Psy 342 Learning & Memory
Study Guide for Exam 1
Terry Chapters 1-3

Chapter 1

• Describe how the early study of learning was influenced by philosophers.

• Explain the biological theory of evolution. How did this theory influence the study of learning?

• State the scientific definition of learning. Explain the significance of each of the 4 components of the definition.

• Explain why learning and memory are usually studied separately, even though they are related.

• Why do we say that we must very often “infer” learning and memory?

Chapter 2

• Why is habituation often considered to be a "simple" form of learning?

• Explain the following phenomena in the context of habituation--frequency of stimuli repetitions, spacing, spontaneous recovery, repeated habituations, and generalization.

• See Activity 1--orienting response, habituation, dishabituation, and mere exposure effect

Chapter 3

• Describe Pavlov's original classical conditioning procedure.

• How was Pavlov's thinking about classical conditioning influenced by the associationist perspective?

• Be able to define and identify examples of the basic components of the classical conditioning situation (i.e., unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, conditioned response). See Activity 2.

• Describe the following conditioning paradigms, being sure to specify a common US, CS, UR, and CR for each paradigm: eyeblink conditioning and skin conductance response with humans, nictitating membrane paradigm with rabbits, and conditioned taste aversion with rats. Remember to include a description of how conditioning is measured in each paradigm.

• Define and comment on the relative effectiveness of the 4 common CS-US arrangements used in classical conditioning experiments (i.e., forward delayed, forward trace, simultaneous, and backward).

• Explain the general relationship between CS-US interval and effectiveness of conditioning. What paradigm or learning situation contradicts this general rule? 

• Describe how Garcia and Koelling (1966) demonstrated CS-US relevance or belongingness--that certain combinations of CSs and USs promote effective conditioning while others do not.

• In general, what is a compound conditioning procedure? How is it setup? What kinds of questions does the compound procedure allow researchers to answer?

• What is blocking? How can blocking be demonstrated in the lab?

• Summarize the method, results, and implications of the Watson & Rayner (1920) study with Little Albert.

• Describe the Sensory Preconditiong and Second Order Conditioning procedures. Which theory of classical conditioning do they support (S-R theory, S-S theory, or Instrumental Conditioning)?