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