Learning and Memory

Dr. Tony Tsarkov, MD

Learning
relatively permanent change in the
immediate or potential behavior or
mental process that results from past
experiences or practice
acquiring knowledge or developing the
ability to perform new behaviors

5 Processes of Learning
Habituation
Classical

Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
Social Learning
Cognitive Processes in
learning

1. Habituation

Simplest kind of learning

Accounts for learning to ignore a

stimulus that has become a familiar and
has no serious consequences

The tendency to become familiar with a

stimulus after repeated exposure to it

Example: Children playing in the school

playground

2. Classical Conditioning

an individual learns that one follows

another
gives emphasis on the association
of the stimulus with the response
also called as Pavlonian
conditioning

Pavlovs Dog

Basic Terms
Unconditioned-unlearned,
Conditioned-

learned, taught

Stimulus-something

response

Response-

untaught

that elicits a

a reaction

caused by a stimulus

Basic Processes

1. Acquisition
o

A neutral stimulus and an

unconditioned stimulus (UCS) are
paired (Initial learning of the stimulus
link).
o

Example: A child learns to fear the

Dental Clinic by associating it with the
reflexive emotional reaction to a painful
tooth extraction

Basic Processes
2. Stimulus Generalization
o

Individuals ability to react to novel stimuli that

are similar to familiar ones.

A conditioned response is elicited not only by

the conditioned stimulus but also by the
stimulus similar to the conditioned stimulus
o

Example: A child fears all Dental clinic and other

places that smells like them

Basic Processes
3. Stimulus Discrimination
o

A process complimentary to generalization

Discrimination is a reaction to differences

Limited in such that some stimulus similar to

the CS conditioned stimulus do not elicit the
conditioned response
o

Example: A child learns that his mothers Dental

Clinic is not associated only with Tooth Extraction

Basic Process
4. Extinction
o

The CS is presented alone with the UCS.

Gradually, the CS no longer elicits the CR

Used to describe the elimination of the CR by

repeatedly presenting the CS without the
unconditioned stimulus
o

Example: A child visits the dentist several times for

prophylaxis. Fear gradually decreases

3. Operant Conditioning
An

organism learns a response by

operating on its environment.
A response an individual makes will
be followed by a particular
consequence
Primary aim: To analyze how
behavior is changed by its
consequences

B. F. Skinner

Operant Conditioning: The focus is on the effect of

consequences on voluntary (operant) behavior.

The Consequences of Behavior

Reinforcement:

The process by which a

stimulus or event strengthens or increases
the probability of the response that it
follows.

Punishment:

The process by which a

stimulus or event weakens or reduces the
probability of the response that it follows.

Reinforcement

1. Positive Reinforcement: The frequency of the

response increases because the behavior is
followed by a rewarding stimulus.

2. Negative Reinforcement: The response is

followed by removal, delay, or decrease in
intensity of, an unpleasant stimulus.

Reinforcement
Primary Reinforcer

Secondary Reinforcer
(Token Economy)

Punishment

1. Positive Punishment: The behavior

decreases when it is followed by an
unpleasant stimulus.

2. Negative Punishment: A behavior

decreases because a positive stimulus is
removed.

Operant
Conditioning

4. Social Learning

Learning from the experiences of others

Example: A girl always says thank you
whenever she receives something because
she observes this from her mother, who
serves as her model
Bandura came up with several processes of
learning
Vicarious conditioning
Observational learning

Processes of Learning
1.

Vicarious Conditioning

Learning

by seeing or hearing
about the consequences of
other peoples action
Example:

An IT student who has

heard a batch mate being sent to
the Office of Student Affairs for
going to class drunk

Processes of Learning
2.

Observational Learning

Learning

by watching what others are doing

Model the person being watched.
Requirements

to determine whether
observational learning has occurred
Attention
Retention
Ability

to reproduce the behavior

Motivation

5. Cognitive Learning

Learning is not simply an automatic process

Learning results from thinking and other

mental processes

All organisms, including animals are

capable of thinking and this capacity must
be considered in any explanation of
learning

Memory
The

ability to recover information

about past
events or
knowledge.
The ability to store information so
that it can be used at a later time

Types of Memory

Episodic Memory

A memory of specific event that happened while you were present

Time and place details also stored

Semantic Memory

Contains generalized knowledge of the world that does not involve

memory of a specific event

Meanings of words, concepts etc.

No date and time attached

Procedural Memory

Also called skill memory because it involves on how to do things

Sports Practice makes perfect

Consists of a complicated sequence of movements that cannot be

described adequately in words.

Steps occur outside of awareness after while

Steps of Memory Storage

Encoding
Putting

Information into memory.

Storing
Refers

to how a system maintains or remembers

information.

Retrieving
Getting

the stored information out of memory

Forgetting
Inability

to recall a particular piece of

information accurately

Stages of Memory
Sensory
First

Memory

stage wherein the on information from the

senses sight, sound or smell is held in the
sensory register.

Stages of Memory
Short-term
Allows

Memory

one to recall
something from
several seconds to
as long as a minute
without rehearsal.

Stages of Memory
Long-term
Can

Memory

store much larger quantities

of information for potentially
unlimited duration (sometimes a
whole life span).

Causes of forgetting (Ebbinghaus,

1985)

Retrieval Failure

Decay Theory

Due to the inability to recall the information because your

attention is distracted for a moment.

This suggests that if people do not use information stored in long

term memory, it gradually fades until it is lost

Interference theory

Forgetting of information in long term memory is due to the

influences of other learning

E.g. learning combination of two locks one after another.

Because numbers are used, they interfere and confuse you

Thank you !