psycology midterm 3
sleep paralysis and why it happens
-state of being unable to move just after falling asleep or just before waking up
-due to anxiety/ terror
-vibrations or feeling like there is a menacing precence in the room
incubus phenomenom
-sleeping person feels awake yet hallucinates a human, animal or being that is on their chest
- being carries out aggressive acts that can be so horrifying the person fears death
consciousness and unconsciousness
-consciousness -> our subjective experience of the world, our bodies, and our mental perspective
- not always sharp distinctions between the 2
- often a continuum
locked in syndrom
-voluntary muscles are paralyzed and unable to speak or move
-person is awake and alert
alterations of normal consciousness
-sleep paralysis and sleepwalking
-out of body experiences
-near death experiences
-mystical experiences
why do we need sleep
- Memory consolidation -> learn long term memory formation and remembering emotional information
-critical for immune system
-promoting insight and and problem solving
-neural development and connectivity
why do we need sleep - survival
- evolutionary theorists
- conserving energy
-reducing time to forage food
- taking us out of harms way in most vonurable times to predetors
- restoring strength to fight off predetors
circadian rhythm and effects
- the cyclical biological changes that occur on a 24 hour basis
- includes hormone release and body temperature
-disruption of the circadian rythems like jet lag and late shifts cause cause health issues
- injuries, obesity, diabetes and heart disease
melatonin
sleepiness is triggered by increase of melatonin that increases after dark
how much sleep is recommended
-new borns, 16 hours
-uni students, 9 hours
- most people, 7-10 hours
-DEC2 people, 6 hours
-elderly people, 6 hours due to disrupted sleep not reduced
keline-levin syndrome or sleeping beauty disorder
-neurological condition that causes people to sleep for a long time
- 20 hours per day
sleep deprivation and the effects
-one night, irritation or lack of concentration
- 2-3 nights, depression, cant learn or concentrate and cant react as fast
- 4+ nights, hullucinations
-weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart issues
stages of sleep
- 5 stages that we cycle through every 90 min
- 1-4 are non REM (NREM), no eye movement and fever dreams
- 5 rapid eye movement (REM), vivid dreams and quick eye movement
stages of sleep- 1
- 5-10 minutes
- brain waves slow from beta-theta
sleep stage 1 - hypnagogic imagery
-scrambled, bizarre and dream like images that go in and out of consciousness
sleep stage 1 -myoclonic jerks
- jerking movement of limbs as if being startled or falling
- confused state
sleep stage 2
- further slowing of the brain
- 65% of our total sleep
- relaxation
- brain activity decelerates
- heart rate slows
- body temp slows
- muscles relax
- eye movement stops
sleep stage 2 - sleep spindles
- sudden burts of electrical activity
sleep stage 2 - k-complexes
- sharply raising and falling waves
sleep stage 3/ 4 - delta waves
- delta waves that slow brain waves and put you in even deeper sleep
- crucual to feel rested
- 40% of sleep for kids, 25% of sleep for adults
-alchol suppresses delta wave sleep
stage 5 - REM
- 20-25% of total sleep
- paradoxical, brain activity simular to being awake but our bodies are parlayzed
- longer periods, as the night goes on hence longer dreams closer to waking up
dreams during NREM
- less dreams
- shorter
- more thought like
- reptitive
- concerned with daily tasks
dreams during REM
- emotional
- more dreams
- illogical
- prone to plot shifts
- biologically crucial
- often nightmares
REM and the brain stem
- muscle in middle ear are active during REM (trying to help us hear in dreams)
- REM behaviour disorder, when REM doesnt paralyze the body
- may cause you to act out and harm others
- brain stem prevents us from moving in REM sleep
- lesion to locus coeruleus in brain step causes acting out too
lucid dreaming
- you know a dream is a dream
- 20% of people report lucid dreams
- increased parts in the cortex associated with self perceptions and evaluating thoughts and feelingd
sleep disorders
- can interfere with our ability to function at work and school
- associated with other health problems
- $63 billion/ year cost in health and lost of productivity in USA
- 400 canadians killed yearly for falling asleep while driving
insomnia treatments
- psychotherapy and or hypnotic drugs (sleeping pills, lunesta and ambien)
- psychotherapy more effective
- both combined is the most effective
insomnia sleeping pills and its effects
- can create dependancy, makes it harder to sleep once off the pills
- strange behaviours during sleep like making and eating food, sleep walking, phone calls and even driving
- can cause amnesia, loss of memory for event after taking the pill
insomnia
- most common sleeping disorder, 9-20% of people
- difficulty falling asleep, staying alseep or waking up early
- co-morbid with depression and pain
- due to
- stress, relationship issues
- medications
- illness
- working late and different shifts
- jet lag
- caffine
- naps
narcolepsy and caraplexy
- rapid and unexpected onset of sleep
- cataplexy, when you loss muscle tone and become limp
- last from seconds to minutes to hours
- co-morbid with depression and social anxiety disorder
- due to low orexin production ( type of neuropeptide)
sleep apnea
- blockage of airways while asleep
- lack of oxygen and to much carbon dioxide
- loud snoring, gasping and stopping of breathing
- could wake up to 100s of times per night without realization, - causing fatigue, weight gain, night sweats, hearing loss, irregular heart beat, risk of dementia and even death
- 9-38% of population
sleep apnea treatment
- wearing of a facemask that blows air into the nasal passage
- forces airway to remain open
- difficult to adjust the machine
night terrors
- sudden waking causing screaming and perspiring and confusion, right back to a deep sleep
- usually only a few minutes
- most commmon in children
- or adults in extreme stress
- usually harmless some are scary
- not usually recollection of what occured
sleep walking (somnambulism)
- walking while fully asleep
- 15-30% of children
- 3-5% adults
- little activity but can involve more extreme cases of turning on computers or driving cars
- more common after sleep deprivation
- happens during NREM
- not related to dreams
sleep walking - sexsomnia
- participating in sexual acts while asleep
- no memory of it happening
sleep walking - psychology myth
- its not actually dangerous to wake a sleep walker
theories on dreaming
- processing emotional memories
- integrating new experiences with established memories
- learning new strategies and ways of doing things
- simulating threatening events so we can better cope with them in everyday life
- reorganizing and consolidating memories
most frequent dreams
- being chased or pursued
- being lost, late or trapped
- falling
- flying
- losing valuable possessions
- experiencing great natural beauty
- being naked or dressed weird
- injury or illness
fruads dream protection theory
- dreams transform our sexual and aggressive instincts into symbols
- the symbols require interpretation to reveal their true meaning
- manifest content (what they are on the surface) vs latent content (what they really mean)
- walking naked through the street (manifest content) might signify fear of exposure, fear of other people, or insecurity (latent content)
- wish fulfilment - how we wish things could be
freuds dream protection theory
- rejected by most due to lack of evidence
- difficult to falsify
- very few sexual dreams
- a lot of dreams are straightfoward and not symbolic
- most dreams are negatice
- post truama nightmares, repetitive nightmares, that do not involve wish fulfillment
activation- synthesis theory
- dreams reflect the brains attempt to make sense of random and internallt generated neural signals during REM
- pons sends incomplete signals to the thalumus witch then relay to the fore brain to try and turn signals into a story
- random and meaningless to everyday life
effects of dreaming when damage to the forebrain
- damage to forebrain and parential lobes can eliminate dreams completly even when pons are intact
- dreams are consistant over time and not as random as activation synthesis theory would predict
neurocognitive theory- what are dreams
- dreams are meaingful product of our cognitive capacities, that shape what we dream about
-dreams are
- ordinary
- relate to waking concerns
- stable over time
- reflect lived experiences and cognitive capapbilities
- realistic
- dont recognize bizarre events while dreaming
neurocognitive theory - children vs adults
- children have simple dreams
- adults have complex and bizarre dreams
neurocognitive theory - complex dreams
- cognitive achievements that occur with developmental visual imagination and other advaced cognitive abilities
- different situations where we put ourselves mental scenarios and explore outcomes
neurocognitive theory - dream continuity hypothesis
- dreams strongly reflect our life experiences
- but people with disability have simular dreams to those who dont have disabilities so its unknown
hallucinations and the causes
- realistic perceptual experiences in the absense of external stimuli
- when the brain activates in the same was as when its a real sensory experiences
- relitively normal experience
- 10-39% of people report having hillucinations
- can be caused due to oxygen and sensory deprivation, epilepsy, fever, dementia and migraine headaches
auditory hallucinations
- when people attribute their inner thoughts to an external source
hallucinations - psychotic
- partial loss of touch with reality
- more negative oices and less controllable
- train psychotic people that hallucinations that are passing mental events
out of-body experience (OBE)
- sense that our consiosness has left our body
- 25% of uni kids and 10% of public report an OBE
- inside the brain rather than outside of the body
- people dont see what is actually there
out of-body experience - reasoning
- medications
- psychedelic drugs
- migraine headaches
- seizures
- extreme relaxation or stress
near death experiences
- differ cross culturally in response to expectations about the after life with some consistant themes
- out of body and near death experiences go together
near death experiences - themes
- Difficulty describing the experience in words
- Hearing ourselves pronounced dead
- Feelings of peace and quiet
- Hearing unusual noises
- Meeting “spiritual beings”
- Experiencing a bright light as a “being of light”
- Seeing our life flash before our eyes
- Experiencing a realm in which all knowledge exists
- Experiencing cities of light
- Experiencing a realm of ghosts and spirits
- Sensing a border or limit
- Coming back “into the body”
near death experiences - what happens
- may be caused by changes in brain chemistry
- a feeling of peace - realease of endorphins
- high frequency gamma wave activity (fast brain activity, cognitive, memory, learning)
- neurotransmitters that ramp up before death are accociated with
- norepinephrine, alertness, attention, and arousal
- dopamine, cognition and emotion
- serotonin, vivid hallucinations and mystical experiences
- also linked to drugs
déjà vu
- the feeling of reliving something that is actually new ("already seen" in french)
- 10-30 second period
- 2/3 of people experience it
déjà vu - how
- excess dopamine or small seisures inf the temporal lobes that generate familiarity
- familiarity between a new and past experience
- previous scene doesnt come to mind but the new and past scene both come to mind
mystical experiences
- involve a sense of unity or oneness with the world
- involve a sense of transcendence of time, space, feelings of wonder and awe
- religous in nature
mystical experiences - how
- induced by fasting, seizures in the temporal lobe, prayer, meditation and drugs
- studied with hallucinogenic drugs
mystical experiences - psilocybin
- hallucinogenic drug that affects serotonin receptors (found in magic mushrooms)
- 58% who injested it reported mystical experiences that was the most meaning event of their lives
- 51% experiences negative reactions like paranoia
hypnosis
- interpersonal situation in which imaginative suggestions are administered for changes in consciousness
- useful in combination with other thearapys
- unsure if the improvments are hypnosis or relaxation
hypnosis - past life regression therapy
- contraversal
- approach that hypnotizes and supposedly age-regresses patients to a previous life to identify the source of a present-day problem
hypnosis myths
- trance state, amazing things happen, doesnt turn people into mindless robots, doesnt have a great impact on suggestibility
- no biological difference between hypnosis and wakefulness
- sleeplike state but not biologically simular
- people are fully aware of their surroundings
- people dont forget what happens unless they expect to foget everything
- increases memory but most of it is not accurate
drugs and behavior - psychoactive drugs
- substance that contains chemicals similar ro those found naturally in our brains that alter consciousness by changing chemical processes in neurons
drugs and behavior -depressants
- alcohol (most common in women), barbiturates, quaalude, valium
- decreased activity in the central nervous system
- high - sleepiness - slower thinking - impared concentration
- sedatives are calming, hypnotics are sleep inducing
- stimulating effect at low dose
- depressant effect at high dose due to inhibit emotion and behaviour
drugs and behavior - stimulants
- tobacco, cocaine, amphetamines, meth, caffine
- increased activity in the central nervous system
- sense of alertness, well being and energy
drugs and behavior - opiates
- herion, morphine and codeine
- sense of euphoria and decreased pain
drugs and behavior - psychedelics
- weed, LSD, ecstacy
- altered perception, mood and thoughts
substance abuse
- abuse causes recurrent problems with use of the drug at home/ work/ school/ police/ substance dependence
substance dependance, physical and psycological
- dependance leads to clinically significant impairment or distress
- withdrawl may occur and distressing symptoms can occur
- tolerance is higher the more you use the substance
- physical, related to withdrawals
- psychological, intense cravings
why use and abuse happens
-sociocultural and acceptance, low rates of alcohol consumption where its prohibited (muslims and mormons)
- addictive personality, impulse, sociability, proneness to negative emotions
- tension reduction hypothesis, drink/ do drugs due to anxiety and treat it as a "self medication" cycle
use and abuse - genetic infulence
- genetic fsctors link to vulnerability to alcoholism
- genes can determine drug metabolism and experiences
- ALDH2 gene causes an unpleasant response to alcohol, asian flush (facial flushing, heart palpitations and nausea), lower risk of alcholism
social and cultural influences
- balanced placebo design (punnet square sitch)
- what we expect to happen while drinking plays a role in our social behaviour (aggressions)
- alcohol is more importnant in non social behaviours like reaction time and motor control
- setting is also important as you are more likley to drink more in a bar rather than alone
non-alcoholic drinks
- healthier
- not nutritionally but better than alcohol
- not recommended for recovering alcohoclics due to simular smell and taste
- sometimes contains lower rates of alcohol
sedative hynotics - barbiturates, nonbarbiturates, benzodiazepines
- sedative, calming
- hypnotic, sleep inducing
- assist with anxiety and insomnia
- barbiturates, abuse potential, can produce feelings of being intoxicated
- benzodiazepines (like valium), highly addictive, widespread use
stimulants
- increase activity in the central nervous system, increasing heart rate, respiration and blood pressure
stimulants - nicotine
- highly addictive
- activates acetylcholine receptors, arousal, selective attention, memory and sleep
- found in tobacco
- adjustive value, enhances positive and minimizes negative emotional reactiond
- positive imagies associated with smoking enhances its appeal
stimulants - cocaine
- most powerful natural stimulant
- causes euphoria (extreme happiness), enhanced mental and physical activity, decrease in hunger
- strong reinforcer
- increases dopamine and serotonin activity
- affects monitoring behaviour, insight and emotional self awareness
- fuels addictive effects
stimulants - amphetamines
- 3 patterns
1. occasional use in extreme cases
2. dependancy following medical use
3. street use with repeated doses
- includes meth, rising usage
- exhileration - euphoria, for 12-16 hours
- high risk of overdose and dependance
- distroys tissues and blood vessels
- causes acne
- leads to weight lose, tremors and dental problems
narcotics - herion, morphine and codeine
- opiates from opium poppy to relive pain and induce sleep
- herion is 90% of opiate users
- used medically leading to abuse
- dangerous interaction with other drugs
- taking oxycotin (powerful opiate pain reliever) with alcohol or other depressant can be lethal
psychedelics (hallucinogens)
- produce dramatic alterations in perception, mood and thought
- heart rate increase, red eyes, dry mouth
- chronic use can impair cognitive functions
psychedelics - marijuana
- most used hallucinogenic drug in canada
- legal since 2018
- effects due to THC
- THC binds the same receptors as neurotransmitter anandamine that plays a role in eating, motivation, memory and sleep
- increases heart rate, red eyes and dry mouth
- chronic use can impair cognitive function
LSD
- changes perception, consciousness, sensation (synesthesia)
- produces feelings of clear thought
- some mystical experiences
-effects could be due to interference with serotonin system (affects consciousness, arousal, movements, and our readiness to respond to stimuli)
LSD and psilocybin
- increases communication amung brain networks that dont usually work together
- multisensory experiences and synesthesia
- decreases self esteem
- mystical experiences (sense of unity or oneness with the world)
ecstacy (MDMA)
- stimulant and hallucinogenic
- realeases serotonin promoting a sense of well-being, self confidence and empathy for others
- long term use causes high blood pressure, depression, damage to neurons that rely on serotonin
treatments for hallucinogens
- potential treatment for depression, drug addiction, PTSD , OCD, anxiety with late cancers
- tend to disappeasr after a few days
risks of hallucinogens
- short lived panic, paranoid delusions, confusion, depression and bodily discomfort
- flashbacks, recurrences of elements of a psychedelic experiences and can be disturbing
learning habituation and sensation
- change in organisms behaviour or thought as a result of experience
- different kinds
- habituation, decrease in response to stimuli over time and our behavioural response
- sensation, increase in response to stimuli over time
-sensory adaptation is more involuntary whereas habituation can involve deliberate control
learning via association
- when we associate 2 stimuli together
- simple associations provide mental building blokcs for more complex ideas
- classical (pavlovian) conditioning, -> a form of learning in which animals come to respond to a previously neutral stimulus which has been paired with another stimulus that elicits an automatic response
classical conditioning steps - neutral stimulus
- a stimulus that does not elicit a particular response
- metronome
classical conditioning steps - unconditional stimulus (UCS)
- a stimulus that elicits a unconditional response (UCR)
- meat powder (UCS) and salvation (UCR)
- in classical confitioning we pair the neural stimuli with UCS (metronome woth meat powder)
classical conditioning steps - conditioned ststimulus
- neural stimulus (NS) becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) eliciting a conditioned response (CR)
- after training the metronome elicits salvation
- the organism reacts the same way to the conditioned stimulus as it did to the unconditioned stimulus
classical condition principles - extinction and acuisition
- acuisition, phase during which a conditioned response is established
- extinction, reduction of the conditional response after the conditioned stimulus is presented repeatedlt without unconditional stimulus
classical condition principles- spontaneous recovery and renewal
- after extinction, spontaneous recovery and renewal may be evident
- spontaneous reconvery, the conditional response after time passed ( no UCS-CS repairing required)
- renewal, the conditional response retuns in a novel setting different from the one in which the response was aquired (or extinquished)
classical condition principles - stimulus generalization
- when simular conditional stimulus elicit the same conditional response
- response to tunging forks that makes the same sound
classical condition principles - stimulus discrimination
- when we exhibit a conditional response only to certain stimulius
- response to tornandos is different in movies rather than real life
- pigeons can be trained to discriminate paintings by Monet vs. Picasso
- someone scared of stinging insects (wasps/bees) may not show fear response to other insects (house fly)
higher order conditioning
- developing a conditional response that is accosuated with another conditional stimulus
- the conditional response becomes weaker farther away from the orginal conditional stimulus
- CR1 strongest C3 weakest
- flashlight (CS2)- metronome (CS1) - meat poweder (USC)- salvation (CR/UCR)
applications of classical conditioning
- advertisers repeatedly paur their products woth the stimuli that elicit positive emotions
applications of classical conditioning- latent inhabition
- a stimulus often experienced alone may be resisitant to conditioning
- familiar stimulus more difficult to condition that an unfamiliar stimulus
applications of classical conditioning - john b watson and rosalie rayner study negative
- helps to explain how and why we acquire some fears and fobias (extreme, irrational fear or aversion)
- Little albert
- not afraid of animals and rats
- paired loud noises (UCS) with rats (CS)
- developed intense fear of rats
- fear response transfered to other stimuli (rabbits, dogs, furry coat, santa mask)
applications of classical conditioning - john b watson and rosalie rayner study - positive
- treat phobias
- little peter phobia of rabbits
- paired candy (UCS) with rabbit
- eventuallt rabbit (CS) started to elicit feelings of pleasure (CR)
- treatments of phobias often pair feared stimulus with relaxation
applications of classical conditioning - conditional compensatory response (CCR)
- a conditional response that is opposie of the unconditional response and serves to compensate for the unconditional response
- heroine decreases blood pressure (UCR), therefore in anticipation of taking herion your body compensates by increasing blood pressure
- important to understand drug response
- if you always take the drug in the same room that room acts as a cue that signals drug delivery
- being in the room with initiate a defensive response ( a CCR) that prepares you to for the drugs effect
- drug overdose can occur if one injects heroine in a different place from lack of CCR
applications of classical conditioning - fetishism
- sexual attraction to non living things
- seems to be partly due to classical condition
- trained in japanese quails
- terrycloth cylinders (CS) paired with mating (UCS)
- quails tried mating with the terrycloth cylinders (CR)
- eg, before, partner (UCS) in thier undies (CS) -> arousal (UCS)
- eg, after, undies (CS) on clothing rack cause arousal (CR) aswell
operant conditioning
- learning wherein the frequency of a behavior is controlled its consequences (reward and punishment)
- the organism gets something because of its response (food, avoids punishments)
classical vs. oparent conditioning
- target behaviour is,
classical, elicited automatically
oparent, emitted voluntarily
- behaviour is a function of,
classical, stimuli that precede the behaviour
oparent, consequences that follow the behaviour
-behaviour depends primarly on
classical, automatic nervous system
oparent, skeletal muscles
thorndikes law of effect
- if we are rewarded for a particular response to a stimulus, we are more likley to repeat that response to the stimulus in the future
- if rewarded most likley to do that behaviour again
- learning involves an association between a stimulus and response (S-R) with the reward establishing the connection
thorndikes law of effect - insight
- performance only changes once an organism "grasps" the underlying nature of the problem
thorndikes law of effect - puzzle box
- cats time to escape from the puzzle box decreases gradually over 60 trials
- cats were learning by trial and error through the bulidup of S-R associations
- cat never abruptly realized what it needed to do to escape
- no "AHA" moment
- cats dont learn by insights (graspinf the underlying nature of the problem)
B.F. skinner box
- to observe oparant behaviour unsupervised
operant conditioning terminology - reinforcers
- outcomes the stregthen the probability of a response
- positive, giving a stimulus (rat getting food from a lever press, getting A on a test, putting money in a vending machine)
- negative, involves taking away a stimulus (rat pressing a level to stop an electrical shock, cleaning your room so your paretns dont nag you, studying for a test to reduce your anxiety)
- doesnt mean good or bad
operant conditioning terminology - punishment
- any outcome that weakens the probability of a response
- positive, adding an (typically undesirable) stimulus to reduce behaviour
- spraying a dog with a spray bottle when it barks
- spanking a child for bad behaviour
- assigning extra homework for talking in class
- negative, removing a (typically desirable) stimulus to reduce behaviour
- taking away a childs toys for bad behaviour
- taking away marks for plagiarism
- silent treatment (removing affection/ social interaction) for partying/ drinking
- disciplinary actions are punishments only if they decrease the chance of the behaviour happening again
oparant conditioning
- Positive Reinforcement
Presenting a stimulus
Increases target behaviour
Giving a gold star on homework, resulting in a student studying more
- Negative Reinforcement
Removing a stimulus
Increases target behaviour
Static on phone subsides when you stand in a specific spot in your room, causing you to stand there more often
- Positive Punishment
Presenting a stimulus
Decreases target behaviour
Scolding by a pet owner, reducing a dog’s habit of chewing on shoes
- Negative Punishment
Removing a stimulus
Decreases target behaviour
Confiscating a favourite toy, stopping a child from throwing future tantrums
does punishment work
- not aswell as reinforcement
- several disadvantages
- tells a person what not to do, but doesnt tell then what they should do
- creates anxiety
- encourages subversive behaviour
- makes people more sneaky about doing unwanted behaviour
- may provide a model for aggressive behaviour
operant conditioning terminology- discrimitive stimulus
- discriminative stimulus, signals the presence of reinforcement
- light in skinner box, friends wave
- acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, stimulus generalization and stimulus discrimination all apply to oparent condition
operant conditioning terminology - extinction burst
- shortly after withdrawing reinforcement the behaviour increases in intensity before decreasing
- stop reinforcing a childs crying with attention, child may initilly cry even louder to get attention
- falling vending machines, after reinforcement is removed, person may ramp up their behavior by pressing more buttons, pushing buttons harder, tilting or shaking the machine
schedules of reinforcements
- refers to the pattern of delivering reinforcers
schedules of reinforcements - continous reinforcement
- the response is rewarded everytime
schedules of reinforcements - partial reinforcement
- occurs when we reinforce responses only some of the time
- more resistant to extinction
schedules of reinforcements - fixed or variable reinforcement
- very along two dimensions
- consisitanct of administering reinforcement
- fixed, reinforcemtn after a set of number responses or time
- variable, reinforcement after an average number of responses or average time
schedules of reinforcements - ratio or interval reinforcement
- the basis of administering reinforcement
- fixed ratio, buy 7 coffees get one free
- variable ratio, gambling, roll up the rim, video game item drops, swiping on a dating app
- fixed interval, writing a test every 2 weeks
- variable intervalm checking an email, checking if grades are on moodle
applications of oparent conditioning - shaping
- train a new behaviour by reinforceing behaviours that get progeressively closer to the target behaviour
- baby learning to walk, reinforce crawling first, then standing, then a step then a few steps ect
applications of oparent conditioning - chaining
- link several behaviours together
- learning to wash hands
- reinforceing turning on a faucet, apply soap, put hands under faucet, turn off faucet, dry hands
applications of oparent conditioning - shaping and chaining
- used to teach animals complex tricks
- dolphin to jump through a hoop
- pigeon to play ping pong
applications of opparetn conditioning - premack principle
- positively reinforce an infrequent behavior with a frequent behavior
- don’t watch your favourite TV show (frequent behavior) until after you do homework (infrequent behavior)
applications of oparent conditioning - token economies
- to shape desired behaviours in clinical setting
- primary reinforcer, things that natuarally increase target behaviour (food)
- secondary reinforcer, neutral objects that become associated with primary reinforcers (money)
- applied behaviour analysis in autism, provide food and other primary reinforcers to individuals with autism as they reach closer approximations to certain words and eventually complete sentences
combining classical and oparent conditioning
- two process theory of anxiety, anxiety begins with classical conditioning but is maintianed by negatvie reinforcement
- i am stung by a bee (conditional stimuli), resulting in fear (conditional response) to bees and wasps
- avoiding bees and wasps one sees, decreases anxiety (negative reininforcement)
- reinforces avoident behaviour
- face the fear
- exposure therapy, exposes people to feared stimuli
skinner and radical behaviourism
- early belivers did not believe thinking played much of a role in learning (radical behaviour)
- argued that thinking and emotions are behaviours, just convert ones
- today most psychologist acknowledge at least some role for cognition in learning
stimulus response vs. stimulus organism response
- the way an organism responds to a stimuli depends on how that organiams interprets the stimulus (meaning)
- most scientist now believe that classical conditioning and oparetn conditioning depend on thinking
latent learning
- learning that is not directly observable
- difference between competence (what we know) and performance (showing what we know)
- implies that reinforcement is not necessary for learning to occur
latent learning tolman and honziks studies
- rats could learn a maze without reinforcement
- rats didnt show thier learning until they got their reinforcement
- rats developed cognitive maps (mental representation of how a physical spacpe is laid out) once their was a reinforcer
- challenges radical behaviourism and implies that thinking plays a role in some forms of learning
observational learning
- learning by watching others (no direct experience required)
- dont have to engage in trial and error
observational learning - albert bandura
- observing aggression
- experimental condition, children watched an adult model punch, kick and insult bobo dall
- control condition, children watched an adult play and ignore bobo doll
- when children in the experimental condition were left alone with the doll, they were more likely to perform similar aggressive acts, including using some of the same insults the adult model’s did
media violence and real world violence
- many types of research have examined the impact of violent media behaviour
- results suggest media violence impacts real- world aggession in some cases
- some issues with establishing causality
- however, fair bit of converging evidence across different study designs
- differs amongst cultures (strongest relationship for white people, weaker for Asians, and nonsignificant for Latinx people)
- link is more controversial for video games
- however, media violence is only one small contributor to real-world aggression
- most people that watch violent media don’t show aggressive behavior
mirror neurons
- become activated when an animal observes or performs an an action
- in monkeys, a group of neurons in pre-frontal cortex near motor cortex
- may play a role in observational learning and having empathy for other
- may help to feed other peoeple emotional states
insight learning - kohlers chimpanzee study
- insight, grasping the underlying nature of the problem
- placed chimpanzee in cage with two bamboo sticks
- placed bananas outside the cage just out of reach of a single bamboo stick
- “sultan” (one of the chimpanzees) found the solution -> sticking one bamboo stick into the other
- “aha! moment” -> Chimps didn’t learn by trial-and-error like the cat’s in Thorndike’s puzzle box
- once chimps solved the problem, they could get it right every time
- suggests humans and some other animals may gain insight
biological influences on learning
- conditioned taste aversion
- develops after only one trial
- learning is still possible even with very long delays (6-8 hours)
- shows little stimulus generalization
- contradicts equipotentiality -> the claim that we can classically condition all controlled stimulus equally well to all uncontrolled stimulus
biological influences on learning - preparedness
- for certain phobias contradict equiptentiality
- evolutionary predisposition to be more afraid of certain things
- snakes and spiders vs. cars and guns
- may make us more likely to form certain illusory correlations
- people more likely to associate "prepared" stimuli (snakes) with aversive stimuli
biological influences on learning
- instictive drift, tendancy for animals to innate behaviours following repeated reinforcement
- raccoons were reinforced to drop coins into a piggy banks, but raccoons began rubbing the coins together (rinsing, an innate behaviour)
- biological influences, place limits on what kind. of behaviours we can train through reinforcement
- much easier to trains pigeons to peck rather than dance
learning fads
- many techniques are purported to make you learn better or faster
- sleep assisted learning
- accelerated learning
- discovery learning
- non seem to be more effective than traditional learning
- direct instuction is almost always better
learning fads - learning style
- been used to refer to an individuals preferred or optimal method of acquiring new information
- tailoring teaching to peoples learning styles does not result in improved learning