chapter 5 psych

• Learning


  The acquisition of a skill or knowledge through experience
• Memory


  The retention of knowledge
• Types of learning


  • Intentional (active process)
  • Unintentional (passive process)
• Learning is fundamental in life in order to develop and function
• Behaviourist approach


  An approach to learning that states that behaviours are learned through interactions with the environment as a result of the process of conditioning
• Conditioning


  The learning process by which the behaviour of an organism becomes dependent on an event occurring in its environment
• Classical conditioning


  A three phase process that involves developing an association with a stimulus that results in a learned response, a form of learning where two normally unrelated stimuli are repeatedly linked so that the existing reflex responses are elicited by new stimuli
• In 1900, physiologist Ivan Pavlov was studying digestion in dogs, specifically the role of saliva, and noticed the dogs started to salivate as soon as the technician who fed them entered the room, even before the food appeared
• Three-phase process of classical conditioning


  1. Before conditioning

  2. During conditioning (Acquisition)

  3. After conditioning
• Neutral stimulus (NS)

  A stimulus that does not naturally elicit any specific response
• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)


  A specific stimulus that is innately capable of eliciting a reflexive (or involuntary) response
• Unconditioned response (UCR)


  The involuntary response to a specific unconditioned stimulus
• Conditioned stimulus (CS)


  A stimulus that was previously neutral but now evokes a specific response due to learning
• Conditioned response (CR)


  A reflex response to a previously neutral stimulus that occurs after learning has taken place
• The neutral stimulus must be presented before the unconditioned stimulus for the association to be most effective
• The presentation of the UCS should be immediately after the presentation of the NS. No more than half a second should elapse between the presentation of the NS and the UCS
• Acquisition is complete when the conditioned stimulus alone produces the conditioned response
• Ethical concepts


  General ethical considerations used to analyse the ethical and moral aspects of conduct surrounding psychological issues and investigations
• Ethical guidelines

  Guidelines that ensure the protection and welfare of all participants in research, set out by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
• Integrity


  The commitment to searching for knowledge and understanding
• Justice


  The moral obligation to ensure that there is fair consideration of competing claims
• Respect

  To have consideration of the value of living things
• Beneficence


  The commitment to maximising benefits and minimising the risks and harms involved
• Non-maleficence


  Avoiding causations of harm
• Confidentiality


  Ensuring that the participants remain anonymous and their personal information is kept private, protected and secure throughout the study
• Voluntary participation


  Each participant freely agrees to participate in a study with no pressure or coercion
• Informed consent


  Participants agree to participate in the research after they have received all details including the nature and purpose, methods of data collection and potential risks
• Withdrawal rights


  Ensure that participants are free to discontinue their involvement in a study without receiving penalty
• Use of deception


  Involves withholding the true nature of the study from the participant, when this knowledge of true nature may affect the behaviour and subsequent result
• Debriefing


  Conducted at the end of the study, when participants are informed of the true aims of the experiment, results and conclusions
• Independent variable

  The variable for which quantities are manipulated (controlled, selected or changed) by the researcher, and the variable that is assumed to have a direct effect on the dependent variable
• Dependent variable


  The variable the researcher measures, after selecting the independent variable that is assumed to affect the dependent variable
• Controlled variable


  Variables that a researcher holds constant (controls) in an investigation
• Extraneous variable


  Any variable that is not the independent variable but may affect the results (dependent variable) of the research
• Controlled Variable


  Variables that a researcher holds constant (controls) in an investigation. They are not part of an investigation itself – a controlled variable is neither the independent nor dependent variable, nor the same as a control group. They are kept constant to ensure the manipulation of the independent variable causes the changes in the dependent variable
• Extraneous Variable


  Any variable that is not the independent variable but may affect the results (dependent variable) of the research. These variables should be controlled (kept constant), or at least monitored, in order that they do not threaten the internal validity of the investigation results by becoming a confounding variable
• Confounding Variable


  Variables that have affected the results (dependent variable), apart from the independent variable. A confounding variable may have been an extraneous variable that has not been controlled for, or it can be a type of variable that cannot be controlled for. These variables interfere with the internal validity of the investigation by providing alternative explanations for the investigation results
• I can identify the IV and DV in an experiment
• I can identify and discuss controlled variables, extraneous variables and confounding variables in an experiment
• I can apply my understanding classical conditioning in conducting an experiment and discussing the process