1. Federal Urdu University of
Arts, Science & Technology
Orasoft Training Institute
Psychology
Learning & Memory
ASSIGNMENT
By:
Shoaib Anwer (BBA6-07)
To:
Sir Owais

2. Learning
We learn from the things that happen to us ­ our experiences. For example, we learned that
lightning is followed by thunder, we learned not to tell lies because it can cause us to lose our
credibility and to lose our friends, or that we learned how to dance by watching others
demonstrate dance steps to us.
Orienting Response
Inborn tendency to notice and repsond to stimuli or surprising events collection of responses that
assist in “blocking out” the event. For example with a loudsound the pupils constrict and heart
rate increases. It turns out that novelty is a tricky term to define. The sound of a certain person’s
voice (your mother’s) may be routine at home, but may well elicit an Orienting Response at a
party this Friday night.
Classical Conditioning
In classical conditioning, an organism learns to associate one stimulus with another. The
organism learns that the first stimulus is a cue for the second stimulus. In Pavlov’s experiment,
the tuning fork cued the dogs that food might be coming.
Pavlo Discovery
To experiment on classical conditioning, Pavlov utilized a tuning fork and meat powder. He hit
the tuning fork and followed the sound with the meat powder. Pavlov presented the sound
(tuning fork) with the meat powder at the exact same time increments. In the beginning, the dog
salivated only to the meat powder, but after this was repeated, salivated at the sound of the
tuning fork. Even when Pavlov took away the meat powder, the dog continued to salivate at the
sound of the tuning fork.
Unconditional Stimuli
A stimulus that elicits a response without conditioning such as tuning fork and no salivation in the
mouth of dog.
Unconditional Response
Automatic response elicited by the unconditioned stimulus, after tuning fork the dog reacts no
salivation before meat powder and when the dog sees meat powder it starts salivation in his
mouth.
Conditional Stimuli
A neutral stimulus that when paired with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) elicits a similar
response. As conditioned stimulus the dog automatically responds the salivating as tuning fork
rings,

3. Conditional Response
A response that is learned by pairing the originally neutral conditioned stimulus (CS) with the
unconditioned stimulus (UCS), if the meat powder is not put in the mouth of dog the dog will still
salivate because its conditioned.
Basic Principles of Classical Conditioning
Acquisition
The acquisition phase is the consistent pairings of the CS (bell) and the UCS (food) that
produces a CR (salivation). In the example above, this phase occurs when the dog begins to
salivate at the sound of the bell. Conditioning occurs more rapidly when the food follows the bell
by a half a second.
Extension
The extinction phase is when the conditioned response no longer occurs after repeated pairings
without the unconditioned stimulus. The dog’s response to the bell can be extinguished by
repeatedly presenting the bell (CS) without the food (UCS). The dog has not completely
forgotten the association between the bell and the food. If the experimenter waits a day, the dog
may have a spontaneous recovery of the conditioned response and salivate again to the bell.
Spontaneous recovery
Spontaneous recovery is a phenomenon of learning and memory which was first seen in
classical (Pavlovian) conditioning and refers to the re­emergence of a previously extinguished
conditioned response after a delay.
Generalization
Occurs when there is a small difference in the presented stimulus and the original conditioned
stimulus. If Pavlov’s dog heard a bell of a similar tone, the dog would still salivate.
Discrimination
The opposite of generalization, discrimination happens when a conditioned response does not
occur when there is a difference between the presented stimulus and the original conditioned
stimulus. If Pavlov’s dog heard a bell with a different tone and was not awarded the
unconditioned stimulus (food), the dog would learn not to salivate to the second tone.
Phobia
A phobia is an irrational and excessive fear of an object or situation. In most cases, the phobia
involves a sense of endangerment or a fear of harm. For example, those suffering from
agoraphobia fear being trapped in an inescapable place or situation.

4. Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning forms an association between a behavior and a consequence, For
example, you might tell a friend that you'll buy dinner for them since they helped you move, or a
parent might explain that the child can't go to summer camp because of her bad grades.
Law of Effect
The law of effect basically states that “responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular
situation become more likely to occur again in that situation, and responses that produce a
discomforting effect become less likely to occur again in that situation.
Operant Chamber
An operant conditioning chamber (also known as the Skinner box) is a laboratory apparatus used
in the experimental analysis of behavior to study animal behavior.
The three­term contingency
Sometimes a response will have certain consequences; sometimes it will not. Our daily
behaviour is guided by many different kinds of discriminative stimuli, For example, consider
answering the telephone. The phone rings, you pick it up and say ‘hello’ into the receiver. Most of
the time, someone on the other end of the line begins to speak.
● Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement refers to an increase in the frequency of a response that is regularly and
reliably followed by an appetitive stimulus. Your enjoyment of the food (the appetitive stimulus)
reinforces your going to the restaurant and ordering dinner (the response).
● Positive Reinforcement
Negative reinforcement refers to an increase in the frequency of a response that is regularly and
reliably followed by the termination of an aversive stimulus. An aversive stimulus is unpleasant or
painful.
● Punishment
Punishment refers to a decrease in the frequency of a response that is regularly and reliably
followed by an aversive stimulus.
Other operant procedures and phenomena
Shaping
Shaping involves reinforcing any behaviour that successively approximates the desired

5. response. Imagine that we want to train a rat to press a lever when a red light is lit The lever on
the wall of the chamber is attached to an electrical switch that is wired to electronic control
equipment or a computer.
Intermittent reinforcement
The term intermittent reinforcement refers to situations in which not every occurrence of a
response is reinforced. The relation between responding and reinforcement usually follows one
of two patterns: each response has a certain probability of being reinforced, or responses are
reinforced after particular intervals of time have elapsed.
● Fixed Ratio Schedule
A fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement involves offering reinforcement only after a specified
number of responses. Collecting Tokens in a Video Game: In many video games, you have to
collection so many tokens, object, or points in order to receive some type of reward.
● Variable ratio schedule
The variable­ratio schedule is a schedule of reinforcement where a response is reinforced after
an unpredictable number of responses.Call centers often offer random bonuses to employees.
Workers never know how many calls they need to make in order to receive the bonus, but they
know that they increase their chances the more calls or sales they make.
● Fixed interval schedule
A fixed­interval schedule is a schedule of reinforcement where the first response is rewarded
only after a specified amount of time has elapsed.A weekly paycheck is a good example of a
fixed­interval schedule. The employee receives reinforcement every seven days, which may
result in a higher response rate as payday approaches.
● Variable interval schedule
A variable­interval schedule is a schedule of reinforcement where a response is rewarded after
an unpredictable amount of time has passed.Checking Your Email: Typically, you check your
email at random times throughout the day instead of checking every time a single message is
delivered.
Generalization and Discrimination
Generalization
Discrimination results when different situations occasion different responses based on the
contingencies of reinforcement. Inappropriate stimulus generalization occurs when those
different situations fail to produce discriminative operant responding. Generalization is not always
inappropriate and occurs when you respond the same to two stimuli that are not identical.For
example, a child may learn to say "apple" when it sees the drawing of an apple in a book. If the

6. child later says "apple" when it sees an orange on the street, it has generalized between the two
distinct stimuli.
Discrimination
In operant conditioning responding only when a specific discriminative stimulus is present but not
when similar stimuli are present.
● Primary reinforcer
a biologically significance appetitive stimuli such as food or water.
● Primary Punisher
biologically significance aversive stimuli such as pain.
● Condition reinforcer
Association with a primary reinforcer some time referred to as secondary reinforcer.

7. Memory
Memory is the process of encoding, storing and retrieving information. Encoding refers to the
active process of putting stimulus information into a form that can be used by our memory
system.
● Encoding
The process by which sending information is converted into a form that can be used by the brain
memory system.
● Storage
The process of maintaining information in memory.
● Retrieval
The active process of locating & using storage information.
Types of Memory
Sensory Memory
Sensory memory is memory in which representations of the physical features of a stimulus are
stored for a very brief time, perhaps for a second or less.For example, sensory memory
contains a brief image of a sight we have just seen or a fleeting echo of a sound we have just
heard.
Short Term Memory
immediate memory for stimuli that have just been perceived. Its capacity is limited in terms of
the number of items that it can store and of its duration. For example, most people who look at
the set of numbers 1 4 9 2 3 0 7 close their eyes and recite them back, will have no trouble
remembering them. If they are asked to do the same with the following set they might have a little
more trouble: 7 2 5 2 3 9 1 6 5 8 4 Very few people can repeat 11 numbers. Even with practice, it
is difficult to recite more than 7–9 independent pieces of information that you have seen only
once.
Long Term Memory
information that is represented on a permanent or near permanent basis. Unlike short­term
memory, long­term memory has no known limits and, as its name suggests, is relatively
durable.
Sensory Memory
Sensory memory refers to the initial, momentary recording of information in our sensory
systems. When sensations strike our eyes, they linger briefly in the visual system. The person’s

8. sensory system records information as a raw and non­meaningful stimulus: e.g., a fly that sat on
your nose in the park this morning, the sound of the car that passed by you, or the feel of the dry
leaf that landed on your head when you were waiting for the bus.
● Iconic Memory
The information gathered by our visual sense is reflected by the iconic memory; memory in the
visual domain .
● Echoic Memory
The information coming from our auditory sense is dealt with by the echoic memory; i.e.,
Memory for sounds.
Short Term / Working Memory
short­term memory to refer to the ability to hold information in mind over a brief period of time. As
conceptions of short­term memory expanded to include more than just the brief storage of
information. The term working memory is now commonly used to refer to a broader system that
both stores information briefly and allows manipulation and use of the stored information.This
system is higher in functioning than sensory memory, as it stores information in terms of
meaning and not just simple sensory stimulation. Short­term memory retains information for 15
to 25 seconds, unless it is moved into the long­ term memory.
● Primacy Effect
The tendency to remember the words at the beginning of the list is called the primacy effect.
● Recency Effect
The tendency to remember words at the end of the list is called the recency effect.
Limits of working Memory
The experimenters presented participants with a stimulus composed of three consonants, such
as JRG. With rehearsal, the participants easily recalled it 30 seconds later. They prevented
participants from rehearsing. After they presented the participants with JRG, they asked them to
count backwards by three from a three­digit number they gave them immediately after they had
presented the set of consonants.
● Chunking
The information stored in short­term memory is in the form of a single unit, comprising several
chunks. A chunk is an understandable or meaningful set or grouping of stimuli e.g., “001023” can
be learnt as “0 0 1 0 2 3” OR “00 10 23”.

9. Learning & Encoding in Long Term Memory
Memory involves both active and passive processes. Sometimes, we use deliberate strategies
to remember something (encode the information into long term memory), for example,
rehearsing the lines of a poem or memorising famous dates for a history exam.
Consolidation Hypothesis
This transfer of information from short­term memory into long­term memory has been called
consolidation Through rehearsal for example, by means of the articulatory loop, the neural
activity responding to sensory stimulation can be sustained; and if enough time passes, the
activity causes structural changes in the brain. These structural changes are more or less
permanent and solid hence, the term consolidation, and are responsible for long­term memory.
● Levels of processing Hypothesis
1. Shelo Processing
The analyses of the superficial characteristics of a stimuli such as it size or
shape. for example the a very big mobile phone.
2. Deep Processing
The analyses of the complex characteristics such as its meaning or its
relationship. such as talking styles of people or smell of that fragrance.
Improving Long Term Memory through Mnemonics
When we can imagine information vividly and concretely, and when it fits into the context of what
we already know, it is easy to remember later, Mnemonic systems do not simplify information
but make it more elaborate. More information is stored, not less. However, the additional
information makes the material easier to recall. Mnemonic systems organise new information
into a cohesive whole so that retrieval of part of the information ensures retrieval of the rest of it.
Method of Loci
A mnemonic system in which items to be remembered are mentally associated with specific
physical locations. For example, if a person wanted to remember a short shopping list without
writing it down and the list consists of five items: cheese, milk, eggs, soy sauce and lettuce, the
person might first think of a familiar place, perhaps their house. Next, they would mentally walk
through the house, visually placing different items from the list at locations.
Peg­word method
A similar technique, the peg­word method, involves the association of items to be remembered
with a set of mental pegs that are already stored in memory.

10. The Organisation of long term memory
Episodic memory
Episodic memory provides us with a record of our life experiences. Events stored there are
autobiographical and there appears to be cross­cultural agreement on when such memories are
acquired
Semantic Memory
Semantic memory consists of conceptual information such as general knowledge; it is a
long­term store of data, facts and information. Our knowledge of what psychology is, the names
of the authors of this book.
Explicit Memory
Memory can be discovered verbally and of which a person is therefore aware.
Implicit Memory
Memory that cannot be described verbally and which a person is not aware.
Remembering
Tip of the tongue phenomena
An occasional problem with retrieval of occasional problem that we sure we know but can not
immediately remember.
Retrieval Cues
Contextual variables includes physical objects recall information from memory.