psyc 620

 

The primary goal of the Learning and Cognition Handbook assignment is  to integrate concepts from the discipline of learning and cognitive  psychology into a usable and professional guide that is designed for a  specific audience based on your career goals. The purpose of this  handbook is to share helpful strategies and apply what you have learned  from the course to six major topics in the field. You will incorporate  your findings from required sources and the relevant sources you  researched in the Week 2 Discipline-Based Literature Review, as well as  those from the Week 3 Assignment: Choosing Your Focus.

To complete this assignment, you may utilize the

Learning and Cognition Handbook template

 or create your own using the template as a guide. Your handbook should  include the sections listed below, incorporating a minimum of one visual  (e.g.,

table, figure, or image (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

)  with a maximum of five visuals per section. Each image must be  retrieved and cited based on current copyright laws. You may wish to use  the

Where to Get Free Images

guide for assistance with accessing freely available public domain and/or Creative Commons licensed images.

Handbook Sections:

Table of Contents
List all sections and subsections included in the handbook with the applicable page numbers.

Preface (100 to 150 words)
Provide an overview of the handbook and its potential use by your chosen audience.

Introduction to the Major Topics (200 to 300 words)
Provide  an introductory summary of the six topics listed below and discuss any  careers in psychology specifically related to at least one of them:

• Traditional learning theories:
• Operant and classical conditioning
• Traditional learning theories:
• Behaviorism

and social learning theory

• Attention and memory
• Decision-Making
• Language acquisition
• Organizational and lifelong learning

Describe how one or more of these areas may be connected to your future career goals.

Major Topics (1 to 2 pages for each major topic)
Communicate  the extent to which the six major topics of learning and cognition  affect related sub-topics by synthesizing the course learning principles  and/or theories. Consider how these sub-topics may be related to your  future career goals. For instance, if you intend to become an applied  behavior analyst, behaviorism and related technique for learning may be  directly connected to your future role. For each major topic, apply  basic research methods and skeptical inquiry to explain the theoretical  perspectives and empirical research that substantiate the relationship  between the topic and at least two related sub-topics. In your review,  consider how these topic and sub-topics are directly connected to  evaluations and interventions in psychology practice in various fields.  Focus on the areas most related to your future area of practice, paying  particular attention to how theories are examined in research studies.  The following are some sub-topics to consider:

• Comprehension

Operant and classical conditioning
Behaviorism

• Social learning theory
• Problem solving
• Memory development/retention
• Lifelong learning
• Individual and group learning
• Organizational learning
• Mentorship
• Apprenticeship models of learning
• Effects of demographic differences (e.g., gender, socioeconomics, religious affiliation, race) on learning

Although creative liberties are encouraged, all information  incorporated should be supported and professionally presented through  the consistent application of ethical principles and adherence to  professional standards of learning and cognition psychology as applied  to the chosen audience.

Conclusion (200 to 300 words)
Summarize the  importance of the topics within the learning and cognition domain and  their applicability within the psychology profession for the chosen  audience.

Attention Students: The Masters of Arts in Psychology program is  utilizing the Pathbrite portfolio tool as a repository for student  scholarly work in the form of signature assignments completed within the  program. After receiving feedback for this Learning and Cognition  Handbook, please implement any changes recommended by the instructor,  and go to

Pathbrite (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

to upload the revised Learning and Cognition Handbook to the portfolio. (Use the

Pathbrite Quick-Start Guide

 to create an account if you do not already have one.) The upload of  signature assignments will take place after completing each course. Be  certain to upload revised signature assignments throughout the program  as the portfolio and its contents will be used in other courses and may  be used by individual students as a professional resource tool. See the Pathbrite (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. website for information and further instructions on using this portfolio tool.

The Learning and Cognition Handbook

• Must be 12 to 15 pages in length (see instructions and rubric for each section and sub-topic) following the Learning and Cognition Handbook template as a guide. Although a handbook differs from a written paper, all citations and references must be formatted according to APA style (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
• Must include a title page with the required information from the handbook template:  

  Title of handbook
  Student’s name
  Institution’s name
  Course name and number
  Instructor’s name
  Date submitted

• Must use at least six scholarly sources in addition to the required resources.  

  The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.  table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you  have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this  assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the  final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a  particular assignment.

• Must include the sections and subsections required as indicated in the handbook template.
• Must address the topics with critical thought and substantiated assertions.
• Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

Running head: ATTENTION AND MEMORY 1

ATTENTION AND MEMORY 4

Attention and Memory

Lana Eliot

Psychology 620

Professor Jackson

December 05, 2017

The ability to do complex tasks rely critically on the capacity to retain relevant information concerning the task in a state which is accessible over a period of time (memory) and to process the information selectively in the environment (attention) (Fougnie, 2008). As an example, we may consider driving around a city that is not familiar, directions must be retained and in the working memory so as to get to your destination. Furthermore, one is obliged to be capable of attending to the important objects selectively because there is much information in a single scene which may be processed by our perpetual systems. As a matter of fact, the contents of attention and working memory overlap normally. If stored directions in working memory tell you to turn right after the water tower, yellow in color, objects resembling yellow water tower draw your attention.

The relationship between these two constructs is not understood fully despite the fact that the working memory contents and attention are normally the same. Individual aspects of their relationship are focused on by empirical work, asking questions like; 1) Do the working memory contents guide attention automatically? 2) Can task demanding attention and memory task be performed at the same time? 3) Does our memory capacity predict performance on tasks needing attention? Insights can be provided by these questions themselves into our complex cognitive machinery. Nevertheless, a general understanding of working memory and attention remains elusive unless effort is extended for the integration of answers into a coherent framework. Attention and memory have been the center stage as a basic process of intellective function throughout the modern history of neuroscience and psychology (Chun, 2007).

Attention at encoding

How to improve memory is a primary question that many people ask themselves. It is safe to say that attention aids in the improvement of in encoding of memory although the details concerning this modulation are still unresolved. Additionally, it is less clear how attention enhances and modulates implicit, although it is controversial that focusing or attending an event or fact will improve the chances of later memory.

But what is the meaning of attention? It may mean to process resources that tasks are allocated in one sense. In another sense, attention may involve the selection of what is worthy of these resources and prevention of other from getting them. As an analogy, you may consider exercising. Do I have the energy (resource) and time to do the exercise? If that’s the case, should I swim laps or run all over the neighborhood? (Selection). The difference between selection and resources is essential for the understanding of how memory is modulated by attention. For example, in the research of behavior, explicit memory is faulty if resources processing is split amongst two tasks that can be done regardless of an urgent secondary task. The stimuli must be attended selectively inclusive of such cases.

How selection and resources interact with memory encoding

The two memory neural measures;

Explicit epidemic memory- Typically correlates with medial and frontal activities temporal regions the time of encoding (subsequent memory).

Implicit perpetual memory- Typically revealed by reduced ventral visual cortex activity when there are repeated visual stimuli (known as functional magnetic resonance, repeated attenuation or repeated suppression).

Attentional resources

A popular means to examine the effects of attention is to need subjects to accomplish two tasks. Essentially, the effects of attention division on memory rely on the way attention is divided. Basically, easy versus complex auditory tasks of monitoring impair words for memory which at similar moment are presented. Nevertheless, such tasks don’t regulate activity in the left inferior prefrontal cortex (LIPC), which is essential for word encoding into long-term memory. A complex task of monitoring decreases activities related to encoding in superior parietal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, of which cognitive control resources allocation is mediated by both regions. Generally, the secondary task impaired, whether or not the processes of episodic encoding were engaged while leaving the processes of encoding in the LIPC intact. Processes of encoding may be directly affected by other types of secondary tasks if they engage in similar circuitry of LIPC.As an example, if needed to select between two incidental tasks of encoding (versus repetition of the same tasks), the performance of memory reduces and activities of LIPC increases, presumably because switching tasks interrupt information of episodic memory and engages the LIPC. The explicit episodic memory may rely on resources of cognitive availability in the parietal and frontal region; this is not true for implicit perpetual memory.

Selective attention

Having the resources does not necessarily mean you can do everything at one time (Driver, 2007). You have to still select what to do. In the same manner, resources of attention availability are not adequate for encoding of memory. As an example, subjects can remember only what they attended to selectively when scenes and faces are joined into overlapping composite fully.

Attention enhances future remembering retrieval of memory

Research suggests that attention division during learning leads to diminished declarative memory relative to dictating attention fully at times of learning (DUDUKOVIC, 2009). Nevertheless, divided attention impacts during retrieval of memory seem to be less severe than they are during encoding. The extent at which memory retrieval is influenced by attention relies on the type of process involved in the decision of memory.

Decisions of recognition memory can be based on either familiarity-sense of encountering something without certain details retrieval or recollection- retrieving specific details concerning an item.

Emotions have influence on memory

Various ways to which memory can be changed by emotions have been specified by both neuroscience and psychological studies (STANLEY, 2010). It has been proposed that the entire three memory stages; encoding, storage, and retrieval can be can be altered by emotions. The memory of episodic relies on the orchestration of various regions of the brain, the hippocampal complex most critically, that lies adjacent to the amygdala in the medial temporal lobe.

References

Chun, M. M. (2007). Interactions between attention and memory. Retrieved from http://ntblab.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Chun_CONB_2007

Abstract

Attention and memory work hand in hand. The review focus on the evidence that supports the interdependence. Memory has the capacity that is limited, and thus encoding will be determined by the attention. Prevention of conscious memory information is prevented by attention division during encoding, although the duty of attention is complex in unconscious memory information. Even when there is another concurrent task, encoding of such memories can take place, though the stimuli to be encoded must be chosen from other competing stimuli.

Driver, J. (2007). A selective review of selective attention. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.473.2890&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Abstract

Selective processing of incoming sensory information is what the attention of research is forwarded to. Our alertness of the world relies on what we select to attend to in some extent and not only stimulation entering our senses. Having the resources does not necessarily means you can do everything at one time. You still have to choose what to do.

DUDUKOVIC, N. M. (2009). Attention during memory retrieval enhances future remembering. Retrieved from https://web.stanford.edu/group/memorylab/Publications/papers/DUD_MC09

Abstract

Retrieval of memory is an essential event of learning that affects whether an experience in the future will be remembered. Division of attention during retrieval can reduce the remembering power as an event of encoding, although in distraction presence, there can be successful retrieval. This article focuses to explain how attention during retrieval of memory enhances future remembering.

Fougnie, D. (2008). The Relationship between Attention and Working Memory. Retrieved from http://www.psy.vanderbilt.edu/students/fougnidl/Fougnie-chap1

Abstract

The capacity to process information (attention) selectively and to retain information in a state that is accessible (working memory) are essential aspects of our capacity of cognition. The relationship between these two constructs has never been well understood despite the much work done to understand working memory and attention. This article examines the duty of perpetual and central attention in the process of encoding, maintenance and information manipulation in the working memory. Research suggests the duty of attention to maintain information is less, despite the fact that attention and working memory interact closely at the time of encoding and manipulation. Furthermore, manipulation of information in the working memory, only the central attention is essential according to research. The article focuses on the relationship between working memory and attention.

STANLEY, D. (2010). Neural Perspectives on Emotion: Impact on Perception, Attention, and Memory. Retrieved from http://www.its.caltech.edu/~dstanley/publications/2009_Stanley_et_al_Handbook_of_Neuroscience_for_the_Behavioral_Sciences

Abstract

Research on the impact and structure of emotion have traditionally occurred within social, personality and clinical psychology in behavioral science. This article focuses on the impact of emotion towards perception, attention, and memory. It has been thought that emotion has an impact on perception and attention in two ways; emotions facilitates perceptual and attentional processes thus increasing the salience stimuli of emotions and secondly our attention is captured by our emotions resulting to impaired nonemotional stimuli existing in the environment.

Running head: LEARNING AND COGNITION 1

LEARNING AND COGNITION

9

Learning and Cognition

Lana Eliot

Psychology 620

Professor Jackson

November 30, 2017

Learning and cognition are two words which are seen to be similar since both need each other for the processes to work. Learning is acquiring knowledge from one’s experience, from what is taught or through studying while cognition one acquires knowledge and understanding thorough senses, experience and from one’s thoughts. So basically, these two relate in that cognition process requires learning and for learning to take place cognition must be involved. All learning happens through interactions with one’s surrounding and it’s a dynamic process with regards to an organism’s life span.

Operant conditioning

Operant conditioning is a mode of learning through which reinforcers stimulus are involved following one’s action. It focuses on the cause of action and consequences afterwards, in attempt of understanding behavior. Operant conditioning can be used to modify behavioral patterns of children, adults as well as pets. It is based on the fact that when a response is followed by a good state of affairs, learning is fortified (Martin & Pear, 2015). It involves use of both positive and negative reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement is used to increase a desirable behavior of people. It includes praising someone, treats and giving out prices. For instance, when you give a child a reward for having good grades in the examination, he or she will always work hard to have even better grades next time so that he or she can have the reward. For this to work, one should give a reward which the person likes. If you give a reward which the person you’re giving to does not like, then it will have no impact to him or her. Negative reinforcement involves undermining undesirable behaviors by removing an unpleasant reinforcer. This can be done by introducing some form of paying fines in places where you’ve gone wrong or when not doing as expected.

Another way is by use of positive and negative punishment. Punishment is usually used in cases where an increase in undesirable behaviors tends to decreases behavior. Positive punishment involves putting consequences in place in order to weaken the undesirable behavior. An example of a positive punishment is by grounding a child for misbehaving. This will alter the child’s behavior in that he or she will not misbehave due to fear of being grounded. Negative punishment involves removal of favorable outcomes after an occurrence of undesirable behavior (Mason, 2017). In adult situation, if a person is employed and doesn’t satisfy his employer’s demands on a particular day, the employer may decide not to pay the person payment for that particular day. This will make other employees work to well to avoid not being paid and will also have an impact on the one not paid.

Punishment as a method of decreasing undesirable behavior has some challenges: it may increase fear as one may live in fear of going to places where he or she was once punished e.g. schools, when punishment is not present the suppressed behavior might be repeated, while reinforcement tells what needs to be done punishment only tells you what to do it doesn’t necessarily tell you to do desirable deeds and it can also make a person adopt to aggressiveness as a way of tackling with punishment.

Classical conditioning

Classical conditioning is a way of learning where a new behavior is learnt through linkage of two stimuli; environmental stimulus and natural occurring stimulus. It is based on natural responses performed by animals including humans. Examples of classical conditioning include involuntary responses like increase or decrease of heart rate, nausea, salivation, constrictions amongst others. It has three stages including before conditioning, during conditioning and after conditioning (McLeod, 2014).

Before conditioning

In this stage an unconditioned stimulus is introduced in an environment, producing a natural response which is not taught nor learnt. Another stimulus known as neutral stimulus is also introduced and doesn’t produce a response since it is not paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

During conditioning

Learning takes place when the unconditioned stimulus is linked with the neutral stimulus. The unconditioned stimulus and the neutral stimulus should be associated several times for response to be produced. The neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus.

After conditioning

After the association of unconditioned stimulus with the conditioned stimulus, conditioned response is formed.

In human beings, a conditioned response can be formed in many cases. For instance, when a person bums into a snake one’s heart rate increases automatically. The increase in heart rate is a conditioned response. A response that occurs involuntary.

Behaviorism

Behaviorism is a theory looks into the observable behaviors acquired from the surroundings without those involving the mind. It is based on the assumption that behavior is shaped by the environment either through reinforcement or punishment. There are three types of behaviorism including methodological behaviorism, logical behaviorism and psychological behaviorism.

Methodological behaviorism

Is a theory concerned with the scientific conduct of both human and animal’s psychology by looking into their actions in order to understand why they behave the way they do? It shows that psychology should associate with the organism’s behavior rather than the organism’s mental state. Owing to methodological behaviorism approach, mental states like animal’s beliefs are private entities, which cannot help much in the understanding of behavior.

Analytical or Logical behaviorism

This concept attempts to transform sentences using psychological terms into sentences without these psychological terms replacing them with terms referring to a body behavior. It claims that not all sentence that uses psychological terms infer to mental states, but rather we can use those sentences to refer to objects, materials or events. So, every mental sentence can be translated into a behavior.

Psychological behaviorism

Psychological behaviorism concept attempts to explain human and animal behavior in relation to external stimuli, reinforcements, responses and learning histories in that person’s observable behavior can be able to explain his or her psychology. A person’s psychology includes emotions, personality and learning. It explains that a person’s personality can easily be able to predict the kind of behavior this person will exhibit. With the concern of education, psychological behaviorism postulates that children undergo cumulative learning before the other complex repertoires are built. Learning of languages help in learning of other things of higher intelligence. Psychological behaviorism relates emotional words as either rewards or punishment of behaviors which can be encouraging one towards a desirable behavior or be an undermine to undesirable behaviors. Hence emotional words are a means of forming an emotional response.

Social learning theory

Social learning theory explains that people learn new behaviors from each other through imitation, observation and modeling.

Observational learning

Many children learn their behaviors through observing their models (individuals who are observed). this helps children in creating a behavior in them. It could their parents, siblings, characters from the television and/or the people of the community surrounding them (McLeod, 2016). How their models behave translates to how the child will be likely to behave. They learn how to do what their models do through observation, afterwards they respond by imitating what they observed. The children imitate the observed behavior whether the behavior is appropriate or not.

The children will tend to imitate behaviors of people who looks like them, but later they’ll imitate behaviors of their own gender. The continuity of the children imitation of certain behavior will depend on their model. Whether their models will punish or reinforce the behavior. If a child is rewarded for imitating his or her model’s behavior, he or she is likely to continue with the behavior. If the child is punished for a behavior he or she imitated, it is likely that the child will stop imitating the behavior. Reinforcement can be internal or external. External reinforcement is when a child seeks approval from his or her parents while internal reinforcement is the feeling the child feels on approval of what he or she desires. Whether negative or positive reinforcement will always lead to a modification of one’s character. However, reinforcement may not have impact on the child if the reinforcement; especially a positive one does not match its desires.

A child also learns by observing the consequences that happen to others before imitating them. For instance, if he or she observes his or her older sibling punished from doing a certain behavior, he or she will be likely to take caution and not to repeat the same but if the sibling is rewarded out of behaving well the behavior is likely to be repeated by the child.

Observational learning has three models including Live model which involves watching a person performing a behavior, verbal instruction model that involves describing a behavior by word of mouth and symbolic model where a character whether real or fiction demonstrates a behavior through sources like television, movies and many others (Akers & Jensen, 2011). Observational learning may lead to identification. Identification entails adoption of observed behaviors, attitudes and beliefs of the person (model) one is identifying with.

Principles of social learning

The following are some of the principles of social learning that explains why and how things are conducted in such a manner.

Attention

This principle explains that people learn when their focus is on the task they are performing. If they see something being different they tend to shift their attention to that thing making social places important in improving these perceptions.

Retention

Most of the time people tend keep memories which in turn helps them in learning. The memory is recalled especially when one needs some information in order to solve a similar situation. The previously acquired information learnt becomes helpful in solving future similar situations.

Reproduction

People reproduce the learnt information in terms of skills, knowledge or behavior which later improves their responses.

Motivation

When people see others being rewarded or punished for something they have done, this motivates them to do something so as to be rewarded or not to do something in order to avoid punishment.

People have different behaviors depending on their mode of learning. For instance, some people’s behaviors are from observable behaviors during their childhood period from their model including family, friends and even TV characters while others are from other modes of learning for example classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Their behavioral patterns differ depending on the extent of their reinforcements and punishments. According to behaviorism, people’s behavior is acquired from their surroundings, hence we can be able to predict peoples character through analyzing their environments.

References

Akers, R.L, and Jensen, G.F. (Eds.). (2011). Social Learning Theory and the Explanation of Crime (vol.1). Transaction Publishers.

Baum, W.M. (2017). Understanding behaviorism: Behavior, culture, and evolution. John Willey and Sons.

Martin, G, and Pear, J.J. (2015). Behavior modification: What it is and how to do it. Psychology Press

Mason, S.A. (2017). Behaviorist Theory. Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders, 1-3.

McLeod, S.A. (2016). Bandura-social learning theory. Retrieved from

www.simplypsychological.org/bandura.html

McLeod, S.A. (2014). Classical conditioning. Retrieved from

www.simplypsychological.org/classical-conditioning.html

Seligman, M.E., and Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). Positive psychology: An introduction. In Flow and the foundations of positive psychology. Springer Netherlands.

Vurbic, D., and Bouton, M.E. (2014). The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of operant and classical conditioning.

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