Learning, Memory, Thinking, and Language Unit 3

Semester Exam Your semester exam will be to conduct and present the results of a psychological experiment You will work either individually or in a group of up to thee people Your experiment must include the following Research Question Hypothesis Control Group Experimental Group Independent Variable Dependent Variable Data Collected Analysis Results You will present your experiment, research, and findings to the class during the final exam period

Research Question A research question is an answerable inquiry into a specific concern or issue. It is the initial step in a research project. The 'initial step' means after you have an idea of what you want to study, the research question is the first active step in the research project. Specify your specific concern or issue Decide what you want to know about the specific concern or issue Turn what you want to know and the specific concern into a question Ensure that the question is answerable Check to make sure the question is not too broad or too narrow Your research question must be 300-600 words

Hypothesis A hypothesis is a specific, testable prediction. It describes in concrete terms what you expect will happen in a certain circumstance It is based upon your research question Should include Explain what you expect to happen Be clear and understandable Be testable Be measurable And contain an independent and dependent variable

Experiment Procedure How will you design your study? What will be the basic setup of your experiment? Will it be a Lab experiment? Field experiment? What materials will you need? How will the experiment be conducted? How will you avoid bias? What ethical considerations will you take?

Control Group A control group is the group in a study that does not include the thing being tested and is used as a benchmark to measure the results of the other group. What is your control group? Selection criteria Efforts to avoid bias

Experimental Group An experimental group is used in an experiment to test a variable. It is the group to which the test variable is administered. Learn more about how an experimental group works in this lesson, and test your knowledge with a quiz at the end. Selection criteria Efforts to control bias

Independent Variable The dependent variable is the variable that is being measured in an experiment How will you measure the dependent variable?

Dependent Variable The dependent variable is the variable that is being measured in an experiment How will you measure the dependent variable?

Data You will compile the data from your experiment or study and present it in a comprehensive, organized, and effective way You should Present all of your findings Utilize charts or other graphical organizers

Analysis After collecting your data, it is time to analyze the results of your experiment. Researchers utilize statistics to determine if the results of the study support the original hypothesis and to determine if the results are statistically significant. Statistical significance means that the results of the study are unlikely to have occurred simply by chance What specific statistical methods did you use to analyze the data?

Results What conclusions did your study produce? Use your data analysis Did you prove your hypothesis? Were any of the results surprising? What were some of the failures in your study? How could they be resolved in future studies? Are your results Valid? Authentic? How do your results impact future study in this field? Your results should be 500-1000 words

Style All work must be printed Use MLA or APA style throughout 12 point font Double space Regular (Times, Calibri, Cambria, etc..)font Use MLA or APA style throughout Use active voice (avoid passive voice) We conducted the experiment – good The experiment was conducted – bad

Presentation Your presentation will present all aspects of your study to the class audience Your presentation will last 8-12 minutes and will be delivered during your final exam period You may use visual aids or presentation software (PP) to facilitate your presentation Avoid using these as a crutch

Modeling Trial and Error Repetition Verbal Instruction How would you learn to use a new computer program? Which of these learning styles is most effective? Is the way we learn innate or learned?

Learning Rate the following pieces of art on a scale of 1 to 5 1 being the worst 5 being the best

Practice

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Pavlov’s Dog Experiment Ivan Pavlov conducted studies in the early 1900s using dogs He studied the dogs’ salivation when presented with food and a bell

Classical Conditioning

Classical Conditioning Generalization – An animal or person will react to a second stimulus similar to the first one Dogs could learn to salivate at the sight of a circle Also worked for other shapes Discrimination – Teaching an animal or person to only respond to the very specific stimulus Only presenting the food when a circle was shown but not a square

Classical Conditioning Extinction – If over time the conditioned stimulus is not used the conditioned response will decay and eventually disappear Spontaneous Recovery – If the conditioned stimulus is reintroduced the conditioned response can quickly reappear Not at full strength initially

Classical Conditioning Create a model classical conditioning experiment The experiment can follow any format you choose, but can not be an example we have already discussed Include Neutral stimulus Conditioned stimulus Unconditioned response Conditioned response Generalization and discrimination examples

Operant Conditioning Operant conditioning is similar to classical conditioning but depends on learning from prior experiences Operates on rewards and punishments BF Skinner pioneered much of the research in the field He created “Skinner Boxes” which housed rats and trained them with various rewards and punishments

Positive and Negative Reinforcement Reinforcement – Increases the likelihood a behavior occurs Positive Reinforcement Adding something desirable to encourage a behavior after an action Negative Reinforcement Removing something undesirable to encourage a behavior after an action

Reinforcers Primary Reinforcer – satisfies a biological need such as food, water, sleep Secondary Reinforcer – Something not necessary for survival that is paired with a primary reinforcer Money is a clear example to humans

Schedules of Reinforcement

Punishment Punishment decreases the frequency of a behavior Positive Punishment – Adding an aversive stimulus Add something bad Negative Punishment – Withdraw a desirable stimulus Take away something good Long term effects Behavior is suppressed not forgotten Punishment teaches discrimination Don’t swear at home – Swear at school or work Punishment can teach fear Hitting at school – Avoid school Physical punishment may increase aggressiveness by modeling aggression as a way to cope with problems

Crash Course How to Train a Brain

Bobo Doll Experiment

Learned Helplessness Experiment

The Monster Study

Memory

Miller’s Law (Magic Number Seven)

Car Crash Study