styles of parenting

influence the development of intelligence.• A range of factors help improve intellectual functioning in children,

including parents being responsive to their children’s needs, providing educational toys, being involved in activities, providing varied experiences during preschool years, and encouraging children to be independent.

Environmental Influences on Intelligence

• Most older people show some drop-off in intelligence as measured by scores on intelligence tests, most notably in timed test questions.

• Slowed response times are part of a decline in fluid intelligence, or mental capacities that allow us to respond quickly to novel situations or problems.

• On the other hand, the sum of our knowledge about the world, called crystallized intelligence, remains more stable and can continue to grow.

Aging and Intelligence

Answer: fluid intelligence—mental capacities that allow us to respond quickly to novel situations and problems; crystallized intelligence—sum of our knowledge about the world

Contrast

What is the difference between fluid and crystallized intelligence?

Reading Check

The Stanford-Binet Scale• Original test first used in 1905

• Gave a score called a mental age (MA), which shows the intellectual level at which a child is functioning

• After 1916, known as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

• Version used today gives an intelligence quotient (IQ), or a number that reflects the relationship between mental age and chronological age

• IQ is an example of a transformed score

The Wechsler Scales• Revised Wechsler Adult Intelligence

Scale (WAIS-R) has subtests, each measuring a different intellectual skill

• Scales do not use mental age

• Scales measure both verbal and nonverbal abilities

• WAIS-R scores based on comparisons of a person’s answers with the answers of others in the same age group

Two Intelligence Tests

Click on the image to play the Interactive.

• Intelligence tests must be reliable and valid.

• The reliability of a test refers to its consistency.

• One common way to show reliability is called test-retest reliability, which is determined by comparing scores earned by the same person on the same test taken at different times.

Test Reliability

Reliability and Validity

• A test has validity if it measures what it is supposed to measure.

• Test scores are compared with outside standards or norms to determine test validity.

• Some psychologists believe that it is difficult to make definitive statements about the validity of IQ tests.

Test Validity

• Intelligence tests help identify people who are out of the ordinary. • The education system best suits people with average intelligence. • By design, the average IQ score is 100. • About half of the people in the United States have IQ scores in the

broad average range of 90 to 110. • Nearly 95 percent get scores between 70 and 130.• People with scores of 70 or below are defined as having a mental

disability. • People with scores of 130 or above are regarded as gifted.• In both cases, special help is needed.

Average Intelligence

• The technical definition of gifted means to have an IQ score of 130 or above.

• Generally, to be gifted is to possess outstanding talent or to show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with other people of the same age, experience, or environment.

• The most gifted children are sometimes called child prodigies. • A prodigy develops special skill in a particular talent or discipline in

childhood.

Giftedness

Emotional Intelligence Influences Success

If you are really smart, are you guaranteed to achieve success? Or does it take

more than just book smarts to succeed? Despite the emphasis still placed on

traditional measures of intelligence, researchers have found that other types of

intelligence are just as important to success at school and work. In particular,

emotional intelligence turns out to play a significant role in success.

Current Research in Psychology

• The smartest people are not necessarily the most successful.

• Studies have found that IQ can account for as little as 10 percent of a person’s success at work.

• One study showed that executives with low emotional intelligence were the most likely to fail.

• Another study showed that executives with high emotional intelligence were the most likely to succeed.

• Another study showed that optimism and pessimism can affect success. Some studies show that IQ and emotional intelligence are related.

Thinking Critically• How is emotional intelligence related to IQ?• Name some careers for which emotional intelligence

might be important. Explain your answer.