Social Psychology

Critical Thinking

Marketing Changes Your Brain

QUESTIONS What guides your preference Marketing companies also take 5 How is this type
for Coke or Pepsi? McDon- advantage of our hearing to get us of marketing
1Why was the part ald’s or Burger King? Can these to make purchases. In one study, strategy similar to
of the brain that choices be explained as a matter shoppers purchased wines from dif- auditory subliminal
responds to rewards of taste preference, or is there ferent countries based on the music messages?
activated? something occurring in the brain being played at the store. Shoppers
that makes us choose one over were more likely to purchase French 6 What can explain
2 Why were the the other? Neuroscientists have wine when French music was played why the smell of
memory-related been discovering how marketing and more likely to purchase Ger- fresh baked goods
brain regions activated companies direct us to choose man wine when German music was makes us smile?
when subjects knew their products. played.
they were drinking ANSWERS
Coke, but not when Take, for instance, Coke® and And, let’s not forget about smell. TO CRITICAL
subjects knew they Pepsi®, which are almost identical Smell, more than any other sense, is THINKING
were drinking Pepsi? chemically and physically, yet peo- connected to the brain areas that QUESTIONS
ple usually have a strong preference process motivations and emotions.
3 How might these for one over the other. In one study, This means if businesses use attrac-
results be useful researchers found that when subjects tive scents, we may make purchases
to companies interest- didn’t know which brand of cola they based on impulse rather than ratio-
ed in developing a cola were drinking, they were equally nal thought. This is why supermar-
to compete with Coke likely to choose Coke or Pepsi as kets place their bakery near the
or other products simi- their favorite. Also, the part of the entrance. The smell of fresh oven-
lar to those that have brain that responds to rewards or baked bread or pies puts a big smile
strong brand images? pleasure was activated as they drank on our faces and activates the emo-
either cola. When subjects had tional centers in our brain. Conse-
4 Which structures knowledge about which cola they quently, we are likely to spend more
make up the plea- were drinking, subjects were more money while shopping.
sure area of the brain? likely to prefer Coke and their brain
activity explains why—not only was By applying neuroscience to mar-
there increased activity in the part of keting, we now better understand the
the brain that responds to rewards, complex, mostly unconscious forces
but memory-related brain regions that influence our preferences and
involved in recalling cultural influ- purchase decisions. The question
ences were also activated. The same remains, however: Now that we know
was not true for Pepsi. These results about these clever marketing tech-
suggest that the marketing messages niques, can we resist these powerful
about brands of cola influence our influences, when making purchase
brains in a way that likely alters taste decisions or will many of our buying
perception or preference. decisions continue to take place deep
below our conscious awareness?
We’ve seen how marketing influ- (Adapted from R. Baron, 2008; Herz,
ences us to purchase a particular 2008; Lindstrom, 2008; McClure et
cola, but are marketing techniques al., 2004a, 2004b; Park, 2007)
aimed to get us to quit using addic-
tive drugs powerful enough to
change our behavior? Researchers
found that warning labels on ciga-
rette packs actually stimulate the
pleasure area of the brain, which
brings on cigarette cravings. The
warning labels are aimed to reduce
smoking, but they may just increase
profits for tobacco companies!

210 M O D U L E 9 C L A S S I C A L C O N D I T I O N I N G

Links to Learning

Key Terms/Key People Learning Activities

adaptive value, 200 spontaneous recovery, 199 PowerStudy for Introduction PowerStudy 4.5™
anticipatory nausea, 206 stimulus substitution, 202 to Psychology 4.5
anxiety hierarchy, 207 systematic
classical conditioning, 196 Try out PowerStudy’s SuperModule for Classical Conditioning! In addition to
cognitive learning, 196 desensitization, 207 the quizzes, learning activities, interactive Summary Test, key terms, module
cognitive perspective, 202 systematic desensitization outline and abstract, and extended list of correlated websites provided for all
conditioned emotional modules, the DVD’s SuperModule for Classical Conditioning features:
procedure, 207 t 4FMG QBDFE
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response, 201 taste-aversion t 7JEFP BCPVU UBTUF BWFSTJPO JO XPMWFT
BT XFMM BT B IJTUPSJD WJEFP PG
conditioned response, 197 Watson’s Little Albert.
conditioned stimulus, 197 learning, 200 t /VNFSPVT BOJNBUJPOT EFTJHOFE UP IFMQ ZPV VOEFSTUBOE DMBTTJDBM BOE
conditioning anticipatory taste-aversion learning in operant conditioning and cognitive learning.
t *OUFSBDUJWF WFSTJPOT PG TUVEZ SFTPVSDFT
JODMVEJOH UIF 4VNNBSZ 5FTU PO QBHFT
nausea, 206 coyotes, 200 208–209 and the critical thinking questions for the article on page 210.
conditioning Little taste-aversion learning in
CengageNOW!
Albert, 204 humans, 200 www.cengage.com/login
contiguity theory, 202 testing for Want to maximize your online study time? Take this easy-
cultural effects on dental to-use study system’s diagnostic pre-test and it will create a personalized study
conditioning, 197–198 plan for you. e plan will help you identify the topics you need to understand
fear, 205 unconditioned response better and direct you to relevant companion online resources that are specific
dental fear, 205 to this book, speeding up your review of the module.
discrimination, 199 (UCR), 197
establishing classical unconditioned stimulus

conditioning, 197–198 (UCS), 197
extinction, 199
fear of injections, 206 Introduction to Psychology Book Companion Website
fear of needles, 206 www.cengage.com/psychology/plotnik
generalization, 199 Visit this book’s companion website for more resources to help you
law of effect, 196 study, including learning objectives, additional quizzes, flash cards, updated
learning, 195 links to useful websites, and a pronunciation glossary.
learning to relax, 207
neutral stimulus, 197 Study Guide and WebTutor
one-trial learning, 200 Work through the corresponding module in your Study
operant conditioning, 196 Guide for tips on how to study effectively and for help learning the material
Pavlov’s experiment, 197 covered in the book. WebTutor (an online Study Tool accessed through your
preparedness, 200 eResources account) provides an interactive version of the Study Guide.
selecting stimulus and

response, 197–198

Suggested Answers to Critical Thinking 5. Subliminal messages are brief auditory or visual mes-
sages that are presented in a way such that the message
1. The reward/pleasure center of the brain is activated when a person eats a is unlikely to be consciously perceived. In the study with
favorite food, has sex, and does other pleasurable activities, such as drinking French and German music, the shoppers were probably
a sugared beverage like Coke or Pepsi. (p. 175) not aware that the music influenced their purchase
decision, just as people hearing auditory subliminal
2. One explanation for why memory-related brain regions involved in recalling messages do not perceive the messages, but the
cultural influences were activated only when subjects knew they were drinking messages may still influence their behaviors. (p. 135)
Coke is that the brand image of Coke may be more culturally familiar than that
of Pepsi. 6. One function of olfaction or smell is to elicit strong
memories, often associated with emotional feelings.
3. Companies should be cautious about developing a cola similar to Coke or other For example, the smell of apple pie may remind you of
products similar to favored brands because it will take a lot of effort and a festive family gathering, making you feel happy and
expense to have people buy a new product that competes with an existing one bringing a smile to your face.
with a strong brand.
L I N K S T O L E A R N I N G 211
4. Many drugs, including nicotine in cigarettes, activate the brain’s pleasure cen-
ter, which includes the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area. (p. 175)

Operant

10 & Cognitive
Approaches
MODULE

Photo Credit: Joel Sartore/National
Geographic Stock
A. Operant Conditioning 214 I. Application: Behavior Modification 232
B. Reinforcers 218 Summary Test 234
C. Schedules of Reinforcement 220 Critical Thinking 236
D. Other Conditioning Concepts 222 How Do You Train a Killer Whale?
E. Cognitive Learning 223 Links to Learning 237
Concept Review 227
F. Biological Factors 228
G. Research Focus: Viewing Aggression 230 PowerStudy 4.5™
H. Cultural Diversity: East Meets West 231 Complete Module

212

Introduction

Learning 45 Commands Learning to Skateboard
It was an unusual movie for two reasons. In operant conditioning, the learning
How did First, there was almost no dialogue: Human What did Tony process is out in the open: Bart per-

Bart become a actors spoke only 657 words. Second, the Hawk learn from forms an observable behavior (holds a
movie star? star of the movie was a nonspeaking, non- just watching? teddy bear), which is followed by an
human, 12-year-old, 10-foot-tall, 1,800- observable consequence (gets an apple).
pound, enormous brown Kodiak bear But there is another kind of learning that involves unobservable
named Bart (shown on the left). Bart is mental processes and unobservable rewards that you may give
one of the world’s largest land-dwelling yourself. is kind of learning, called cognitive learning, is partly
carnivores and can, with one swipe of his how Tony Hawk learned to skate.
massive 12-inch paw, demolish anything Tony Hawk is recognized as the greatest skateboarder of all
in his path. Yet, in the movie, there was time. But Tony did not always have a talent for skating. When Tony
big bad Bart, sitting peacefully on his was 9 years old, his brother gave him his old skateboard. Tony had
haunches, cradling a small bear cub seen his brother skate before, and he
in his arms. “So what?” you might tried to skate just like him. Tony
say, but what you don’t know is then visited a skate park, where
that, in the wild, a Kodiak bear he was awed by how quickly skaters
normally kills and eats any cub went up, down, and around walls. He
Bart the bear learned to perform it encounters. was also amazed at how they daringly
45 behaviors on cue through spun while high up in the air. Tony
operant conditioning. Because Bart was found as wanted to be as talented as the skaters
a cub and raised by a human
trainer, Bart grew to act more like an overgrown teddy bear than a at the park, and he went on to practice
natural-born killer. For his role in the movie e Bear, Bart learned every chance he had. When Tony was
to perform 45 behaviors on cue, such as sitting, running, standing asked why he enjoyed skating as a child,
up, roaring, and, most difficult of all, cradling a teddy bear, which he replied, “I liked that no one was tell-
is not what an adult bear does in the wild. ing me how to do it” (CBS News, 2004).
The training procedure seems deceptively simple: Each time Instead, Tony learned by observing how his
Bart performed a behavior on cue, the trainer, Doug Seus, gave friends and professionals skated at the park:
Bart an affectionate back scratch, an ear rub, or a juicy apple or “I would watch them and try to learn from
pear. For example, when the trainer raised his arms high in the them. I’d imitate them” (Hawk, 2002, p. 30).
air, it was the signal for Bart to sit and hold the teddy bear. A er On his own initiative and without
Bart correctly performed this behavior, Doug would give him a any special guidance, Tony learned
reward. A er Bart learned to perform all these behaviors with a to skate by imitating others.
stuffed teddy bear, a live bear cub was substituted and the scene The process Tony used to learn
was filmed for the movie (Cerone, 1989). skateboarding is very different from
Bart learned to perform 45 behaviors on cue through a kind of the operant conditioning procedure
learning called operant conditioning. used to teach Bart new behaviors. Tony Hawk learned to
Photo Credits: left, © George Frey; right, © Evan Agostini/Getty Images Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a kind During operant conditioning, Bart skateboard partly from
performed observable behaviors that
of learning in which an animal or human performs some behavior, and the watching others.

following consequence (reward or punishment) increases or decreases the were influenced by observable consequences. In comparison, Tony

chance that an animal or human will again perform that same behavior. learned how to skateboard through observation and imitation,

For example, if Bart performed a particular behavior, such as which involved unobservable mental processes and is called cogni-
picking up a teddy bear, the consequence that followed—getting a tive learning. We’ll discuss cognitive learning later in this module.
rewarding apple—increased the chance that Bart would again pick
up the teddy bear. Because of what Bart learned through operant
conditioning, he starred in 20 movies and became the highest paid What’s Coming
animal actor, making about $10,000 a day (Brennan, 1997). at’s a
salary that most of us would be very happy to bear! In the first half of this module, we’ll discuss the history and proce-
Operant conditioning seems rather straightforward. You per- dure of operant conditioning, how operant conditioning differs
form an action or operate on your environment, such as studying from classical conditioning, how consequences or reinforcers work,
hard. e consequence of your studying, such as how well you do and other examples of operant conditioning. In the second half of
on exams, increases or decreases the likelihood that you will per- this module, we’ll explain the history of cognitive learning, the
form the same behavior—studying hard—in the future. theory behind observational learning, and the role of insight
Besides learning by having your behaviors rewarded or pun- learning.
ished, you can also learn in a very different way.
We’ll begin with an important study that involved a cat, a
puzzle box, and a smelly fish.

I N T R O D U C T I O N 213

A. Operant Conditioning

Background: Thorndike and Skinner

How did We told you how a trainer used operant conditioning to teach Bart to perform 45 different behaviors on cue.
Operant conditioning has now been applied to many different settings, such as training animals to perform, train-
Bart become a ing children to use the potty, stopping retarded children from injuring themselves, and helping autistic children
movie star? learn social behaviors. However, the discovery of operant behavior involved two different researchers who worked
in two different laboratories on two different kinds of problems. So that you can appreciate the thinking that led to
operant conditioning, we’ll visit the laboratories of the two important researchers—E. L. orndike and B. F. Skinner.

Thorndike’s Law of Effect Skinner’s Operant Conditioning

It’s the late 1800s, and we’re in the labora- It’s the 1930s, and we’re in the laboratory of B. F. Skinner,
tory of E. L. orndike, who is interested who is interested in analyzing ongoing behaviors of
in animal intelligence—specifically, in animals. Skinner explains that Thorndike’s law of
measuring their capacity for reasoning. effect is useful, since it describes how animals are
Unlike pet owners who assume from rewarded for making particular responses. However, in
anecdotal observations that their animals order to analyze ongoing behaviors, you must have an
are intelligent, orndike devised a sim- objective way to measure them. Skinner’s clever solu-
E. L. Thorndike ple but clever way to measure reasoning B. F. Skinner tion is a unit of behavior he calls an operant response
(1874–1949) in a more objective way. He built a series (1904–1990) (Skinner, 1938).

of puzzle boxes from which a cat could escape by learn- An operant response is a response that can be modified by its consequences

ing to make a specific response, such as pulling a string and is a meaningful unit of ongoing behavior that can be easily measured.

or pressing a bar. Outside the puzzle box was a reward for For example, suppose that out of curiosity Bart picks up a teddy bear.
escaping—a piece of fish. His picking up the teddy bear is an example of an operant response
We watch orndike place a cat in the puzzle box and because Bart is acting or operating on the environment. e consequence
record its escape time. After Thorndike graphs the dataTime to escape, in secondsof his picking up the teddy bear is that he receives an apple, which is a
(graph below), we see a gradual lessening in the time needed Cumulativedesirable effect. is desirable effect modifies his response by increasing
to escape. Notice that on the first trial the cat needed over responsethe chances that Bart will repeat the same response.
240 seconds to hit the escape latch, but by the last trial, the Photo Credit: (rat) © PhotoDisc, Inc.By measuring or recording operant responses, Skinner can analyze
cat hits the escape latch in less than 60 seconds. Figure/Text Credit: Graph on right based on data from Behavior of Organisms, by B. F. Skinner, 1938. Appleton-Century-Crofts.animals’ ongoing behaviors during learning. He calls this kind of learn-
ing operant conditioning, which focuses on how consequences (rewards
Law of effect: In escaping the puzzle or punishments) affect behaviors.
box, the cat’s successful responses
240 are strengthened and this results in A simple example of operant conditioning occurs when a rat in an

180 quicker escape times. experimental box accidentally presses a bar. If the bar press is followed
by food, this consequence increases the chance that the rat will press
120 the bar again. As the rat presses the bar more times, more food follows,

60 which in turn increases the chances that the rat will continue to press
0 the bar (indicated by the rise of the red line in the figure below).
Trials of a cat to escape
from puzzle box

Bar pressing Food
Food
Thorndike explains that, with repeated trials, the cat Food
spends more time around the latch, which increases the
chances of finding and hitting the latch and more quickly Food
escaping to get the fish. To explain why a cat’s random trial- Time
and-error behaviors gradually turned into efficient, goal-
directed behaviors, orndike formulated the law of effect. Rat learns to press a bar, which increases the chances of getting food.

The law of effect states that behaviors followed by positive Using his newly developed procedure of operant conditioning, B. F.
consequences are strengthened, while behaviors followed by neg- Skinner spent the next 50 years exploring and analyzing learning in rats,
ative consequences are weakened. pigeons, schoolchildren, and adults.

orndike’s (1898) findings were significant because they e 1920s and 1930s gave learning a mighty jolt with the discovery
suggested that the law of effect was a basic law of learning of two general principles—Pavlov’s classical conditioning and Skinner’s
and provided an objective procedure to study it. orndike’s operant conditioning. For the first time, psychologists had two methods
emphasis on studying the consequences of goal-directed to analyze learning processes in an objective way.
behavior was further developed and expanded by B. F.
Skinner. Now we’ll examine Skinner’s ingenious procedure for operant condi-
tioning in more detail.
214 M O D U L E 1 0 O P E R A N T & C O G N I T I V E A P P R O A C H E S

Principles and Procedures Shaping: Facing the Bar Immediate Reinforcement
Skinner places a white
Why does A rat may initially press a rat into the (Skinner) Depending on the rat and the
a rat press bar out of curiosity, and box, closes the door, trainer’s experience, it may take
whether it presses the and watches the rat from minutes to an hour to shape a
a bar? bar again depends on through a one-way rat to press a bar. Skinner explains
mirror. At first, the rat that in shaping behavior, the food
the consequences. pellet, or reinforcer, should follow
To show how wanders around the back of the box, but immediately a er the desired
consequences when it turns and faces the bar, Skinner behavior. By following immedi-
can affect releases a food pellet that makes a noise ately, the reinforcer is associated
behavior, as it drops into the food cup. e rat hears with the desired behavior and not
imagine that the pellet drop, approaches the food cup, with some other behavior that just
you are look- then sees, sniffs, and eats the pellet. A er happens to occur. If the reinforcer
ing over Skin- eating, the rat moves away to explore the is delayed, the animal may be
ner’s shoulder box. But, as soon as the rat turns and faces reinforced for some undesired or
as he places a the bar, Skinner releases another pellet. superstitious behavior.
rat into a box.
e box is e rat hears the noise, goes to the food Superstitious behavior is a
empty except for cup, sniffs, and eats the pellet. Shaping is behavior that increases in frequency
Skinner box contains a bar jutting out from going well. because its occurrence is accidentally
bar and food cup. one side and an empty paired with the delivery of a reinforcer.
Shaping: Touching the Bar
food cup below and to the side of the bar As shaping continues, When I (R. P.) was a graduate
(above figure). is box, called a Skinner box, Skinner decides to student, I conditioned my share of
is automated to record the animal’s bar presses reinforce the rat only superstitious rat behaviors, such
and deliver food pellets. e Skinner box is an when it actually as making them turn in circles or
efficient way to study how an animal’s ongoing moves toward the bar. stand up instead of pressing the
behaviors may be modified by changing the Skinner waits and bar. at’s because I accidentally
consequences of what happens a er a bar press. but immediately reinforced a
As you watch, Skinner explains that the as soon as the rat faces and then moves rat a er it performed the wrong
Figure/Text Credit: Skinner box illustration from Introduction to Psychology, by E. Bruce Goldstein, 1995. Brooks/Cole. rat is a good subject for operant conditioning toward the bar, Skinner releases another behavior.
because it can use its front paws to manipulate pellet. A er eating the pellet, the rat wan-
objects, such as a bar, and it has a tendency to ders a bit but soon returns to the bar and Humans, especially profes-
explore its environment, which means that it actually sniffs it. A fourth pellet immedi- sional baseball players, report a
will eventually find the bar, touch it, or even ately drops into the cup, and the rat eats it. variety of superstitious behaviors
press it. When the rat places one paw on the bar, a that were accidentally reinforced
Skinner goes on to explain the following fi h pellet drops into the cup. Notice how by getting a hit (Burger & Lynn,
three factors that are involved in operantly con- Skinner has shaped the rat to spend all its 2005). For example, a five-time
ditioning a rat to press a bar in the Skinner box. time near the bar. batting champion (Wade Boggs)
ate chicken every day he played,
1 e rat has not been fed for some hours so Shaping: Pressing the Bar allowed no one else to touch his
that it will be active and more likely to eat the As soon as the rat bats, and believed each bat had
food reward. A hungry rat tends to roam rest- actually puts its paws a certain number of hits. Once a
lessly about, sniffing at whatever it finds. on the bar, Skinner batter’s superstitious behaviors are
releases a pellet. A er reinforced, especially
2 e goal is to condition the rat to press the eating, the rat puts its by getting a big hit
bar. By pressing the bar, the rat operates on its paws back on the bar or home run, super-
environment; thus, this response is called an stitious behaviors
operant response. and gets a pellet. Now Skinner waits until tend to persist and
the rat puts its paws on the bar and actu- can be very dif-
3 Skinner explains that a naive rat does not ally happens to press down, which releases ficult to eliminate.
usually waltz over and press the bar. In condi- another pellet. Soon, the rat is pressing You probably
tioning a rat to press a bar, Skinner will use a the bar over and over to get pellets. Notice have some of
procedure called shaping. how Skinner reinforced the rat’s behaviors your own!
Shaping is a procedure in which an experimenter that led up to or approximated the desired
behavior of bar pressing. Next, we’ll discuss some inter-
successively reinforces behaviors that lead up to or esting examples of operant condi-
tioning in very young humans.
approximate the desired behavior.
For example, if the desired behavior is

pressing the bar, here’s how shaping works.

A . O P E R A N T C O N D I T I O N I N G 215

A. Operant Conditioning

Examples of Operant Conditioning

Have you Without realizing it, you may be per- behaviors because they are followed by reinforcers
forming many behaviors learned that increase the chances that you will perform
been operantly through operant conditioning. For these same behaviors again. We’ll discuss how
conditioned? example, operant conditioning was procedures and principles of operant conditioning
involved if you learned to drive have been used by parents to solve two relatively
through a yellow traffic light to avoid stopping, study for common problems: getting young children to use
hours to get good grades, or give flowers to your honey to see the toilet and to stop refusing to eat a wide variety
him or her smile. And you may continually perform these of healthy foods.

Toilet Training Food Refusal

Imagine that you are a parent of 3-year-old Sheryl, Some young children with no medical problems may develop a habit of
who is physically mature enough to begin toilet train- eating only certain foods and refusing all others, which may
ing. Here’s how operant conditioning techniques can result in having an unhealthy diet or low weight (Patel
be applied to teach toilet training. et al., 2002). Researchers taught parents how to
use the principles of operant conditioning to
overcome food refusal in their young children.
1. Target behavior. e target behavior or goal was
for the child to taste, chew, and eat a food (usually fruits
or vegetables) that she or he has persistently refused to eat.
2. Preparation. Researchers first showed mothers how to shape and rein-
force target behaviors. Next, each mother shaped the target behavior in her
child in the home setting.
3. Reinforcers. Each time the child performed or emitted a target behav-
ior, the mother immediately reinforced the child with a positive reinforcer,
such as praise, attention, or a smile.
4. Shaping. e shaping procedure consisted of having the child notice
the food and let it be placed in his or her mouth, letting the child taste the
food, and, finally, having the child chew and swallow the food.

e graph below explains and shows the success of using operant con-
ditioning to overcome food refusal in young children (Werle et al., 1993).
1. Target behavior. e target behavior or goal is for Pieces of
Sheryl to urinate in the toilet. food eaten
Photo Credits: top, © Monkey Business Images Ltd./Photolibrary; left, © Peter Southwick/Stock, Boston
2. Preparation. Before training Figure/Text Credit: Adapted from “Treating Chronic Food Refusal in Young Children: Home-Based Parent Training,” by M. A. Werle, T. B. Murphy & K. S. Budd, 1993,
begins, put all of Sheryl’s toys Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 26, 421–433.
away so that she will not be dis-
tracted. en give her a large glass
of apple juice, so that she will

have to urinate soon.

4 steps in 3. Reinforcers. Select reinforc-
toilet training ers, which can be candy, verbal
praise, or a hug. Each time Sheryl
performs or emits a desired
behavior, you immediately rein-
force it. e reinforcer increases
the likelihood that the behavior
will be repeated.

4. Shaping. Just as Skinner used the shaping proce- 5 Shaping
dure in conditioning a rat to press a bar, you can use 4
a similar shaping procedure in conditioning Sheryl 3 6 8 10 12 14 16
to use the toilet. Each time Sheryl performs a behav- 2 Sessions
ior that leads to the target behavior (using the toilet), 1 Baseline
give her a treat, verbal praise, or a hug. For instance, 0
when Sheryl says that she has to go potty, say, “ at’s
great.” When Sheryl enters the bathroom, say, “What 024
a good girl.” When she lowers her pants by herself,
say, “You’re doing really well.” A er Sheryl urinates Baseline: During Shaping: During these sessions, the mother shaped
into the toilet, give her a big hug and perhaps a treat. these four sessions, the child to accept nonpreferred food by giving praise,
the mother offered attention, and smiles each time her child made a response
Mothers who were supervised as they used this nonpreferred food that was similar to or approximated the target behavior
training procedure needed 4–18 hours to toilet train to her child, who (chewing and swallowing food). Shaping proved effective
their 2- to 3-year-olds (Berk & Patrick, 1990; Matson refused the food in overcoming the child’s habit of food refusal. Compare
& Ollendick, 1977). However, children vary in when each time. the child‘s food refusal during baseline to that during
they are ready to begin toilet training and operant shaping sessions.
conditioning. Researchers advise that “in most cases
there’s no clear benefit to starting training before 24 Notice that the same principles of operant conditioning apply whether
to 27 months and in fact kids who start early often the goal is to condition a child to use the potty, to overcome food refusal,
take longer to finish” (N. Blum, 2003). or to train Bart the bear to pick up and hold a teddy bear.

Another difficulty parents face is when children eat Next, we’ll compare the principles of operant and classical conditioning.
only one or two favorite foods and refuse all others.

216 M O D U L E 1 0 O P E R A N T & C O G N I T I V E A P P R O A C H E S

Operant Versus Classical Conditioning

How are Earlier in this module, we discussed usually do. Although both operant and classical condition-
how Bart the bear was operantly ing lead to learning, they have very different procedures
they different? conditioned to hold a teddy bear— and principles, which may be a little confusing. We’ll try to
something he would never do in the clear up any confusion by doing a side-by-side comparison
wild. As you may remember from Module 9, we dis- of the principles and procedures of operant and classical
cussed how Sam the dog was classically conditioned to Bart—classically or conditioning by using the same subject, Bart, one of the
salivate to the sound of a bell—something he would not operantly conditioned? world’s largest subjects.

Photo Credits: top, © George Frey; bottom, © George Frey Operant Conditioning Classical Conditioning

1 Goal. e goal of operant conditioning 1 Goal. The goal of classical conditioning is to create a new

is to increase or decrease the rate of some response to a neutral stimulus. In Bart’s case, he will
response, which usually involves shaping. make a new response, salivation, to the sound of
In Bart’s case, the goal was to increase his a horn, which is the neutral stimulus because it
rate of holding a teddy bear. does not usually cause Bart to salivate.

2 Voluntary response. Bart’s behavior of holding a teddy 2 Involuntary response. Salivation is an example of a physiological

bear is a voluntary response because he can perform it at will. reflex. Physiological reflexes (salivation, eye blink) are triggered or
Bart must first perform a voluntary response before getting elicited by some stimulus and therefore called involuntary responses.
a reward.
3 Elicited response. As Bart eats an
3 Emitted response. Bart voluntarily performs or emits
apple, it will trigger the involuntary physi-
some response, which Skinner called the operant response ological reflex of salivation. Thus, eating
(holding teddy bear). Skinner used the term emit to indicate the apple, which is called the uncondi-
that the organism acts or operates on the environment. In tioned stimulus, triggers or elicits an
most cases, animals and humans are shaped to emit the involuntary reflex response, salivation,
desired responses. which is called the unconditioned response.

4 Contingent on behavior. Bart’s performance of the desired 4 Conditioned response.
response depends on, or is contingent on, the conse-
quences, or what happens next. For example, each Bart was given
time Bart holds the teddy bear, the consequence is repeated trials dur-
that he receives an apple. The apple, which is a ing which the neu-
reward (reinforcer), increases the chances that Bart tral stimulus (horn’s sound) was presented and followed by the
will perform the desired response in the future. unconditioned stimulus (apple). After repeated trials, Bart
learned a relationship between the two stimuli: e horn’s sound
The reinforcer must occur immediately is followed by an apple. e horn’s sound, or neutral stimulus,
after the desired response. In Bart’s case, becomes the conditioned stimulus when its
the reinforcer (apple) would be given imme- sound alone, before the occurrence of
diately a er Bart holds the teddy bear. If the the apple, elicits salivation, which is
reinforcer occurs too late, the result may be the conditioned response.
the conditioning of unwanted or superstitious
responses. For best results, the neutral stimulus is presented slightly
before the unconditioned stimulus. If the unconditioned stimulus is
5 Consequences. An animal or human’s performance of presented before the neutral stimulus, this is called backward condi-
tioning and produces little if any conditioning.
some behavior is dependent or contingent on its consequences—
that is, on what happens next. For example, 5 Expectancy. According to the cognitive perspective of classical
the consequence of Bart’s picking up and
holding a teddy bear was to get an apple. conditioning, an animal or human learns a predictable relationship
between, or develops an expectancy about, the neutral and uncondi-
Thus, in operant conditioning, an tioned stimuli. is means Bart learned to expect that the neutral
animal or human learns that perform- stimulus (horn’s sound) is always followed by the unconditioned
ing or emitting some behavior is fol- stimulus (apple). Thus, in classical conditioning, the animal or
lowed by a consequence (reward human learns a predictable relationship between stimuli.
or punishment), which, in
turn, increases or decreases One major difference between operant and classical conditioning
the chances of performing is that in operant conditioning, the performance of some response
that behavior again. depends on its consequence (rewards or punishment). We’ll discuss
the effects of different kinds of consequences next.

A . O P E R A N T C O N D I T I O N I N G 217

B. Reinforcers

Consequences Notice where the man is sitting as he Reinforcement
saws off a tree limb. His behavior illus-
Why are Although getting an
How are an apple and getting a
consequences trates a key principle of operant condi- apple and an grade of “F” seem very
important? tioning, which is that consequences “F” alike? different, they are both
are contingent on behavior. In this
case, the man will fall on his head (consequence) if he cuts off consequences that can
the tree limb (behavior). Furthermore, this consequence will increase the occurrence of certain behav-
make the tree trimmer think twice before repeating this stu- iors. ere are two kinds of reinforcements,
pid behavior. Thus, consequences affect behavior, and in or consequences—positive and negative—
operant conditioning, there are two kinds of consequences— There are serious that increase the occurrence of behaviors.
reinforcement and punishment. consequences to this
Positive Reinforcement
man’s behavior! Immediately a er Bart the bear emitted or
performed a behavior (holding a teddy
Reinforcement is a consequence that occurs after a behavior bear), the trainer gave him an apple to
increase the likelihood of his repeating that
and increases the chance that the behavior will occur again. behavior. This situation is an example of
positive reinforcement.
For example, one of the main reasons you study hard for
exams is to get good grades (reinforcement). e consequence Positive reinforcement
of getting a good grade increases the chances that you’ll study refers to the presentation of a
hard for future exams. stimulus that increases the
Punishment is a consequence that occurs after a behavior and
probability that a behavior
decreases the chance that the behavior will occur again. will occur again.

For example, one school used punishment to reduce students’ A positive reinforcer is a
absentee rates. Students who got more than eight unexcused stimulus that increases the likeli-
absences lost desirable privileges (no football games, no prom). In this case, punishing hood that a response will occur again.
consequences decreased from 15% to 4% the chance of students playing hooky from For example, if you ask a friend for
school (Chavez, 1994). However, other research shows when schools use physical pun- money and get it, the money is a positive
ishment to discourage undesirable behavior, absenteeism rates increase (HRW, 2008). reinforcer that will increase the chances
Sometimes reinforcement and punishment are used together to control some behav- of your asking again. There’s a second
ior, as was done in treating a serious behavioral disorder called pica. kind of reinforcement, called negative
Pica is a behavioral disorder, often seen in individuals with mental retardation, that involves reinforcement.

eating inedible objects or unhealthy substances. This can result in serious physical problems, Negative Reinforcement
If you have a headache and
including lead poisoning, intestinal blockage, and parasites. take an aspirin to get rid of
it, your response of taking
Here’s an example of how reinforcement and punishment were used to treat pica. an aspirin is an example of
negative reinforcement.
Changing the Consequences
Walt was 15 years old and suffered from profound retardation. One of Walt’s problems Negative reinforcement refers to an aver-
was pica, which included eating bits of paper and clothing, metal and plastic objects, sive (unpleasant) stimulus whose removal
and especially paint chips, from which he had gotten lead poisoning. increases the likelihood that the preceding
response will occur again.
To control his pica, Walt was given a tray containing nonfood items (fake
paint chips made from flour) and food items (crackers). Each time Walt If taking an aspirin removes your head-
chose a food item, he received a reinforcement—verbal praise. When Walt ache (aversive or unpleasant stimulus), then
chose a paint chip, he received a mild punishment—having his face washed your response of taking an aspirin is nega-
for 20 seconds. e graph below shows how the consequences (reinforcement tively reinforced because it removes the
or punishment) greatly modified Walt’s pica behavior (C. R. Johnson et al., 1994). headache and thus increases the chances of
your taking an aspirin in the future. Don’t
Baseline:
Training: be confused by the fact that both positive
! ! and negative reinforcers increase the fre-
# quency of the responses they follow.
#
Besides positive and negative reinforc-
%
! # ers, there are also primary reinforcers, such
# as food, and secondary reinforcers, such as

money and coupons.
# Percentage of picaSessions ! $
Photo Credit: © Corbis/SuperStock & "

$

In this study, reinforcement and punishment proved an effective combination to
treat a potentially dangerous problem. Next, we’ll discuss two kinds of reinforcements.

218 M O D U L E 1 0 O P E R A N T & C O G N I T I V E A P P R O A C H E S

Reinforcers A student might repeat a behav- Punishment Although placing a child in time-out and giving a
ior, such as study, because the child an electric shock seem very different, they
How are Are there

chocolate and consequence is food, a primary different kinds are both consequences that can decrease the
a coupon alike? reinforcer, or be quiet on the of punishment? occurrence of certain behaviors.
school bus because the conse- ere are two kinds of punish-
quence is a coupon, a secondary reinforcer. ment or consequences—positive and negative—that
decrease the occurrence of behaviors. Both positive
Primary Reinforcers and negative punishment function as “stop signs”; they

If you made yourself study for 2 stop or decrease the occurrence of a behavior.
hours before rewarding yourself
with chocolate, you would be using Positive Punishment
a primary reinforcer. ere is a school in Massachusetts that uses a controversial method of pun-
A primary reinforcer is a stimulus, Food:
such as food, water, or sex, that is primary reinforcer ishment to discourage students from engaging in dangerous behaviors.
Many of the children at this school have severe behavior problems, such as
innately satisfying and requires no hitting strangers in the face, biting others or themselves, and eye gouging.

learning on the part of the subject to become pleasurable. e school requires students to wear back-
packs, which contain an electric device
Primary reinforcers, such as eating, drinking, or hav- that allows staff members to apply a
ing sex, are unlearned and innately pleasurable. Brain shock to electrodes attached to the stu-
scans (p. 70) showed that these activities, including eating dent’s body whenever the student
chocolate, activate the brain’s built-in or inherited reward/
pleasure center (Belin & Rauscent, 2006). Although brain engages in dangerous or prohibited
scans were discovered after Skinner, they have proven behaviors (L. Kaufman, 2007). e goal
him right: Primary reinforcers are innately satisfying is to decrease the occurrence of certain
and require no training because they automatically acti- behaviors, and the method used is an
vate the brain’s built-in reward/pleasure center. In our example of positive punishment.
example, chocolate is a primary reinforcer for studying. Positive punishment refers to presenting an aversive (unpleasant) stimulus
However, many behaviors are aided or maintained by after a response. The aversive stimulus decreases the chances that the response
secondary reinforcers.
will recur.
Secondary Reinforcers e aversive stimulus in the above example is electric shock, which decreases

A school teacher used a secondary reinforcer when she the chances that dangerous and self-destructive behaviors will occur.
gave each child a coupon good for fun prizes if he or she ere’s a second type of punishment, called negative punishment, that
ate fruits and vegetables during lunch. A coupon is an
can also be used to decrease children’s undesirable behaviors.

example of a secondary reinforcer. Negative Punishment
A secondary reinforcer is any stimulus that has acquired its One kind of undesirable behavior in young children is the persistent refusal
of parental requests, a problem called noncompliance.
reinforcing power through experience; secondary reinforcers are
Noncompliance refers to a child refusing to follow directions, carry out a
Photo Credits: top right, © Ron Nickel/Photolibrary; left, © Simon Belcher/Alamy learned, such as by being paired with primary reinforcers or request, or obey a command given by a parent or caregiver.

other secondary reinforcers. One method used to decrease children’s noncompliance
is time-out.
Coupons, money, grades, and
praise are examples of secondary Time-out removes reinforcing stimuli after an undesirable
reinforcers because their value is response. This removal decreases the chances that the unde-
learned or acquired through experi-
ence (Delgado et al., 2006; S. B. Klein, sired response will recur.
2009). For example, children learned Time-out is an example of negative punishment.
that coupons were valuable because Negative punishment refers to removing a reinforc-
they could be redeemed for fun
prizes. e coupons became sec- ing stimulus (a child’s allowance) after a response. This
ondary reinforcers that encour-
aged children to eat fruits and removal decreases the chances that the response will
vegetables during lunch at school
(Hendy et al., 2005, 2007). Many recur.
Coupons, or secondary of our behaviors are increased In time-out, the reinforcing stimulus being
reinforcers, encourage or maintained by secondary
reinforcers. removed is the freedom to play and the undesirable
children’s good behavior being decreased is noncompliance. In the
behaviors. Application section of this module, we’ll discuss the
pros and cons of positive and negative punishment.
Unlike primary and secondary reinforcers, which are
consequences that increase behaviors, punishment has a Although somewhat confusing, remember that positive
very different effect. and negative punishment decrease the likelihood of a behavior occurring
again, while positive and negative reinforcement increase the likelihood of
a behavior occurring again.

B . R E I N F O R C E R S 219

C. Schedules of Reinforcement

Skinner’s Contributions A schedule of reinforcement refers to a program or
rule that determines how and when the occurrence of a
Why are On September 20, 1971, Time
magazine recognized B. F. response will be followed by a reinforcer.
consequences Skinner’s influence and accom- Skinner pointed out many examples of how
important? plishments in psychology and
education by putting him on its schedules of reinforcement both maintained and
cover (right photo). Just a year earlier, the American controlled behaviors. For example, slot machine
Psychologist rated B. F. Skinner second, a er Freud, in players don’t realize that they are paid off accord-
influence on 20th-century psychology. ing to a schedule of reinforcement that encourages
Skinner is perhaps best known for his discovery rapid responding.
of operant conditioning, which is a powerful method
for analyzing the individual behaviors of animals and Skinner was able to study how different sched-
humans. Part of his method was to study how differ- ules of reinforcement affected behavior because
ent kinds of consequences or reinforcements affected he developed a clever method to record ongoing,
behavior, and this led to his study of different schedules individual behaviors. His method included the use
of reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1904–1990) of the now-famous “Skinner box” and something Photo Credit: © 1971 Time, Inc./Getty Images. Reprinted by permission.
called the cumulative record. Figure/Text Credit: Reinforcement diagram from Psychology: Themes and Variations, by Wayne Weiten, 2nd ed., figure 6.13. Copyright © 1992 by Wadsworth, Inc.
Reproduced by permission.
Measuring Ongoing Behavior Schedules of Reinforcement
Skinner showed how different schedules of reinforcement affected
an animal’s or a human’s ongoing behavior with something called a When I (H. K.) first began training my dog to “shake hands,” I
cumulative record. gave her a treat each time she responded to my command by
A cumulative record is a continuous written record that shows an ani- shaking my hand. Later on, when she had mostly learned to
shake hands, I gave her a treat only some of the time. ese situ-
mal’s or a human’s individual responses and ations illustrate two general schedules of reinforcement—con-
tinuous and partial.
reinforcements.

A rat in a Skinner box is shown on Continuous Reinforcement
the left, and a cumulative record is
shown below. When the rat is not press- Giving my dog a treat each time she
responded to my command by shaking
ing the bar, a pen draws a straight line my hand illustrates the schedule of
on a long roll of paper that unwinds
slowly and continuously to the left. continuous reinforcement.
Continuous reinforcement means
When the rat presses the bar, the pen
moves up a notch. When the rat makes that every occurrence of the operant Every response
Rat in a Skinner box response results in delivery of the reinforcer. is reinforced.

numerous responses, the pen moves In the real world, relatively few of our
up many notches to draw a line that resembles a
stairway going up. If the rat presses the bar slowly, behaviors are on a continuous reinforcement schedule because
the pen notches up Pen very few things or people are as reliable as my dog. Continuous

gradually, resulting Sloped line: reinforcement is o en used in the initial stages of operant con-
in a gentler slope. series of rapid ditioning because it results in rapid learning of some behavior.
responses
Blip: Partial Reinforcement
reinforcement
After my dog had mostly learned to
shake hands on command, I gave
Upward notch: her a treat about every fifth time,
one response Blip: which illustrates the schedule of
reinforcement
Flat line: no responses
partial reinforcement.
Partial reinforcement refers to a situ-
If the rat responds quickly, the pen notches up more quickly, ation in which responding is reinforced Only some responses
resulting in a steeper slope. A downward blip indicates that the rat are reinforced.
received a food pellet, or reinforcement (only two are shown). e
cumulative record shows you an animal’s ongoing responses and only some of the time.
reinforcements across time.
In the real world, many of our behaviors are on a partial
We’ll first look at how two general schedules of reinforcement— reinforcement schedule, which is very effective in maintaining
continuous and partial reinforcement—can greatly affect ongoing behavior over the long run. My dog keeps shaking my hand on
behavior. command because some of the time she gets a treat.
We’ll discuss the four common schedules of partial rein-
forcement and show how differently they affect behavior.

220 M O D U L E 1 0 O P E R A N T & C O G N I T I V E A P P R O A C H E S

Partial Reinforcement Schedules Applying Skinner’s Principles
We’ll discuss four different schedules of After the Gulf War,
Which schedule partial reinforcement, each of which has How smart ships carrying food

are you on? a different effect on controlling and main- are dolphins? and medicine had to
taining animal and human behaviors. wait outside the ports
until the many underwater mines were
Fixed-Ratio Schedule located. Because the water was dark and
murky, human divers could not easily detect
If factory workers are paid a er packing six the mines, but dolphins had no difficulty,
boxes, they are on a fixed-ratio schedule. since they can “see” by Trainer and dolphin
1 using sound waves or
Fixed-ratio schedule means that a reinforcer echolocation to find objects. Dolphins are
occurs only after a fixed number of responses trained to detect mines similarly to how dogs
are made by the subject. are trained to detect explosives: eir train-
ers applied Skinner’s principles of operant
A fixed-ratio schedule is often used to conditioning.
pay assembly-line workers because it results
in fast rates of work. 1. A dolphin has been trained to wait and

Photo Credits: (Fixed-ratio) © Andy Sacks/SaxPix; (Fixed-interval) © Warren Bolster/Getty Images; (Variable-ratio) © Michael P. Gadomski/Photo Researchers, Inc.; Fixed-Interval Schedule circle around an inflatable boat. On the
(Variable-Interval) © SuperStock; top right, © AP Images/Brien Aho/US Navy trainer’s signal (discriminative stimulus), the
Figure/Text Credit: Based on data from the U.S. Department of the Navy and an illustration by Suzy Parker, USA TODAY, March 27, 2003, p. 8D. If a surfer gets a big wave to ride (the rein- dolphin dives and uses echolocation to find
forcer) every 30 seconds (waves come in the mine in the murky water. Echolocation
regular sets of big and small), he is on a 2 involves emitting sound waves (too high for
fixed-interval schedule. humans to hear) and analyzing the waves
that are reflected back from objects. e dol-
Fixed-interval schedule means that a rein- phin’s echolocation is so sensitive that it can
forcer occurs following the first response that detect a quarter-sized metal disk 100 feet
occurs after a fixed interval of time. away, no matter how murky the water is.
A fixed-interval schedule has slow responding at first, but as
the time for the reinforcer nears, responses increase. 2. After locating the mine, the dolphin

Variable-Ratio Schedule returns to the surface and is trained to touch
a rubber disk at the front of the boat. The
If a slot machine pays off a er an average of trainer rewards the dolphin with a fish for
25 pulls, the gambler is on a variable-ratio this and many other behaviors.
schedule.
3.3
Variable-ratio schedule means that a rein- e trainer places on the dolphin’s nose
forcer is delivered after an average number of a hollow cone attached to a plastic cylinder
correct responses has occurred. that rides on the dolphin’s back. Again, the
dolphin dives and echolocates the mine, but
The variable-ratio schedule produces it has been trained not to touch the mine.
a high rate of responding because the person (gambler) doesn’t
know which response will finally produce the payoff.

Variable-Interval Schedule When close to the mine, the dolphin is
trained to release the nose cone, and the cyl-
If a bus arrives (the reinforcer) at your stop inder break opens and releases an anchor.
an average of 7 minutes late but at variable
intervals, the bus rider is on a variable- 4. e anchor (sound transmitter) falls to
interval schedule. is reinforces your arriv- the bottom while the cylinder rises to the
ing just a few minutes late for your bus. surface to mark the location of the mine.
4 Human divers use the cylinder to locate and
Variable-interval schedule means that a
reinforcer occurs following the first correct then detonate the mine. The dolphin is
response after an average amount of time has always removed from the area before the
passed. mine is detonated. A Navy spokesperson
says that the dolphins are well cared for and,
A variable-interval schedule results for that reason, live in captivity as long as or
in a more regular rate of responding than does a fixed-interval longer than in the wild (Friend, 2003).
schedule.
rough operant conditioning, dolphins
In the real world, many of our behaviors are maintained on learned to perform this complex series of
one or more of these four schedules of partial reinforcement. behaviors. During operant conditioning, a
number of other things are also happening.
Next, we’ll describe an interesting and unusual application of
Skinner’s principles of operant conditioning.

C . S C H E D U L E S O F R E I N F O R C E M E N T 221

D. Other Conditioning Concepts

During the time that Bart was being teddy bear if he was no longer given apples (reinforcers).
What else did operantly conditioned to pick up and You may remember these phenomena—generalization,
discrimination, extinction, and spontaneous recovery—
Bart learn? hold a teddy bear to a hand signal, he from our discussion of classical conditioning in Module
simultaneously learned a number of
9 (see p. 199). We’ll explain how the same terms also
other things, such as to also hold a bear cub, not to obey apply to operant conditioning.
commands from a stranger, and to stop picking up the

Generalization Discrimination Extinction and
Spontaneous Recovery
In the movie, Bart was supposed to pick Since Bart had been raised and trained by a
up and hold a bear cub on command. particular adult male, he had learned to Even a er filming ended, Bart contin-
However, in the wild, adult male Kodiak obey and take cues only from his trainer and ued to perform his trained behaviors
bears don’t pick up and hold cubs; not from other males. This is an example for a while. However, a er a period of
instead, they usually kill them. of discrimination. time when these behaviors were no lon-
ger reinforced, they gradually dimin-
= In operant conditioning, discrimination ished and ceased. This is an example
means that a response is emitted in the pres- of extinction.
Generalization: Bart transfers his ence of a stimulus that is reinforced and not in In operant conditioning, extinction
response from teddy bear to live cub. the presence of unreinforced stimuli.
refers to the reduction in an operant
Although Bart was relatively tame, In classical conditioning, discrimination is
his trainer took no chances of Bart’s the tendency for some stimuli but not others to response when it is no longer followed by
wilder nature coming out and kill- elicit a conditioned response.
ing the bear cub. For this reason, the the reinforcer.
trainer started by conducting the initial One problem with Bart was that he
conditioning with a stuffed teddy bear. would repeatedly pick up and hold the In classical con-
Only after Bart had learned to pick up teddy bear to receive an apple. To control
and hold the teddy bear on cue did the this problem, the trainer used a cue—rais- ditioning, extinction
trainer substitute a live bear cub. As the ing his arms in the air—to signal that only
trainer had predicted, Bart transferred then would Bart receive an apple for his refers to the reduc-
his holding the teddy bear to holding behavior. is is an example of a discrimi-
the live bear cub, a phenomenon called native stimulus. tion in a response
generalization.
A discriminative stimulus is a cue that a when the condi-
In operant conditioning, generalization behavior will be reinforced.
means that an animal or person emits the tioned stimulus is
same response to similar stimuli. Discrimination: Bart obeys signals from
his trainer but not from a stranger. no longer followed
In classical conditioning, generalization
is the tendency for a stimulus similar to the If you pay close attention to an animal by the unconditioned Extinction: Bart Photo Credits: top and bottom center, © George Frey; left, © Stephen Kraseman/DRK Photo
original conditioned stimulus to elicit a trainer, you’ll notice that discriminative stimulus. stops behaviors if
response similar to the conditioned stimuli, such as a hand signal or whistle, reinforcers stop.
response. are used to signal the animal that the next A er under-
behavior will be reinforced. going extinction, Spontaneous
A common and sometimes embar- Bart may show recovery: After
rassing example of generalization occurs Young children learn to discriminate spontaneous extinction, Bart’s
when a young child generalizes the word between stimuli when their parents rein- recovery. behavior returns.
“Daddy” to other males who appear sim- force their saying “Daddy” in the presence
ilar to the child’s real father. As quickly of their real fathers but do not reinforce In operant conditioning, spontaneous
as possible, embarrassed parents teach their children when they call strangers
their child to discriminate between the “Daddy.” recovery refers to a temporary recovery in
real father and other adult males.
the rate of responding.

In classical conditioning, spontaneous

recovery refers to the temporary occur-

rence of the conditioned response in the

presence of the conditioned stimulus.

Remember that all four phenom-
ena—generalization, discrimination,
extinction, and spontaneous recov-
ery—occur in both operant and classi-
cal conditioning.
One distinctive characteristic of
operant conditioning is that it usu-
ally has an observable response and
an observable reinforcer. Next, we
turn to cognitive learning, which may
have neither observable response nor
observable reinforcer.

222 M O D U L E 1 0 O P E R A N T & C O G N I T I V E A P P R O A C H E S

E. Cognitive Learning

Three Viewpoints of Cognitive Learning He learned external rewards or require a person to perform any observable
by observing. behaviors.
At the beginning of this module, we
How did Tony told you about Tony Hawk, who as a e roots of cognitive learning extend back to the work of
Hawk learn? child loved to watch skateboarders at Wilhelm Wundt in the late 1800s (p. 12) and Edward Tolman
in the 1930s. It died in the 1950s, was reborn in the 1960s,
the park. He began to practice skate- and became popular in the 1990s. Currently, cognitive
boarding every chance he had so that he could imitate what learning is extremely useful in explaining both animal and
he saw. Tony learned how to skateboard not from classi-
cal or operant conditioning but from another kind of human behavior and was vital to the development of a
learning process called cognitive learning. new area called cognitive neuroscience (p. 71) (Bandura,
2001a). We’ll begin by discussing what three famous
Cognitive learning, which involves mental processes such psychologists had to say about cognitive learning.
as attention and memory, says that learning can occur through

observation or imitation and such learning may not involve any

Against: B. F. Skinner In Favor: Edward Tolman In Favor: Albert Bandura
Eight days before his
death, B. F. Skinner was In the 1930s, about the Bandura began as a
honored by the Ameri- same time that Skinner behaviorist in the Skin-
can Psychological Asso- was emphasizing nerian tradition, which
ciation (APA) with the observable behaviors, means focusing on
first APA Citation for Tolman was exploring observable behaviors
Outstanding Lifetime hidden mental pro- and avoiding study of
cesses. For example, he mental events. Since
Contribution to Psychology. In his accep- would place rats individually in a maze, then he has almost entirely shifted to a
tance speech to over 1,000 friends and such as the one shown below, and allow cognitive approach. In many of his stud-
colleagues, Skinner spoke of how psychol- each rat time to explore the maze with no ies, Bandura (1986) has focused on how
Photo Credits: (rat) © PhotoDisc, Inc.; top, © Evan Agostini/Getty Images ogy was splitting between those who were food present. en, with food present in humans learn through
Figure/Text Credit: (left) Skinner box illustration from Introduction to Psychology, by E. Bruce Goldstein, 1995. Brooks/Cole. studying feelings and cognitive processes the maze’s food box, he would test the rat observing things. For
and those who were studying observable to see which path it took. e rat learned example, Bandura says
behaviors, such as very quickly to take the shortest path. that a child can learn to
animals under Next, Tolman blocked the shortest path hate spiders simply by
controlled condi- to the food box. The first time the rat observing the behav-
tions (figure at encountered the blocked shortest path, it iors of someone who
right). In a sharp selected the next shortest path to the shows a great fear of spiders. This is an
criticism of cogni- food box. According to Tolman (1948), example of social cognitive learning.
tive learning, Skin- the rat selected the next shortest path Social cognitive learning results from
ner said, “As far as because it had developed a cognitive map watching, imitating, and modeling and does not
I’m concerned, cognitive science is the of the maze. require the observer to perform any observable
creationism [downfall] of psychology” A cognitive map is a behavior or receive any observable reward.
(Vargas, 1991, p. 1). mental representation in Food Just as Tolman found that learning
occurred while rats were exploring, Ban-
Skinner’s severe criticism of studying the brain of the layout dura found that humans learned while
cognitive processes caused many in the observing and that much (most) of human
audience to gasp and only a few to applaud of an environment and learning takes place through observation.
(Vargas, 1991). Observational learning, which involves
its features. numerous cognitive processes, is a 180-
In the 1950s and 1960s, Skinner had degree change from Skinner’s position,
advocated that psychology’s goal should Tolman showed Start which had emphasized observable, non-
be to study primarily observable behav- that rats, in addition cognitive behaviors.
iors rather than cognitive processes. to forming a cognitive map, learned the Following the death of Skinner in 1990,
layout of a maze without being reinforced, the study of cognitive processes has bal-
However, psychologists gradually dis- a position very different from Skinner’s. looned in popularity and usefulness. We’ll
covered that cognitive processes played a Tolman’s position is making a comeback introduce you to cognitive learning by
major role in human and animal activi- as psychologists currently study a variety describing one of Bandura’s best-known
ties and that such activities could not be of cognitive processes in animals (Redish, studies, which involved a doll and a consid-
understood or explained from observ- 2007). Tolman’s study of cognitive pro- erable amount of kicking and screaming.
able behaviors alone. Today, the study cesses in animals laid the groundwork
of cognitive processes is a major goal of for the study of cognitive processes in E . C O G N I T I V E L E A R N I N G 223
psychology (Bandura, 2001a). humans, which is best shown by the cur-
rent theory of Albert Bandura (2001a).

E. Cognitive Learning

Observational Learning

Do children Perhaps a dozen experiments in psychology have become classics because they were the first to demonstrate some
learn by very important principles. One such classic experiment demonstrated the conditioning of emotional responses in
“Little Albert” (p. 204). Another classic is Albert Bandura (1965) and his colleagues’ demonstration that children
watching? learned aggressive behaviors by watching an adult’s aggressive behaviors. Learning through watching is called
observational learning, which is a form of cognitive learning.

Bobo Doll Experiment Learning Versus Performance

Why did One reason this Bobo doll study is Do you Is it possible that people learn by observing but not
a classic experiment is it challenged learn but not necessarily perform what they have learned? To
children kick the idea that learning occurred answer this question, Bandura and colleagues asked
the Bobo doll? through classical or operant con- show it? children to watch a movie in which someone hit and

ditioning. Children learned to kicked a Bobo doll. However, a er hitting and kicking
perform aggressive responses simply from watching. the doll, the person in the film was punished by being criticized and
Procedure. In one part of the room, preschool children spanked. Next, each child was le alone in a room filled with toys, including
were involved in their own art projects. In another part a Bobo doll.
of the room, an adult got up and, for the next 10 minutes, As the experimenters watched each child through a one-way mirror, they
kicked, hit, and yelled (“Hit him! Kick him!”) at a large, found that more boys than girls imitated the model and performed aggres-
inflated Bobo doll. Some children watched the model’s sive behaviors on Bobo. But not all the children imitated the model’s aggressive
aggressive behaviors, while other children did not. behaviors. Next, each child who had not imitated the model’s aggressive behav-
Each child was later iors on Bobo was offered a reward (a sticker or some fruit juice) to imitate the
subjected to a frustrat- model’s behavior. With the promise of a reward, all of the children imitated the
ing situation and then model’s aggressive behaviors. We’ll examine in more detail the girls’ imitated
placed in a room with aggressive behaviors, which were similar to the boys’ but more dramatic.
toys, including the Bobo As the graph below shows, girls imitated an average of 0.5 aggressive
doll. Without the child’s behaviors after watch-
knowledge, research- ing a film of a model Average Number of Aggressive Responses

ers observed the child’s who performed aggres- 0.5 Watched punished model
behaviors. sive behaviors on Bobo Rewarded for imitating
Results. Children who and then was punished 3.0

had observed the model’s for being aggressive.
aggressive attacks on the In other words, a er observing a model being punished for
After watching, children Bobo doll also kicked, hit, aggressive behaviors, girls imitated almost none of the mod-
imitated adults kicking doll. and yelled (“Hit him! Kick el’s aggressive behaviors. However, when the same girls were

him!”) at the doll. rough observational learning alone, promised a reward for imitating the model’s aggressive
these children learned the model’s aggressive behaviors behaviors, these girls imitated an average of 3.0 aggressive
and were now performing them. In comparison, children behaviors (Bandura, 1965).
who hadn’t observed the model’s behaviors didn’t hit or So what does this experiment show? It shows that the girls
kick the Bobo doll a er they had been mildly frustrated. had actually learned the model’s aggressive behaviors through observation
Conclusion. Bandura’s point is that children learned but that some did not perform these behaviors until they were rewarded for
to perform specific aggressive behaviors not by practic- doing so (Bandura, 1965). is is an example of the learning–performance
ing or being reinforced but simply by watching a live distinction.
model perform behaviors. Observational learning is The learning–performance distinction means learning may occur but may not

called modeling because it involves watching a model always be measured by, or immediately evident in, performance.

and imitating the behavior. The learning–performance distinction may Photo Credit: (bobo doll) © Craig McClain
It turns out that observational learning may have a be demonstrated by young children, o en to the
biological foundation. Recent research on mirror neu- embarrassment of their parents. For instance, a
rons (see p. 6) shows that they become activated when we young child may overhear a “dirty” word but not
observe others perform behaviors, which suggests we are repeat the word until out in public. Repeating a
biologically programmed to learn through observation “dirty” word shows that the child had learned
(Iacoboni, 2008a; Lepage & éoret, 2007). the word through observation but waited until
Another finding of the Bobo doll study is that a Child imitates adult’s speech. later to imitate the parent and actually say
child may learn by observing but then not perform (perform) the “dirty” word.
the behavior. is is called the learning–performance Based on the Bobo doll study and others, Bandura developed a theory of
distinction. cognitive learning that we’ll examine next.

224 M O D U L E 1 0 O P E R A N T & C O G N I T I V E A P P R O A C H E S

Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory Unlike operant and classical conditioning, this theory says
that it is not necessary to perform any observable behav-
Would you e idea that humans gather informa- iors or receive any external rewards to learn.
tion about their environments and the
hold this behaviors of others through observation Bandura believes that four processes—attention,
memory, imitation, and motivation—operate dur-
spider? is a key part of Bandura’s (2001a) social ing social cognitive learning. We’ll explain how
these processes operate in decreasing fear of spiders
cognitive theory of learning. and snakes.
Social cognitive theory emphasizes the importance of obser-

vation, imitation, and self-reward in the development and learning

of social skills, personal interactions, and many other behaviors.

Social Cognitive Learning: Four Processes

1 Attention After observing the fearless model, the 4 Motivation
woman may learn not to fear spiders.
The observer must pay attention to The observer must have
Photo Credits: center left, © Minden Pictures/Masterfile; center right, © Marili Forastieri/Getty Images; bottom left, © Jon Lowenstein/Aurora Photos what the model says or does. In the some reason or incentive to
Figure/Text Credit: Bar graph data from “Relative Efficacy of Densensitization and Modeling Approaches for Inducing Behavior, Affective and Attitudinal Changes,” by photo at right, a nonfrightened per- imitate the model’s behav-
A. Bandura, E. B. Blanchard & B. Ritter, 1969, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 13, 173–179. son (model) holds a huge spider ior. The observer in the
while a woman (observer) looks on photo is motivated to over-
in fear. come her fear of spiders
because she wants to go on
2 Memory camping trips.
e observer must store or remem-
ber the information so that it can be
retrieved and used later. e observer If this observer can suc-
in the photo will store the image of seeing cessfully imitate the model’s
a nonfrightened person (model) holding a spider. calm behavior, then she will overcome her fear of spiders and
be able to go camping with her friends. is example shows how
3 Imitation Bandura’s four mental processes operate during social cognitive
e observer must be able to use the remembered information to learning.
guide his or her own actions and thus imitate the model’s behavior. e next study by Bandura shows how social cognitive learn-
e observer in the photo will later try to imitate the model’s calm ing, which usually takes some time and effort, decreased fear
behavior when holding a spider. of snakes.

Social Cognitive Learning Applied to Fear of Snakes

Background. Although most people are wary of snakes, some subjects, who also reported an intense fear of snakes, received no
develop an intense fear of them. Bandura and colleagues recruited treatment (control group).
subjects who had developed such an intense fear of snakes that they
avoided many normal outdoor activities, such as hiking or garden- Results and conclusion. As the graph below shows, subjects
ing (Bandura et al., 1969). e subjects’ fear of snakes was objec- who watched a live model handle a snake and who imitated some
tively measured by noting how many of 29 steps of increasingly of the model’s behaviors scored an average of 27 on the 29-step
frightening actions they would perform. For example, step 1 was approach scale.

approaching a glass cage containing a snake; step 29 was putting Average Number of Approach Responses

the snake in their laps and letting it crawl around while holding 10 Control group
their hands at their sides. Watched live model
Treatment. One group of subjects watched as a model handled 27

a live, 4-foot, harmless king snake. In contrast, control subjects scored an average of only 10
After watching for 15 minutes, approach behaviors on the 29-step scale. is study clearly showed
subjects were invited to gradu- that behavior can be greatly changed through social cognitive
ally move closer to the snake. learning, which emphasizes observation and imitation.
en the model demonstrated
touching the snake and asked Bandura believes that humans acquire a great amount of infor-
the subjects to imitate her mation about fears, social roles, discrimination, and personal
actions. As the model held the interactions through social cognitive learning. We’ll discuss other
snake, subjects were encour- aspects of cognitive learning and memory in Modules 11 and 12.
Social cognitive learning helped this aged to touch the snake with a
woman overcome her fear of snakes. gloved hand. Another group of Next, we’ll describe another kind of cognitive learning that
involves what is o en described as the “ah-ha!” feeling.

E . C O G N I T I V E L E A R N I N G 225

E. Cognitive Learning

Insight Learning

What’s Earlier we told you that orndike stud- learned to obtain bananas that were out of reach. Köhler
ied how cats learned to escape from a challenged orndike’s conclusion that animals learned
the “ah-ha!” puzzle box to get a piece of fish. orndike only through trial and error. Köhler suggested instead
feeling? concluded that learning occurred through that cats and other animals that were observed under the
proper circumstances could solve a problem in a sudden
a process of trial and error as cats gradu- flash, known as insight or “ah-ha!” (G. Cook, 2002).
ally formed associations between moving the latch and opening Insight is a mental process marked by the sudden and unex-
the door. None of the cats showed any evidence of suddenly dis- pected solution to a problem: a phenomenon often called the
covering the solution of how to escape the box.
About the same time that orndike in America was studying “ah-ha!” experience.
the trial-and-error learning of cats escaping from a puzzle box, Flash of Here’s an example of Köhler’s chimp, Sultan, who showed
Wolfgang Köhler in Germany was studying how chimpanzees insight
insight in getting a banana that was hanging out of reach.

Insight in Animals Insight in Humans

How did This classic experiment in psychology Can you Just as Sultan the chimp seemed to suddenly
the chimp get suggested a new kind of learning. arrive at a solution to a problem, humans also
solve this report the experience of suddenly and unexpect-
What Köhler (1925) did was to hang
the banana? a banana from the ceiling in a room that puzzle? edly solving a challenging or difficult problem.

had a box placed off to one side. The We call this phenomenon the “ah-ha!” experience
banana was too high for Sultan the chimp to grab by reaching or a flash of insight (G. Cook, 2002). You may have an “ah-ha!” expe-
or jumping. When Sultan first entered the room, he paced rest- rience if you can figure out what critical piece of information is
lessly for about 5 minutes. en he got the box, moved it toward needed to make the following story make sense.
the banana, climbed onto the box, jumped up, A man walks into a bar and
and seized the banana. On his second try, Sul- asks for a glass of water. The
tan quickly moved the box directly beneath bartender points a gun at the man. e
the banana and jumped up to get it. man says “ ank you” and walks out.
What intrigued Köhler about Sultan’s Obviously, something critical happened
problem-solving behavior was that it seemed between two events: “. . . asks for a glass of water” and
to differ greatly from the random trial-and- “ e bartender points a gun at the man.” Some subjects If you solved
error behavior of Thorndike’s cats. Before solved this problem relatively quickly, while others this puzzle,
Sultan arrived at a solution, he might pace couldn’t solve this problem in the 2-hour time limit. you had an
about, sit quietly, or vainly grasp at the out-of-
Neither one of us could solve the problem until we insight!

reach banana. Then, all of a sudden, he seemed read the hint: The man has hiccups. Think about cures for hiccups
to hit on the solution and immediately executed a and you may have an “ah-ha!” experience (answer at bottom of page).
complicated set of behaviors, such as standing on ere was a difference between nonsolvers and solvers in the cognitive
a box, to get the banana. Köhler believed that strategy they used. e nonsolvers focused on the obvious elements,
Sultan’s sudden solution to a problem was such as man, bartender, gun, and glass of water, and not on new con-
an example of insight, a mental process cepts (hiccups, cure) that lead to a solution. In comparison, the solv- Photo Credits: (gun) © PhotoDisc, Inc.; (water glass) © PhotoDisc, Inc.
quite different from what Thorndike had ers spent more time on bringing in new information, and when they
observed in the random trial-and-error finally found the missing piece of information (cure for hiccups), the
learning of cats. solution arrived suddenly, like the “ah-ha!” experience Köhler defined
However, critics of Köhler’s insight stud- as insight (Durso et al., 1994).
Chimp stood on a
box and jumped ies pointed out that he did not explain how Researchers are examining the association between brain activ-
up to reach the chimps solved problems; rather, he simply ity and “ah-ha!” experiences and have found that a unique pattern
described the process. Köhler replied that of electrical activity occurs immediately before insightful moments
banana.

his studies on insight were more a way to study problem solv- (B. Bower, 2008a).
ing than an explanation of what was happening in the chimp’s We have discussed three examples of cognitive learning: Tolman’s
head. e significance of Köhler’s work was that it represented idea of cognitive maps, Bandura’s theory of social cognitive learning,
a method for studying learning that was different from either and Köhler’s study of insightful problem solving. A er the Concept
classical conditioning or random trial-and-error learning Review, we’ll explain why biological factors make some things easier
(Pierce, 1999). Since the early 1990s, there has been a renewed and some things harder to learn.
interest in studying the workings of the animal mind, which is
currently called animal cognition (Pearce, 2008; Wynne, 2001). Answer: e man drank the water, but it didn’t cure his hiccups. e bartender
Let’s look at an example of insight learning in humans. thought a surprise or fright might do the trick. He points a gun at the man, who is
frightened, and so his hiccups stop. e man says “ ank you” and walks out.

226 M O D U L E 1 0 O P E R A N T & C O G N I T I V E A P P R O A C H E S

Concept Review

1. The kind of learning in which the conse- (b) . A decrease in emitting a behavior because it
quences that follow some behavior increase or
decrease the likelihood that the behavior will is no longer reinforced is called (c) . If an organ-
ism performs a behavior without its being reinforced, it is called
occur in the future is called . (d) .

2. In operant conditioning, the organism 9. A kind of learning that involves mental processes, that may
voluntarily performs or (a)
a behavior. Immediately following an emitted behavior, the occur- be learned through observation and imitation, and that may not
require any external rewards or the performance of any observable
rence of a (b) increases the likelihood that the behaviors is referred to as .
behavior will occur again.
10. Tolman studied the behavior of rats that were allowed to
3. Because an organism may not immediately explore a maze without any reward given.
emit the desired behavior, a procedure is used to Food When food was present, rats quickly learned

reinforce behaviors that lead to or approximate to select the next shortest path if a previously
the final target behavior. This procedure is
called . taken path was blocked. Tolman said that rats
had developed a mental representation of the
Start layout, which he called a .
4. In operant conditioning, the term consequences
refers to either (a) , which
increases the likelihood that a behavior will occur 11. Although an organism may learn a behavior
Photo Credits: (#6) © Simon Belcher/Alamy; (#8) © Stephen Kraseman/DRK Photo; (#11) © Craig McClain; (#12) © Jon Lowenstein/Aurora Photos again, or (b) , which decreases through observation or exploration, the organism
Figure/Text Credit: (top, #1) Skinner box illustration from Introduction to Psychology, by E. Bruce Goldstein, 1995. Brooks/Cole. the likelihood that a behavior will occur again. may not immediately demonstrate or perform
the newly learned behavior. This phenome-
5. If the occurrence of some response is increased non is known as the
because it is followed by a pleasant stimulus, the distinction.

stimulus is called a (a) . An 12. According to Bandura, one form of
increase in the occurrence of some response learning that develops through watching
because it is followed either by the removal of an and imitation and that does not require
unpleasant stimulus or by avoiding the stimulus is the observer to perform any observable
called (b) . behavior or receive a reinforcer is called
(a) learning. Bandura
6. A stimulus, such as food, water, or sex, that believes that humans gather much infor-
is innately satisfying and requires no learning
to become pleasurable is a (a) . mation from their (b) through social cognitive
learning.
A stimulus, such as grades or praise, that has
acquired its reinforcing power through experience and learning
is a (b) . 13. Bandura’s theory of social cognitive learning
involves four mental processes. The observer
must pay (a) to what the
7. The various ways that reinforcers occur after a behavior has model says or does. The observer must then code
been emitted are referred to as (a) of reinforce-
ment. For example, if each and every target behavior is reinforced, the information and be able to retrieve it from
(b) for use at a later time. The
it is called a (b) schedule of observer must be able to use the coded informa-
reinforcement. If behaviors are not rein-
forced each time they occur, it is called tion to guide his or her (c) in performing and
imitating the model’s behavior. Finally, the observer must be
a (c) schedule of (d) to perform the behavior, which involves
reinforcement.
some reason, reinforcement, or incentive.
8. When an organism emits the same response to similar stimuli,
it is called (a) . 14. In Köhler’s study of problem solving in chimps, he identified a
mental process marked by the sudden occurrence of
When a response is emitted in the a solution, which he termed (a) .
presence of a stimulus that is rein-
forced and not in the presence of This phenomenon is another example of
(b) learning.
unreinforced stimuli, it is called

Answers: 1. operant conditioning; 2. (a) emits, (b) reinforcement or reinforcer; 3. shaping; 4. (a) reinforcement, (b) punishment; 5. (a) positive
reinforcer, (b) negative reinforcement; 6. (a) primary reinforcer, (b) secondary inforcer; 7. (a) schedules, (b) continuous, (c) partial; 8. (a) general-
ization, (b) discrimination, (c) extinction, (d) spontaneous recovery; 9. cognitive learning; 10. cognitive map; 11. learning–performance;
12. (a) social cognitive, (b) environments; 13. (a) attention, (b) memory, (c) motor control, (d) motivated; 14. (a) insight, (b) cognitive

C O N C E P T R E V I E W 227

F. Biological Factors

Definition

Why would a You may remember having difficulty some behaviors, such as play, are easily and effortlessly
learning to read, write, ride a bike, learned partly because of innate biological factors.
monkey make drive a car, put on makeup, or Biological factors refer to innate tendencies or predispositions

a snowball? shave. But do you remember that may either facilitate or inhibit certain kinds of learning.

having problems learning to Researchers suggest that animals and humans may
play? For a young child, playing just seems to come have evolved biological predispositions to learn play
naturally. Just as children engage in play behavior behaviors because they have adaptive functions—for
with little or no encouragement, reward, or learning, example, developing social relationships among peers and
so too do monkeys. For example, young monkeys learn learning behaviors useful for adult roles (Bekoff, 2001; Dug-
to roll snowballs and carry them around for apparently atkin & Bekoff, 2003). is means that animals and humans
no other reason than for play (right photo). In fact, most have innate biological factors or predispositions that make
young mammals engage in various play behaviors, which certain kinds of learning, such as play behavior, very easy
are not easily explained by the three traditional learn- and effortless.
ing procedures—classical conditioning, operant condi- Animals have innate Besides play behavior, we’ll discuss two other exam-
tioning, and cognitive learning (S. Brownlee, 1997). tendencies, such as ples of learning—imprinting and preparedness—that are
Observations of animals and humans indicate that playing with objects. learned early and easily because of biological factors.

Imprinting Sensitive period. Unlike classical conditioning, operant condition-
Soon a er they hatch and without
Why do young any apparent learning, baby chicks ing, and cognitive learning, which occur throughout an animal’s life,
chicks follow follow their mother hen. This fol- imprinting occurs best during the first few hours a er hatching. is
their mother? lowing behavior was not explained brief time period is called the critical, or sensitive, period.
The critical, or sensitive, period refers to a relatively brief time during which
by any of the principles of learning
identified by Pavlov (classical conditioning), Thorndike learning is most likely to occur. Photo Credits: top, © Mitsuaki Iwago/Minden Pictures; left, © PhotoDisc, Inc.; right, © Zoological Society of San Diego
(trial-and-error learning), or Skinner (operant condition-
ing). e baby chick’s seemingly unlearned behavior of fol- Normally, the first object that newly hatched ducks see is their parent,
lowing its mother was a different kind of learning that was upon whom they imprint. us, imprinting is a way for newly hatched
first identified by ethologists. animals to establish social attachments to members of their species.
Although newly hatched birds will imprint on almost any moving
Ethologists are behavioral biologists who observe and study object that they first see, including a human, a colored ball, or a glove,

animal behavior in the animal’s natural environment or under rela- they imprint more strongly on moving objects that look or sound like

tively naturalistic conditions. their parent. Only birds that can walk immediately a er hatching show

For example, an Austrian ethologist, Konrad imprinting, which promotes their survival (Bateson, 1991).
Lorenz (1952), studied chicks, goslings, and Irreversible. Unlike classical conditioning, operant conditioning,
ducks, which can all move around and cognitive learning, whose effects are usually reversible, imprinting
minutes after hatching. is essentially irreversible. Most likely, imprinting evolved to be irrevers-
He discovered that ible so that a young duck would not imprint on its mother one week and
these baby ani- then imprint on a sly fox the next week.
mals followed In a program to prevent the California con-
the first mov- dor from becoming extinct, condor chicks are
ing object they hatched at the San Diego Zoo and raised by
saw, which was Baby ducks automatically follow humans. Because imprinting occurs very early
first moving object.

usually their mother. and is irreversible, special precautions are taken
is following behavior is an example of imprinting. so that the condor will not imprint on humans.
Imprinting refers to inherited tendencies or responses that are For example, the young condor chick

displayed by newborn animals when they encounter certain stimuli shown on the right is being fed by a puppet

in their environment. that resembles an adult condor’s head rather

Imprinting is an unlearned behavior that is based on bio- than a human’s hand. The “puppet mother”
logical factors and that has great survival value: It increases helps the young condor imprint on real condor
the chances that newly hatched birds will remain with and characteristics. When this condor grows up and “Puppet mother”
follow their parent instead of wandering off into the waiting is introduced into the wild, it will establish social feeds baby condor.
jaws of predators. Besides being unlearned, Lorenz noted
two other major differences between imprinting and other relationships with, and attempt to mate with, its own species.
kinds of learning. Another example of how biological factors increase the ease and
speed of learning is evident in something called prepared learning.

228 M O D U L E 1 0 O P E R A N T & C O G N I T I V E A P P R O A C H E S

Prepared Learning You easily learned to talk but probably had trouble learning to read because of how your brain is orga-
nized, which illustrates the importance of biological factors. We’ll discuss how biological factors help
Why was learning humans learn to speak different languages and birds learn to remember thousands of places where they
to talk so easy? hid food.

Incredible Memory Incredible Sounds

ere are small birds, called In the late 1940s, two psychologists raised a chimp in
How do birds Clark’s nutcrackers, that live How do infants their home, along with their own child, because they
remember? in an area where almost no make “word” wanted to know if this “speak-
food is available in the win- sounds? ing” environment would help a
ter. During autumn, nutcrackers hide stores of food chimp learn to speak. However,
in underground places in perhaps as many as 2,500 after 6 years of trying, the chimp had learned to say a
to 6,000 different locations. grand total of three words: “mama,” “papa,” and “cup”
During winter, nutcrackers (Hayes & Hayes, 1951). At that time, these two psycholo-
survive by finding and digging gists did not know that the chimp’s vocal apparatus and
up their hidden stores of food. brain were not biologically prepared to produce sounds
How do nutcrackers locate their and words necessary for human speech (see the discussion
thousands of hidden stores? One of animal language on pp. 322–323). Chimp does
explanation is preparedness, The reason humans but not chimps or other animals not have vocal
which we discussed earlier structures to speak.
(see p. 200). learn to speak so easily is that humans’ vocal apparatus and
Remembers thousands brains are biologically prepared, or innately wired, for speaking (Pinker, 1994).
of hidden food places Preparedness, or pre- For example, the brain of a newborn infant is

pared learning, refers to the innate or biological tendency biologically prepared to recognize the difference

of animals to recognize, attend to, and store certain cues between human speech sounds. Researchers dis-

over others, as well as to associate some combinations covered this ability by playing speech sounds

of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli more easily to infants whose rate of sucking on a nipple was

than others. being recorded. A er newborns heard the sound

Under seminatural conditions, researchers “ba” over and over, their rate of sucking slowed,
observed the amazing ability of nutcrackers to indicating that they were paying little attention
hide and find hundreds of hidden stores of food. Infant’s brain to the sound. But, as soon as researchers played
Researchers found that nutcrackers use natural is prewired for the sound “pa,” the infants’ rate of sucking increased,
landmarks (trees, stones, bushes) to form cogni- indicating that they had noticed the relatively small change
speaking.

tive maps that help them remember the locations between the sounds “ba” and “pa.” is study showed that infants’ brains are
of their hidden stores (B. M. Gibson & Kamil, 2001; prewired or biologically prepared (below figure) to recognize and discriminate
Photo Credits: left, © David Osborn/Alamy; right, © Kennan Ward Photography/Corbis Kamil & Cheng, 2001). among sounds that are essential for learning speech (Buonomano & Merzenich,
One reason nutcrackers have such phenomenal 1995). In fact, infants all around the world make similar babbling sounds, which
memories is that the areas of their brains involved indicates the influence and importance of
in memory are larger than the same areas in birds biological factors in learning to speak.
that do not store food. Specifically, the hippocam- Conclusion. e learning princi- Broca’s area
pus, which is involved in transferring short-term is prewired to
memories into long-term memories, is larger in ples of Pavlov, orndike, and Skin- combine sounds
ner do not, by themselves, explain
into words.
Wernicke’s area is
prewired to combine
nutcrackers than in nonstoring birds (S. D. Healy how rats form cognitive maps, how words into sentences.
et al., 2005). Thus, the nutcracker is biologically infants easily produce and discrim-
prepared for surviving win- inate among human speech sounds,
ters by having a larger how nutcrackers remember thousands
hippocampus (right of hiding places for stored food, why mon-
figure), which helps it keys spend time making and rolling snowballs, Two brain areas are
better remember the Hippocampus prewired for speaking.

locations of thousands and why newborn chicks follow the first moving object.
All these examples indicate how innate biological factors, such as differences
of food stores. in size or organization of brain structures, play a major role in preparing and
Just as some birds are biologically prepared to helping animals and humans learn certain kinds of behaviors that are useful for
remember the locations of critical hidden stores, maintenance and survival.
humans are biologically prepared to make sounds Next, we’ll return to operant conditioning and discuss how its learning prin-
and speak at least one of 6,800 different languages. ciples helped parents manage childhood problems.

F. B I O L O G I C A L F A C T O R S 229

G. Research Focus: Viewing Aggression

Relational and Physical Aggression in the Media

Can watching Earlier in this module, we discussed aggression, such as verbal bullying,
observational learning, which is when an ostracizing peers, and spreading
meanness make individual learns specific behaviors sim- rumors, is also frequently portrayed.
you aggressive? ply by watching someone engage in the Is it possible that viewing relational
behaviors. For instance, in the Bobo doll aggression, such as meanness, can
study, we saw how children can learn to perform specific aggressive increase people’s relational aggres-
behaviors simply by watching a live model perform these behaviors. sion behaviors or even their physical
Researchers have long been interested in whether watching aggression behaviors? Researchers
aggression or violence in the media (television, movies) makes recently explored this very question
people more aggressive. Numerous studies have found that watch- (S. M. Coyne et al., 2008).
ing physical aggression in the media does in fact increase physical
aggression in viewers. However, physical aggression is not the only Observing physical aggression in the media increases
type of violence portrayed in the media. For example, relational physically aggressive behaviors in viewers.

Study: Effects of Viewing Physical and Relational Aggression in the Media

Participants. ey were 53 female univer- Results. Participants who viewed the movie clips featuring physical and relational Photo Credits: top, © Edouard Berne/Getty Images; bottom left, © Radius Images/Photolibrary; bottom right, © SW Productions/Getty Images
sity students with an average age of 23. aggression reacted in aggressive ways. When instructed to administer a loud, sharp noise
Procedure. The women were randomly to their opponent, these women administered a louder noise than women who watched a
assigned to one of three groups, each to clip with no aggression (example of physical aggression). On an important questionnaire
watch a different video. One video featured to be used supposedly to help decide whether the rude researcher should be hired, these
physical aggression (a knife fight from Kill women rated the rude researcher lower than the women who did not watch aggression
Bill), another featured relational aggression (example of relational aggression) (S. M. Coyne et al., 2008; Toppo, 2008).
(a collection of scenes from Mean Girls), and
a third featured no aggression (a scene from Physical Aggression Relational Aggression
What Lies Beneath showing people engaging
in a ritual to communicate with spirits). Participants who viewed either physical or relational aggression were more likely to subsequently
engage in physical and relational aggression than participants who didn’t view any aggression.
After watching the videos, all par-
ticipants completed a questionnaire about Conclusion. Viewing either physical or relational aggression in the media leads to an
their past aggressive behaviors. As the increased likelihood of people subsequently exhibiting physical and relational aggression.
women left the room to go home, another Also, watching one form of aggression can influence the occurrence of other forms of
researcher asked if they would participate aggression. For example, observing relational aggression can make it more likely for
in a second study (it’s actually part of the someone to subsequently engage in physical aggression. Parents, teachers, media watch-
original study). The women were told this dogs, and politicians should focus not only on the effects of viewing physical aggression
second study would examine their reac- in the media but also on the effects of viewing relational aggression.
tion times in completing puzzle tasks. Once
participants said yes and began working Learning to behave in aggressive ways by watching aggression in the media is one
on the puzzles, the researcher intentionally example of how learning principles can be applied to human behavior. Another example
behaved in a very rude manner by telling involves learning how to play the violin.
them to hurry, pacing with a stopwatch, and
sighing loudly. When the participants later
expressed low confidence about their per-
formance, the researcher blamed them for
ruining her study. She was doing a great job
of acting rude!

Participants were then asked to engage
in a competitive reaction time test (push-
ing buttons really fast) and to choose from
ten noise levels to be administered to their
opponent each time they lose the button-
pushing contest. At the very end, partici-
pants completed evaluation forms for the
rude experimenter.

230 M O D U L E 1 0 O P E R A N T & C O G N I T I V E A P P R O A C H E S

H. Cultural Diversity: East Meets West

What’s In the 1940s, a violin very similar to Bandura’s four mental
player and teacher processes for social cognitive learn-
the Suzuki from Japan, Shinichi ing. What’s different is that Suzuki
method? Suzuki, developed a developed his learning principles a er
years of actually teaching young chil-
remarkably success- dren to play the violin, while Bandura
ful method for teaching violin playing to developed his four mental processes
very young children (Suzuki, 1998). His of observational learning after years
method, called the Suzuki method, was of research with young children. We’ll
brought to the United States in the mid- discuss how even though Suzuki the
1960s and has generated incredible enthu- teacher and Bandura the researcher
siasm among children, parents, and music lived in very different cultures thou-
teachers ever since (Gokturk, 2008). sands of miles apart, their experiences
It’s interesting to learn that the basic led them to very similar conclusions
principles of the Suzuki method for teach- Suzuki’s method of teaching young children to play about how children learn.
ing young children to play the violin are musical instruments has many similarities with Bandura’s

principles of social cognitive learning.

Different Cultures but Similar Learning Principles
1 Attention 3 Imitation
Bandura states that the observer must Bandura says the observer must be able to use the information to guide his or
pay attention to what the model her own actions and thus imitate the model’s behavior.
says and does. Similarly, Suzuki suggests that children start at about 3 or 4 years old, the
Similarly, Suzuki advises earliest age when they can physically perform the required movements and
parents to teach violin informa- imitate their parents and teachers. Girls can start earlier than boys because
tion only when the child is actually girls physically mature earlier. For other instruments, the starting times are
looking at and watching the parent. Par- different—piano, 4–5 years; cello, 5 years; flute, 9 years—
ents are told to stop teaching and wait if the child rolls because these instruments require more physical dexter-
on the floor, jumps up and down, walks backward, or ity. As you have probably guessed, 3- and 4-year-olds
talks about unrelated things. start with miniature violins and move up to bigger
e recommended age for starting a child with the 4ones as they develop.
Suzuki method is 3 for girls and 4 for boys. Parents are Motivation
cautioned, however, that the attention span of the 3- to Bandura says that the observer must have some
4-year-old child is extremely limited, usually from 30 reason, reinforcement, or incentive to perform the
seconds to at most several minutes at a time. model’s behaviors.
Similarly, Suzuki emphasizes that the most important
2 Memory role of the parent is to constantly reward and reinforce the
child for observing and “doing what Mommy or Daddy is
Bandura says that the observer must code the informa- doing.” Suzuki recommends several ways to keep moti-
tion in such a way that it can be retrieved and used later. vation high in young children: Be an active and inter-
Photo Credit: top and right, © Hiroji Kubota/Magnum Photos ested model for the child, play violin games that are Social cognitive
Similarly, Suzuki tells parents that they should fun for the child, avoid games or lessons that involve learning involves
present information in ways that a young child can competition, and never push the child beyond the level attention, memory,
understand (Bandura would say code). Because a 3- to that he or she is capable of reaching (Slone, 1985).
4-year-old child does not have fully developed verbal imitation, and
skills or memory, little time is spent giving verbal motivation.

instructions. Instead, the young Conclusion. Parents and teachers who have used the Suzuki method
child is given violin information
through games and exercises. For report great success (Lamb, 1990). As you can judge, the basic principles of the
example, children are taught how Suzuki method for teaching violin are quite similar to Bandura’s four mental
to hold the violin, use the bow, and processes for social cognitive learning. Both Suzuki and Bandura recognized
press the strings by first playing the importance of observational learning and how much information children
games with their hands. Children can learn from watching and imitating models. Suzuki’s successful method of
are taught how to read music (notes) teaching violin to young children provides support for Bandura’s four mental
only when they are older and have processes that he believes are involved in social cognitive learning.
gained some technical skill at playing Next, we’ll discuss how operant learning principles were used to develop
the violin. a method for teaching autistic children.

H . C U L T U R A L D I V E R S I T Y : E A S T M E E T S W E S T 231

I. Application: Behavior Modification

Definitions In this module, we have discussed how communicating; very few activities and interests; and long periods of time

What is operant conditioning principles are used to spent repeating the same behaviors or motor patterns, or following rituals

behavior mod? decrease food refusal in young children, that interfere with more normal functioning. Symptoms range from mild

to toilet train children (p. 216), to to severe and usually appear when a child is about 2 to 3 years old

prevent eating paint chips (p. 218), and to stop children from (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). (We discussed the
engaging in dangerous behaviors (p. 219). These are all symptoms and causes of autism more thoroughly in
examples of behavior modification (Miltenberger, 2007). Module 1.)
Parents, doctors, and policy makers all agree that the
Behavior modification is a treatment or therapy that chang- best method to address the above symptoms, especially

es or modifies problems or undesirable behaviors by using

principles of learning based on operant conditioning, classical deficits in forming relationships and communicat-

conditioning, and social cognitive learning. ing, in autistic children is to enroll them in intensive

For over 35 years, psychologist and researcher Ivar Behavior mod is used behavioral treatment (between 20 and 40 hours a week)
Lovaas of the University of California at Los Angeles to treat autism. as early as possible. ere is no evidence that any treat-
has used behavior modification or, more colloquially, ment leads to a complete recovery, but without treat-
behavior mod to treat autism. ment, many autistics will remain socially unresponsive (Carey,
Autism is marked by poor development in social relationships, such 2004; Kabot et al., 2003). We’ll discuss the behavior mod treatment
as not wanting to be touched, not making eye contact, and hiding to developed by Ivar Lovaas, who combined principles of operant
avoid people (see drawing); great difficulty developing language and conditioning and social cognitive learning (Lovaas & Buch, 1997).

Behavior Modification and Autism
Lovaas’s program at UCLA, which is called reached normal status (Lovaas, 1987). ese children acquired suf-
What kind the Young Autism Project, treats 2- to ficient language, social, and self-help behaviors to enter preschool

of training? 3-year-old autistic children with a 40-hour- and successfully complete first grade in public school. Many of the
per-week program that runs for 2 to 3 years. children did so well the teachers didn’t know they were autistic.
Here’s part of the program. However, even with intensive training, 40% of autistic children
Program. Lovaas’s training program actually consists of hun- remained mildly retarded, and 10% remained profoundly retarded.
dreds of separate teaching programs, many of them using prin- In comparison, in a control group of autistic children who received
ciples of operant conditioning: Select a specific target behavior, only minimal treatment, only 2% achieved normal intellectual
shape the behavior, and use positive reinforcers of praise and food and educational functioning, while 45% remained mildly retarded
that are given immediately a er the child emits the and 53% remained severely retarded (Eikeseth,
desired behavior. For example, here’s a program to Normal status 47% 2001; Lovaas & Buch, 1997; McEachin et al.,
increase making eye contact. 1993). Lovaas and colleagues concluded that
Target behavior is getting the child to make Mildly retarded 40% without intensive behavior modification treat-

eye contact following the command “Look at me.” 10% Profoundly retarded ment, autistic children will continue to show
Shaping the behavior involves two steps. severe behavioral deficits.
Step 1. Have the child sit in a chair facing you. Give the com- Follow-up. A six-year follow-up study of the nine children who
mand “Look at me” every 5–10 seconds. When the child makes a had reached normal status found that they had kept their gains and
correct response of looking at you, say “Good looking” and simul- were still functioning normally (Lovaas, 1999). A later follow-up
taneously reward the child with food. study of the same nine children, then 20 to 30 years old, showed
Step 2. Continue until the child repeatedly obeys the command that eight appeared normal—that is, did not score differently from
“Look at me.” en gradually increase the dura- other normal adults on a variety of tests—while one had personal-
tion of the child’s eye contact from 1 second to ity problems but would not be classified as autistic (Lovaas, 1999).
periods of 2 to 3 seconds. Recent research indicates that Lovaas’s behavior mod is best
Using this behavior mod program, thera- suited to help those with less severe symptoms and it may not lead to
pists and parents have had success in teaching improvement in those with more severe symptoms (Carey, 2004).
autistic children to make eye contact, to stop Health care specialists concluded that autism therapy can be
constant rocking, to respond to verbal requests effective provided it begins early (child 2–3 years old) and includes
such as “Wash your hands,” to interact with one-on-one training for a minimum of 25 hours a week, 12 months
47% reach peers, to speak, and to engage in school tasks a year for several years (Tarkan, 2002). However, such therapy is so
normal status. such as reading and writing (Lovaas, 1993). costly ($72,000 a year) that fewer than 10% of autistic children are

Results. Lovaas and his colleagues did a long-term study of 19 receiving the recommended level of treatment (Lord, 2002; Wal-
children diagnosed as autistic. Behavior modification training went lis, 2006). It can cost over $3 million to take care of a person with
on for at least 40 hours per week for 2 years or more. e graph above autism over his or her lifetime, and the societal costs for caring for
shows that, at the end of training, 47% (9/19) of the autistic children people with autism exceeds $35 billion a year (HSPH, 2006).

232 M O D U L E 1 0 O P E R A N T & C O G N I T I V E A P P R O A C H E S

Biofeedback

How can Many people develop a variety of psycho- As shown in the photo below, small sensors attached to the client’s
somatic problems, which result from head detect activity in the muscles that stretch across the top front part
we reduce stressful or disturbing thoughts that lead of the head and along the jaw. e man is trying to relax his forehead
tension? to real aches and pains in the body. For muscle by imagining relaxing scenes, thinking relaxing thoughts, or

example, psychosomatic problems actually tensing and relaxing the
include back pain, muscle tension, high blood pressure, muscle itself. e target behavior is
stomach distress, and headaches. One procedure to reduce a decrease in facial muscle tension.
psychosomatic problems using behavioral modification is To reach this target behavior, the
based on operant conditioning and is called biofeedback. client practices thinking about or
Biofeedback is a training procedure imagining relaxing scenes that result

through which a person is made aware in a decrease in muscle tension. A

of his or her physiological responses, decrease in muscle tension is sig-

such as muscle activity, heart rate, naled by a decrease in an audio sig-

blood pressure, or temperature. After Biofeedback helps in learning to control nal, which acts as a reinforcer. A er
becoming aware of these physiological physiological responses. a number of these sessions, the client
responses, a person tries to control them learns to decrease muscle tension

to decrease psychosomatic problems. with the goal of staying relaxed the next time he gets upset.

Stress may For example, headaches may be caused Biofeedback is o en used in conjunction with other forms of medi-
cause a buildup of or worsened by muscle tension, of which cal treatment or psychotherapy and can help a person reduce blood
muscle tension. the sufferer may be totally unaware. The pressure, decrease headaches, and reduce anxiety (deCharms et al.,
le figure shows that the forehead and neck 2005; Schwartz & Andrasik, 2005). We’ll discuss other methods of
have wide bands of muscles where tension can lead to pain and reducing stress and associated psychosomatic problems in Module 21.
discomfort. rough video or audio (bio)feedback, a person can Our last example deals with concerns about using punishment to
be made aware of muscle tension and learn how to reduce it. decrease undesirable behaviors.

Pros and Cons of Punishment
About 61% of parents believe spanking is an reinforcing a desirable behavior (Benjet & Kazdin, 2003). One dis-
Should it acceptable form of discipline for young chil- advantage of positive punishment is that it points out only what the
Photo Credits: top, © Will & Deni McIntyre/Photo Researchers, Inc.; bottom right, © Radius Images/Photolibrary child should not do, while positive reinforcers have the advantage
be used? dren, and 94% of 3- and 4-year-olds have been of encouraging the child to engage in desirable behaviors.

spanked during the past year (O’Callaghan,
2006). Since spanking may immediately stop undesirable behaviors,
it has been and remains a popular form of discipline. But spanking is Time-Out: Negative Punishment

surrounded with controversy because it is associated with numerous Another form of discipline is time-out, which was dis-
cussed earlier (see p. 219). Time-out is an example of
negative side effects and may be a less desirable form of punishment negative punishment because it involves the removal
(discipline) than the time-out procedure (Benjet & Kazdin, 2003).
We’ll discuss the pros and cons of each. of a reinforcing stimulus (desirable reward) so that
some undesirable response will not recur. For
Spanking: Positive Punishment example, a er misbehaving, a child is given a

Since spanking involves the presentation of time-out period (stays in a corner without
an aversive stimulus (pain), it is an example games, books, or toys). Time-out is most
of positive punishment. Researchers dis- effective when used consistently and com-
agree on the use of spanking. Some argue bined with teaching the child alternative
that all spanking is bad because it is associ- desired behaviors using positive reinforc-
ated with numerous short- and long-term ers (J. Taylor & Miller, 1997). Time-out has fewer
Effects of negative side effects, such as the child imi- Compared to spanking, time-out has undesirable side
punishment depend tating and modeling aggressive behavior
fewer undesirable side effects; it does not effects than spanking.
on its usage.

and developing other conduct problems provide a model of aggression and does not elicit severe negative
(Gershoff, 2002). Others agree that severe spanking administered emotional reactions. Thus, when it is necessary to discipline a
by harsh parents is always bad but mild to moderate spanking used child, care should be taken in choosing between positive punish-
as one form of discipline by loving parents does not necessarily ment (spanking) and negative punishment (time-out). Although
have undesirable or negative side effects (Baumrind et al., 2002). both kinds of punishment stop or suppress undesirable behaviors,
Some of the undesirable effects of positive punishment can be spanking has more negative side effects than time-out, and time-out
reduced if it is given immediately after the behavior, if it is just has been shown to be effective in eliminating undesirable behav-
severe enough to be effective, if it is delivered consistently, if the iors. Both kinds of punishment are best used in combination with
child is told the reason for the punishment, and, perhaps most positive reinforcers so the child also learns to perform desirable
important, if punishment is used in combination with positively behaviors (Nichols, 2004).

I . A P P L I C A T I O N : B E H A V I O R M O D I F I C A T I O N 233

Summary Test

A. Operant Conditioning B. Reinforcers

5 Shaping 1. A kind of learning in 8. In operant conditioning, the term conse- .
4 which the consequences quences refers to what happens after the occur-
3 that follow some behavior rence of a behavior. If a consequence increases
2 increase or decrease the the likelihood that a behavior will occur again, it is called a
1 Baseline likelihood that the behavior (a) . If a consequence decreases the likelihood
0 will occur again is called that a behavior will occur again, it is called a (b)

. 9. If a stimulus increases the chances that a response will

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 2. To explain how random occur again, that stimulus is called a (a) .
Sessions trial-and-error behaviors of If the removal of an aversive stimulus increases the chances

behaviors, Thorndike formulated the cats became goal-directed that a response will occur again, that aversive stimulus is called a
, which (b) . Both positive and negative reinforcements
says that behaviors are strengthened by positive consequences and (c) the frequency of the response they follow. In
weakened by negative consequences. contrast, punishment is a consequence that (d)
the likelihood that a behavior will occur again.
3. Skinner used the term operant (a) to describe Photo Credits: (#8) © Simon Belcher/Alamy; (#11) © Michael P. Gadomski/Photo Researchers, Inc.; (#13) © Stephen Kraseman/DRK Photo
something that can be modified by its consequences. Operant 10. The stimuli of food, water, and sex, which are innately satisfy- Figure/Text Credit: (#1 graph) Adapted from “Treating Chronic Food Refusal in Young Children: Home-Based Parent Training,” by M. A. Werle, T. B. Murphy &
responses provide one way to separate ongoing behaviors into ing and require no learning to become pleasurable, are called K. S. Budd, 1993, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 26, 421–433.
units that can be observed and measured. Skinner believed (a) . The stimuli of praise, money, and good
that Pavlov’s conditioning, which involves physiological grades have acquired their reinforcing properties through experi-
(b) , was not very useful in understanding ence; these stimuli are called (b) .
other forms of ongoing behaviors.

4. Suppose you wished to operantly condition your dog, Bingo, C. Schedules of Reinforcement
to sit up. The procedure would be as follows. You would give
Bingo a treat, which is called a (a) , after he emits 11. A program or rule that determines
a desired behavior. Because it is unlikely that Bingo will initially how and when the occurrence of a response
sit up, you will use a procedure called (b) , will be followed by a reinforcer is called a
which is a process of reinforcing those behaviors that lead up to or
.

approximate the final desired behavior—sitting up. Immediately 12. If you received reinforcement every time you performed a good
after Bingo emitted a desired behavior, you would give him a deed, you would be on a (a) schedule. This sched-
(c) . ule is often used at the beginning of operant conditioning because it
results in a rapid rate of learning. If your good deeds were not rein-
5. Any behavior that increases in frequency because of an forced every time, you would be on a (b) schedule.
accidental pairing of a reinforcer and that behavior is called This schedule is more effective in maintaining the target behavior in
a behavior. the long run. There are four kinds of partial reinforcement schedules.

6. The essence of operant conditioning can be summed up D. Other Conditioning Concepts
as follows: Consequences or reinforcers are contingent on
13. The phenomenon in which an organism
.

7. If you compare classical and operant conditioning, you will emits the same response to similar stimuli is
find the following differences. In classical conditioning, the called (a) . If a response
response is an involuntary (a) that is elicited is emitted in the presence of a reinforced
by the (b) . In operant conditioning, the stimulus but not in the presence of unre-
response is a voluntary (c) that is performed or inforced stimuli, the organism is exhibit-
(d) by the organism. In classical conditioning, ing (b) . If an organism’s response is no longer
the unconditioned stimulus is presented at the beginning of a trial reinforced, it will stop emitting this behavior, which is an example
and elicits the (e) . In operant conditioning, of (c) . However, even without reinforcement,
the organism emits a behavior that is immediately followed by an organism may perform the behavior, which is an example of
a (f) . (d) .

234 M O D U L E 1 0 O P E R A N T & C O G N I T I V E A P P R O A C H E S

E. Cognitive Learning 22. Female university students
who viewed either physical or
14. The kind of learning that involves men- relational aggression were
tal processes such as attention and memory,
that may be learned through observation to subse-
and imitation, and that may not involve any quently engage in physical
external rewards or require the person to and relational aggression than
perform any observable behaviors is called women who did not view any
(a) . According to Tolman, aggression.

rats developed a mental representation of the layout of their envi- H. Cultural Diversity: East Meets West
ronment, which he called a (b) .

15. If an observer learns a behavior through observation but does 23. Suzuki’s method and Bandura’s theory both emphasize obser-
not immediately perform the behavior, this is an example of the vation, modeling, and imitation. Specifically, both
Suzuki and Bandura focus on four concepts: pay-
distinction. ing (a) to the model, placing the

Photo Credits: (#14) © Jon Lowenstein/Aurora Photos; (#19) © Zoological Society of San Diego; (#22) © SW Productions/Getty Images; (#23) © Hiroji Kubota/ 16. During his studies of problem solving in chimpanzees, information in (b) , using the
Magnum Photos Köhler used the term to describe a mental
process marked by the sudden occurrence of a solution. information to (c) the model’s
actions, and having (d) to
perform the behavior.
17. Köhler’s study of insightful problem solving, Bandura’s theory
of observational learning, and Tolman’s idea of cognitive maps
represent three kinds of learning.
I. Application: Behavior Modification

F. Biological Factors 24. Using principles of operant conditioning
to change human behavior is referred to
as (a) . Using these same
18. Innate tendencies or predispositions that may either facilitate principles to help individuals learn to control
or inhibit learning are referred to as .
(increase or decrease) some physiological
19. The innate tendency of newborn response, such as muscle activity or temper-
birds to follow the first moving object ature, is called (b) .
that they encounter soon after birth is
called (a) . This kind 25. If an aversive stimulus is presented immediately after a par-
ticular response, the response will be suppressed; this procedure is
of learning occurs best during a critical called (a) . If a reinforcing stimulus is removed
or sensitive period and is essentially
(b) . One function of immediately after a particular response, the response will be sup-
pressed; this procedure is called (b) . A poorly
imprinting is to form social attachments chosen form of punishment, such as spanking, may have undesir-
between members of a species.
able side effects, such as developing (c) problems
20. The innate tendency of animals to and serving as a model for future (d) behaviors.
recognize, attend to, and store certain
cues over others and associate some combinations of conditioned
and unconditioned stimuli is referred to as . An Answers: 1. operant conditioning; 2. law of effect; 3. (a) response,
example of this tendency is observed in Clark’s nutcrackers, which (b) reflexes; 4. (a) reinforcer, (b) shaping, (c) reinforcer; 5. superstitious;
are preprogrammed to bury and remember thousands of hidden 6. behavior; 7. (a) reflex, (b) unconditioned stimulus, (c) behavior,
stores of food. (d) emitted, (e) unconditioned response, (f) reinforcer; 8. (a) reinforcer,
(b) punishment; 9. (a) positive reinforcer, (b) negative reinforcer,
G. Research Focus: Viewing Aggression (c) increase, (d) decreases; 10. (a) primary reinforcers, (b) secondary rein-
forcers; 11. schedule of reinforcement; 12. (a) continuous reinforcement,
21. Verbal bullying, ostracizing peers, and spreading rumors are (b) partial reinforcement; 13. (a) generalization, (b) discrimination,
all examples of . (c) extinction, (d) spontaneous recovery; 14. (a) social cognitive learning,
(b) cognitive map; 15. learning–performance; 16. insight; 17. cognitive;
18. biological factors; 19. (a) imprinting, (b) irreversible; 20. preparedness,
or prepared learning; 21. relational aggression; 22. more likely;
23. (a) attention, (b) memory, (c) imitate, (d) motivation; 24. (a) behav-
ior modification, (b) biofeedback; 25. (a) positive punishment, (b) negative
punishment, (c) conduct, (d) aggressive

S U M M A R Y T E S T 235

Critical Thinking

How Do You Train
a Killer Whale?

QUESTIONS If you have ever been to a Once the association between the 5 What should Photo Credit: © AP Images/Amy Sancetta
marine park, then you whistle and the reinforcer is estab- a trainer do if
1How do we know most certainly have been lished, whales can be taught to per- a whale performs a
what a reinforcer entertained by watching form complex behaviors. First, the behavior incorrectly?
is for a whale? the marvelous marine ani- whale is taught to follow a target,
mal performances. In just such as a long stick with a ball at the 6 Can whales learn
2 Why isn’t punish- one show an enormous end. The target guides the whale in to do tricks by
ment used to train killer whale jumps through a direction, and when the target just watching other
a whale to perform a ring suspended in air, touches the whale, the trainer blows whales perform?
behaviors? waves to audience mem- the whistle and reinforces the whale.
bers with its fins, swims After this is done several times, the ANSWERS
3 Why is it impor- backward while standing target is moved farther away and the TO CRITICAL
tant to reinforce up on its tail, and gently kisses a trainer waits for the whale to touch THINKING
the whale immediate- brave volunteer. Whales are taught it before providing reinforcement. QUESTIONS
ly after it performs a to perform these impressive behav- The whale learns that making con-
desired behavior? iors with the use of operant and tact with the target results in being
classical conditioning techniques. reinforced. Now, when the whale
4 In this training performs a behavior that is close to
example, what is Operant conditioning is used to the desired behavior, the trainer
the neutral stimulus? train whales because when the con- whistles and the whale approaches
Unconditioned stimu- sequences of performing a specific the trainer to receive a positive
lus? Conditioned behavior are reinforcing, the whale reinforce.
stimulus? will likely repeat the behavior. Posi-
tive reinforcers for whales may Teach i ng whale s to p er for m
include food, toys, back scratches, behaviors may appear like a rela-
being sprayed with a hose, or tively easy task while watching the
another favorite activity. Giving the trainers and whales interact on
whale positive reinforcers immedi- stage, but the truth is training
ately after it performs a specific whales to perform is very challeng-
behavior makes it likely that the ing work. Trainers need to be com-
behavior will increase in frequency, mitted, patient, and friendly to earn
duration, and intensity in a similar the whale’s trust, and even then it
situation. can take months or even years to
teach a whale a complex set of
The use of classical conditioning behaviors. (Adapted from Animal
is also necessary to teach a whale to training at SeaWorld, 2002; Aqua
perform complex behaviors. Because facts: Training marine mammals,
it is not always possible to reinforce 2006)
the whale immediately after it per-
forms a specific behavior, trainers
must use a signal (whistle) to pro-
vide the whale with immediate feed-
back that it has correctly performed
the desired behavior. A whale learns
the meaning of the whistle by the
trainer whistling before giving the
whale food. Over the course of sev-
eral trials, the whale comes to asso-
ciate the whistle with receiving food
and the whale performs the behav-
ior to get the reinforcement.

236 M O D U L E 1 0 O P E R A N T & C O G N I T I V E A P P R O A C H E S

Links to Learning

Key Terms/Key People Learning Activities

autism, 232 noncompliance, 219 PowerStudy for Introduction PowerStudy 4.5™
behavior modification, or operant conditioning, 213 to Psychology 4.5
operant response, 214
behavior mod, 232 operant versus classical Try out PowerStudy’s SuperModule for Operant & Cognitive Approaches! In
biofeedback, 233 addition to the quizzes, learning activities, interactive Summary Test, key
biological factors, 228 conditioning, 217 terms, module outline and abstract, and extended list of correlated websites
Bobo doll experiment, 224 partial reinforcement, 220 provided for all modules, the DVD’s SuperModule for Operant & Cognitive
cognitive learning, 223 pica, 218 Approaches features:
cognitive map, 223 positive punishment, 219 t 4FMG QBDFE
GVMMZ OBSSBUFE MFBSOJOH XJUI B NVMUJUVEF PG BOJNBUJPOT
continuous positive reinforcement, 218 t 7JEFP BCPVU PQFSBOU DPOEJUJPOJOH BOE UIF 4LJOOFS CPY
USFBUNFOU PG TOBLF
positive reinforcer, 219 phobia, and predisposition to play behavior.
reinforcement, 220 preparedness, or prepared t /VNFSPVT BOJNBUJPOT EFTJHOFE UP IFMQ ZPV VOEFSTUBOE UIF DPNQPOFOUT PG
critical or sensitive operant and cognitive learning.
learning, 229 t *OUFSBDUJWF WFSTJPOT PG TUVEZ SFTPVSDFT
JODMVEJOH UIF 4VNNBSZ 5FTU PO QBHFT
period, 228 primary reinforcer, 219 234–235 and the critical thinking questions for the article on page 236.
cumulative record, 220 punishment, 218
discrimination, 222 reinforcement, 218 CengageNOW!
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food refusal, 216 Visit this book’s companion website for more resources to help you
generalization, 222 theory, 225 study, including learning objectives, additional quizzes, flash cards, updated
imprinting, 228 spanking: positive links to useful websites, and a pronunciation glossary.
infant brain: wired for
punishment, 233 Study Guide and WebTutor
speaking, 229 spontaneous recovery, 222 Work through the corresponding module in your Study
insight, 226 superstitious behavior, 215 Guide for tips on how to study effectively and for help learning the material
insight in animals, 226 time-out, 219 covered in the book. WebTutor (an online Study Tool accessed through your
insight in humans, 226 time-out: negative eResources account) provides an interactive version of the Study Guide.
law of effect, 214
learning–performance punishment, 233
toilet training, 216
distinction, 224 variable-interval
negative punishment, 219
negative schedule, 221
variable-ratio
reinforcement, 218
schedule, 221

Suggested Answers to Critical Thinking

1. Whales cannot tell us what they like and don’t like, and not all whales have 4. The whale learns to associate the sound of a whistle with receiving
the same preferences. Thus, trainers examine the frequency of the behav- food. The neutral stimulus is the whistle sound, and the uncondi-
ior after providing a reinforcer. If the frequency increases, the consequence tioned stimulus is food. After repeated pairing of the whistle sound
was a reinforcer. If the frequency decreases, the trainer will use other con- with receiving food, the whale learns to associate the whistle sound
sequences until one increases the frequency of the desired behavior. with food, and the conditioned stimulus is the sound of the whistle.

2. Punishment only points out what the whale should not do, while rein- 5. If a whale performs a behavior incorrectly, the trainer must be sure
forcers point out what the whale should do. Also, punishment can to avoid giving any reinforcement. In such a case, the trainer should
increase aggressive behaviors in some whales. remain motionless and silent for a few seconds, making sure there
is no possibility the whale will think its behavior earned approval.
3. When a reinforcer immediately follows a desired behavior, the whale
associates the reinforcer with the desired behavior and not some other 6. Yes. Whales can learn to imitate some behaviors just by watch-
behavior that just happens to occur. If the reinforcer is delayed even for ing other whales, a process known as observational learning.
a few seconds, the whale may be reinforced for an undesired or super- Also, whales that are trained with experienced whales may learn
stitious behavior. to perform behaviors at a faster rate.

L I N K S T O L E A R N I N G 237

Types

11 of Memory
MODULE

Photo Credit: © Bazuki Muhammad/
Reuters/Corbis
A. Three Types of Memory 240 H. Cultural Diversity: Oral Versus Written 253
B. Sensory Memory: Recording
C. Short-Term Memory: Working 241 I. Application: Unusual Memories 254
D. Long-Term Memory: Storing
E. Research Focus: 242 Summary Test 256

Do Emotions Affect Memories? 244 Critical Thinking 258
F. Encoding: Transferring
G. Repressed Memories Can Phony Memories Change Your Behavior?
Concept Review 247 Links to Learning
248 259
238
250 PowerStudy 4.5™
252 Complete Module

Introduction

Incredible Memory Memory Problem
Daniel Tammet stood before the packed Imagine what life would be like without
What’s a house at the Museum of History and Sci- How important memory. For Clive Wearing, that’s a grim

super memory? ence in Oxford. He recited, from memory, is memory? reality.
the first 22,514 digits of pi, which is o en At age 40, Clive Wearing, a musician,
rounded off to two decimal places, or 3.14. He completed this got a disease that caused brain damage resulting in severe memory
amazing feat in 5 hours and 9 minutes and made no mistakes. impairment. For instance, despite having written a book on a clas-
Scientists describe Daniel’s memory as nothing less than sical composer, he cannot remember any information about the
extraordinary. In fact, Daniel is one of only composer. Clive can no longer enjoy reading
a half-dozen people worldwide with such books or watching movies because he is
gargantuan memory powers. He cur- unable to follow the plot. Each time Clive
rently holds the European record for sees his wife, he excitedly greets her as if
reciting digits of pi, but people elsewhere he has not seen her in years, even though
have broken his record. For instance, she may have left the room for only a
Akira Haraguchi correctly repeated the moment. He cannot recall his wedding
first 100,000 digits of pi (Associated Press, day or the names of his children.
2006e). Later in the module, we’ll learn The disease did spare Clive some of
about the memory technique Daniel his memory. Even though Clive cannot
uses to remember so many digits. remember being educated in music, he Clive has very serious
Daniel recited 22,514 Despite Daniel’s unbelievable abil- remembers how to play the piano, con- memory problems
digits of pi in exact order. duct an orchestra, and sing.
caused by a disease that
ity to memorize numbers, he faces a When Clive tells others about his life, damaged his brain.
number of life challenges. He can’t drive, doesn’t tolerate shop-
ping well, and avoids the beach because of his compulsion to count he says it is “precisely like death. I’d like to be alive” (J. Goodwin,
every grain of sand. As a child, he struggled to learn spelling and 2006, p. 125). He does not feel alive because for the past 25 years,
even simple mathematics because the techniques being taught his memory problems have robbed him of a past and future. Clive
didn’t match his unique way of thinking (Schorn, 2007; Tammet, lives in a never-ending present. His wife describes his memory by
2007, 2009). explaining, “It’s as if Clive’s every conscious moment is like waking
Few people have such incredible memories and, unfortunately, up for the first time” (J. Goodwin, 2006, p. 126). Clive’s problems
many others have memory problems. Next, we’ll learn about a man with memory really affect his quality of life and demonstrate the
who has very serious problems with his memory. importance of memory (Baddeley, 2009d; Sacks, 2008).

Definitions Daniel’s amazing ability to recall thousands 2 Storing
of digits and Clive’s very serious memory
What are problems involve three different memory Daniel used associations to encode information because associa-
the three processes. tions are also useful for storing information.
processes?
Memory is the ability to retain information Storing is the process of placing encoded information into relatively
permanent mental storage for later recall.
over time through three processes: encoding (forming),
New information that is stored by making associations with old
storing, and retrieving. Memories are not copies
3or familiar information is much easier to remember, or retrieve.
Photo Credit: © Colin McPherson/Corbis but representations of the world that vary in Retrieving
accuracy and are subject to error and bias. Daniel was able to recall, or retrieve, 22,514 digits in order.

We’ll brief ly define each of the three Retrieving is the process of getting or recalling information that has
memory processes because they are the been placed into short-term or long-term storage.
keys to understanding the interesting and
complex process of how we remember and Only a half-dozen people in the entire world can match Dan-
thus create the world we live in. iel’s feat of encoding, storing, and retrieving thousands of digits
in order. Most people vary in their accuracy to recall informa-
1 Encoding tion. For example, adolescents were questioned about dating, their
families, and general activities. When asked the same questions 30
Daniel developed a method or code to form memories for digits, a years later, they made many errors in recalling the same informa-
process called encoding. tion (Offer et al., 2000).

Encoding refers to making mental representations of information so We’ll discuss three kinds of memory, how memories are
that it can be placed into our memories. encoded, why emotional memories are long-lasting, the issue of
repressed memories, and some unusual memory abilities. We’ll
For example, Daniel encodes numbers by visualizing each num- start with an overview of the three kinds of memory.
ber as having a different shape, color, and texture. Such a vivid
mental representation helps to store numbers in his memory. I N T R O D U C T I O N 239

A. Three Types of Memory

What are the We o en talk about memory as though it were a single process. In fact, a popular model of memory divides it into
three types? three different processes: sensory, short-term, and long-term memory (Baddeley, 2006). To illustrate each of these
processes, we’ll examine what happens as you walk through a big-city mall.

Sensory Memory Short-Term Memory Long-Term Memory

As you walk through a busy mall, you are Because a few notes of the guitarist’s If you become mentally engaged in
bombarded by hundreds of sights, smells, song sounded interesting, whistling along or wondering why the
and sounds, including the music of a lone you shi ed your attention guitarist’s music sounds familiar, there
guitarist playing for spare change. Many of to that particular informa- is a good chance that
these stimuli reach your sensory memory. tion in sensory memory. this mental activity
Paying attention to will transfer the music
Sensory memory refers to an initial process information in sensory from short-term into
that receives and holds environ- memory causes it to be long-term memory.
mental information in its raw automatically transferred
form for a brief period of time, into short-term memory. Long-term memory
from an instant to several refers to the process of
seconds. Short-term memory, also called working storing almost unlimited
memory, refers to another process that can amounts of information over long periods
For example, a er hold only a limited amount of information— of time.
reaching your ears, the
guitarist’s sounds are an average of seven items—for only a short For example, you have stored
held in sensory memory hundreds of songs, terms, faces, and
for a second or two. period of time—2 to 30 seconds. conversations in your long-term mem-
What you do next will determine what Once a limited amount of informa- ory—information that is potentially
happens to the guitarist’s sounds that are available for retrieval. However, from
in your sensory memory. tion is transferred into short-term, or personal experience, you know that
working, memory, it will remain there you cannot always retrieve things you
If you pay no more attention to these for up to 30 seconds. If during this time learned and know you know. In Module
sounds in sensory memory, they automati- you become more involved in the infor- 12, we’ll discuss reasons for forget-
cally disappear without a trace. mation, such as humming to the music, ting information stored in long-term
the information will remain in short- memory.
However, if you pay attention to the gui- term memory for a longer period of time.
tarist’s music, the auditory information in Now that you know what the three
sensory memory is transferred into another However, the music will disappear memory processes are, we’ll explain how
memory process called short-term memory a er a short time unless it is transferred they work together.
(Baddeley, 2009c). into permanent storage, called long-term
memory (Squire & Kandel, 2009).

Memory Processes 2 Short-term memory. If you 3 Long-term memory. Information that is Photo Credits: left, © Photodisc/Getty Images; right, © Royalty-Free/Masterfile

1 Sensory memory. We’ll explain how the three do not pay attention to informa- encoded for storage in long-term memory will
tion in short-term memory, it is remain there on a relatively permanent basis.
types of memory described above work and how not encoded and is forgotten. If Whether or not you can recall the instructor’s
paying or not paying attention to something deter- you do pay attention by rehears- words from long-term memory depends partly
mines what is remembered and what is forgotten. ing the information, such as tak- on how they are encoded, which we’ll discuss
ing notes, the information will later. This means that poor class notes may
Imagine listening to a lecture. All the informa- be encoded for storage in long- result in poor encoding and poor recall on
tion that enters your sensory memory remains term memory. at’s why it helps exams. e secret to great encoding and great
for seconds or less. If you do not pay attention to to take lecture notes. recall is to associate new information with old,
information in sensory memory, it is forgotten. If which we’ll also discuss later.
you do pay attention to particular information,
such as the instructor’s words, this information is Now that we have given
automatically transferred into short-term memory. you an overview of mem-
ory, we’ll discuss each of
the three types of memory
in more detail.

Three types of
memory, each with
a different function

240 M O D U L E 1 1 T Y P E S O F M E M O R Y

B. Sensory Memory: Recording

Your brain has a mental video-audio recorder that automatically receives and holds
Do you have a incoming sensory information for only seconds or less. is brief period provides just
mental video enough time for you to decide whether some particular incoming sensory information
recorder? is important or interesting and therefore demands your further attention. We’ll examine

two different kinds of sensory memory: visual sensory memory, called iconic memory,
and auditory sensory memory, called echoic memory.

Iconic Memory About 14,000 times a waking day, your eyes Echoic Memory

What happens blink and you are totally blind during the Without realizing, you
when you blinks (Casselman, 2006; Garbarini, 2005). What did have already experi-
you hear? enced auditory sensory
blink? However, the world doesn’t disappear during
the eye blinks because of a special sensory memory, which is called
memory, which is called iconic (eye-CON-ick) memory. echoic (eh-KO-ick) memory.
Iconic memory is a form of sensory memory that automatically holds
Echoic memory is a form of sensory memory
visual information for about a quarter of a second or more; as soon as you that holds auditory information for 1 or 2 seconds.

shift your attention, the information disappears. (The word icon means For instance, suppose you are absorbed
in reading a novel and a friend asks you a
“image.”) question. You stop reading and ask, “What
did you say?” As soon as those words are
You don’t “go blind” when both eyes close completely during Iconic memory out of your mouth, you realize that you
a blink (about one-third of a second) because the visual scene is briefly holds can recall, or play back, your friend’s exact
briefly held in iconic memory (O’Regan et al., 2000). When your visual information words. You can play back these words
eyes reopen, you don’t realize that your eyes were completely closed during eye blink. because they are still in echoic memory,
during the blink because “you kept seeing” the visual information
that was briefly stored in iconic memory. Without iconic memory, What did Oh, yes.
your world would disappear into darkness during each eye blink. you say? Now I

Identifying Iconic Memory remember.

Here’s the first study that showed the existence and length of iconic memory.
Procedure. Individual subjects sat in front of a screen upon which 12 letters (three
rows of four letters) appeared for a very brief period of time (50 milliseconds, or 50/1,000
of a second). After each presentation, subjects were asked to recall a particular row
of letters.
Results and conclusion. As shown in the graph below, if subjects responded imme- Echoic memory briefly holds sounds.
diately (0.0-second delay) a er seeing the letters, they remembered an average of nine
letters. However, a delay of merely 0.5 second reduced memory to an average of six let- which may last as long as 2 seconds. In
ters, and a delay of 1.0 second reduced memory to an average of only four letters (Sper- addition to letting you play back things you
ling, 1960). Notice that an increased delay in thought you did not hear, echoic memory
Number of Letters Remembered responding resulted in subjects’ remembering lets you hold speech sounds long enough
to know that sequences of certain sounds
Delay in Seconds 0.0 9 letters fewer letters, which indicated the brief duration form words (Norman, 1982). Researchers
of iconic memory—seconds or less. discovered that the length of echoic mem-
is study demonstrated a sensory memory ory increases as children grow into adults
0.5 6 letters for visual information, which was called iconic (Gomes et al., 1999).
1.0 4 letters memory. The sensory memory for auditory
Here’s a quick review of the functions of
information is called echoic memory. iconic and echoic memories.

Photo Credit: (eyes) © PhotoDisc, Inc. Functions of Sensory Memory 2 Gives decision time. Sensory 3 Provides stability, playback, and recognition.

1 Prevents being overwhelmed. Sensory memory gives you a few seconds Iconic memory makes things in your visual world
to decide whether some incoming appear smooth and continuous, such as “seeing” even
memory keeps you from sensory information is interest- during blinking. Echoic memory lets you play back
being over- ing or important. Information auditory information, such as holding separate
whelmed by too you pay attention to will auto- sounds so that you can recognize them as words.
many incoming matically be transferred to short-
stimuli because any term memory. If you attend to information in sensory memory, it
sensory information you do not goes into short-term memory, the next topic.
attend to will vanish in seconds.

B . S E N S O R Y M E M O R Y : R E C O R D I N G 241

C. Short-Term Memory: Working

Definition

What was You have just looked up a phone number, Recent studies found that when you are paying atten-
which you keep repeating as you dial to tion and using working memory to perform a variety
that phone order a pizza. A er giving your order and of cognitive tasks, such as looking for a face in a crowd,
number? hanging up, you can’t remember the num- maximum neural activity occurs in various areas of

ber. is example shows two character- the prefrontal cortex (Pessoa & Ungerleider, 2004).
istics of short-term memory. e prefrontal cortex of Clive Wearing, discussed in
Clive Wearing’s
Short-term memory, more recently called working memory, prefrontal cortex the beginning of this module, is damaged and he can
refers to a process that can hold a limited amount of information— is damaged. remember certain types of information for only 7 sec-

an average of seven items—for a limited period of time—2 to 30 onds. us, his working memory is impaired and he

seconds. However, the relatively short duration can be lengthened cannot remember a phone number for longer than a

by repeating or rehearsing the information. few seconds.

For good reason, telephone numbers and postal ZIP Although extremely useful, working or short-
codes are seven numbers or fewer because that is about term memory has the two characteristics of limited
the limit of short-term memory. Prefrontal duration and limited capacity.
cortex

Two Features

Limited Duration Limited Capacity

The new telephone number that you looked up will remain in In previous modules, we pointed out several studies that are con-
short-term memory for a brief time, usually from 2 to 30 seconds, sidered classic because they challenged old concepts or identified
and then disappear. However, you can keepPercent of Items significant new information. One such classic
Short-term information longer in short-term memoryCorrectly Recalled study is that of George Miller (1956), who
memory holds by using maintenance rehearsal. Photo Credit: (prefrontal cortex) From “A Head for Figures,” by Brian Butterworth, Science, 284, p. 928. By permission of B. Butterworth.was the first to discover that short-term
items for 2–30 memory can hold only about seven items
Maintenance rehearsal refers to the practice
seconds.

of intentionally repeating or rehearsing information or bits, plus or minus two. Although this

so that it remains longer in short-term memory. seems like too small a number, researchers

Researchers studied how long information have repeatedly confirmed Miller’s origi-
is remembered without practice or rehearsal nal finding (Baddeley, 2004). us, one rea-
by asking participants to remember a series son telephone numbers worldwide are
of consonants composed of three meaningless generally limited to seven digits is that seven
letters, such as CHJ. Participants were pre- matches the capacity of short-term memory.
vented from rehearsing, or repeating, these consonants by having It is easy to confirm Miller’s finding with a Short-term
them count backward immediately a er seeing the groups of three memory holds
letters. As the graph below shows, 80% of the participants recalled memory span test, which measures the total about 7 items.
number of digits that we can repeat back in
the groups of three letters a er 3 seconds. However, only 10% of the correct order after a single hearing. For example, students
the participants recalled the make few errors when they are asked to repeat seven or eight dig-
groups of three letters after 15 its, make some errors with a list of eight or nine digits, and make
seconds (L. R. Peterson & Peter- 100 CHJ many errors when they repeat a list that is longer than nine digits.
son, 1950). Since almost all the 80 BDK One of the main reasons information disappears from short-term
participants had forgotten the 60 MXF memory is interference (M. C. Anderson, 2009a).
groups of three letters after 15 RTQ

Interference results when new information enters short-term memory

seconds (if they were prevented 40 and overwrites or pushes out information that is already there.

from rehearsing), this study 20 For example, if you are trying to remember a phone number
clearly showed that information and someone asks you a question, the question interferes with or
disappears from your short- wipes away the phone number. One way to prevent interference is
term memory within seconds 3 6 9 12 15 through rehearsal. However, once we stop rehearsing, the infor-

unless you continually repeat Interval in Seconds mation in short-term memory may disappear.

or rehearse the information. Although short-term memory has limited capacity and dura-
You can increase the time that information remains in short- tion, it is possible to increase both. For example, we use a class-
term memory by using maintenance rehearsal. However, during room demonstration in which we guarantee that any student
maintenance rehearsal, which involves repeating the same thing can learn to memorize a list of 23 digits, in exact order, in just
over and over, new information cannot enter short-term memory. 25 seconds. This impressive memory demonstration, which
Not only does short-term or working memory have a limited always works, is accomplished by knowing how to use something
duration, it also has a limited capacity. called chunking.

242 M O D U L E 1 1 T Y P E S O F M E M O R Y

Chunking

How does Although short-term memory brief ly as quite ugly (such as 289). He has a condition called synesthesia,
holds an average of about seven items, it which we discussed in Module 6 (see p. 144). Synesthesia is when
Daniel remember is possible to increase the length of each people’s senses become intertwined. For example, they may hear
thousands of item by using a process called chunking colors, see music, or taste shapes. Synesthesia has been shown to

numbers? (Baddeley, 2009c). activate more areas of people’s brain, which in turn may improve
Chunking is combining separate items of their memory (Foer, 2006; Schorn, 2007; Tammet, 2007, 2009).
information into a larger unit, or chunk, and then remembering chunks of The ability to use chunking is not limited to people with

information rather than individual items. super memories. We all use chunking at times without thinking

One of the interesting things about Daniel Tammet’s Numbers about it. For example, to remember the 11-digit phone
prodigious memory for numbers is his ability to chunk. have unique number 16228759211, we break it into four chunks:
Whereas most of us would see an endless string of random shapes, colors, 1-622-875-9211.
numbers when looking at the digits in pi, Daniel and textures. As first suggested by George Miller (1956), chunking

is able to chunk the numbers into groups, with is a powerful memory tool that greatly increases
each represented by a unique visual image. In his the amount of information that you can hold in
mind, every number up to 10,000 has a unique short-term memory. Daniel’s ability to chunk
shape, color, and texture. When he sees a long numbers helped him develop an incredible
sequence of numbers, as in pi, he effort- memory, and the use of chunking can improve
lessly sees a “landscape of colorful your memory, too.
shapes.” Daniel describes some numbers Next, we’ll review three important functions
as being beautiful (such as 333) and others of short-term memory.

Functions of Short-Term Memory
Short-term memory is like having a mental found that short-term memory involves the front part of the brain,
Why is it also computer screen that stores a limited especially the prefrontal area (Pessoa & Ungerleider, 2004).
called working amount of information that is automatically
memory? erased after a brief period of time and ere are three important points to remember about short-term
memory: 1st—paying attention transfers information into short-
replaced by new information, and so the term memory; 2nd—after a short time, information disappears
cycle continues. Short-term memory is also called working memory unless it is rehearsed; and 3rd—some information is eventually
to indicate that it’s an active process. Using brain scans, researchers transferred from short-term memory into permanent storage.

1 Attending 2 Rehearsing 3 Storing

Imagine driving along with your radio on Once information enters short-term memory, it usually Rehearsing informa-
while a friend in the passenger seat is talking remains for only seconds unless you rehearse it. For exam- tion not only holds that
about the weekend. A tremendous amount of ple, the announcer on the car radio gives a phone number information in short-
information is entering your sensory memory, to call for free movie tickets. But unless you rehearse or term memory but also
but you avoid stimulus overload because repeat the number over and over, it will probably disappear helps to store or encode
incoming information automatically vanishes from your short-term memory because of interference from information in long-
in seconds unless you pay attention to it. newly arriving information. Another function of short- term memory. Later,
term memory is that it allows you to hold information for we’ll discuss two dif-
e moment you pay attention to infor- a short period of time until you decide what to do with it. ferent kinds of rehears-
mation in sensory memory, that informa- ing (see p. 249) and
tion enters short-term memory for further If you rehearse the information in short-term memory, explain why one kind
processing. For example, while your friend you increase the chances of storing it. of rehearsing is better
is talking, you don’t pay attention to the than the other for stor-
Photo Credit: © Colin McPherson/Corbis radio until your favorite song comes on and ing or encoding infor-
enters sensory memory. As you pay atten- mation in long-term
tion, you hear the radio, even though it has memory.
been playing the whole time. One function
of short-term memory is that it allows us to Next, we’ll describe
selectively attend to information that is the steps in the mem-
relevant and disregard everything else. ory process and why
some things are stored
Once information enters short-term, or in long-term memory.
working, memory, several things may happen.

C . S H O R T - T E R M M E M O R Y : W O R K I N G 243

D. Long-Term Memory: Storing

Putting Information into Long-Term Memory Features of
Don’t think of sensory memory, short-term memory, Long-Term Memory
Is it a thing and long-term memory as things or places but rather as
Capacity and
or a process? ongoing and interacting processes. To show how these How big and permanency.
different memory processes interact, we’ll describe what
happens as you hear a new song on the car radio or iPod and try to remember how accurate? Long-term
memory has
the song’s title. an almost unlimited capacity to store
information. Anything stored has the
1 Sensory memory. As you drive down the highway, you’re half listening to the car radio.
Among the incoming information, which is held for seconds or less in sensory memory, are
the words, “Remember this song, ‘Love Is Like Chocolate,’ and win two movie tickets.” potential to last a lifetime, provided
drugs or disease do not damage the
2 Attention. If you do NOT pay attention to information about winning tickets, it will brain’s memory circuits (Bahrick, 2000).
disappear from sensory memory. If the chance to win tickets gets your attention, informa- Chances of retrieval. Although all
information in long-term memory has
tion about the song title, “Love Is Like Chocolate,” is automatically transferred into short- the potential to be retrieved, how much
term memory.
3 Short-term memory. Once the song title is in short- you can actually retrieve depends on
Love a number of factors, including how it
Is Like term memory, you have a short time (2–30 seconds) for was encoded and the amount of inter-
Chocolate further processing. If you lose interest in the title or are ference from related information. e

distracted by traffic, the title will most likely disappear and be for- next question is: How accurate are your
gotten. However, if you rehearse the title or, better yet, form a new
association, the title will likely be transferred into and encoded in long-term memories?
your long-term memory. Accuracy of long-term memory.

4 Encoding. You place information in long-term memory through Researchers found that the content and
accuracy of long-term memories may
undergo change and distortion across
a process called encoding. time and not always be as accurate
Encoding is the process of transferring information from short-term to long-term memory by paying
as people think. For example, college
attention to it, repeating or rehearsing it, or forming new associations. freshmen were asked to recall grades

For example, if you simply repeat the title or don’t make any new asso- from all four years of high school. As
ciations, the title may not be encoded at all or may be poorly encoded
and thus difficult to recall from long-term memory. However, if you find the graph below shows, students accu-
rately recalled 89% of grades of A but
the title, “Love Is Like Chocolate,” to be catchy or unusual, or you form a
new association, such as thinking of a heart-shaped chocolate, you will be
successful in encoding this title into long-term memory. Accuracy of Remembering High School Grades

We’ll discuss ways to improve encoding information and thus improve 89% A grades
recalling information later in this module.
29% D grades
5 Long-term memory. Once the song title is encoded in long-term memory, it has the
potential to remain there for your lifetime. Photo Credits: left, © Photodisc/Getty Images; bottom, © PhotoDisc, Inc.
Long-term memory refers to the process of storing almost unlimited only 29% of grades of D. us, students
were much more accurate recalling
amounts of information over long periods of time with the potential of positive events, grades of A, than they
were recalling negative events, grades
retrieving, or remembering, such information in the future. of D (Bahrick et al., 1996).

For example, later you may try to recall the song title from is and other studies show we
long-term memory by placing it back into short-term memory. don’t recall all events with the same
How easily and accurately you can recall or retrieve information accuracy, sometimes inflating positive
depends on many factors (M. C. Anderson, 2009c). events and eliminating negative ones,
and this tendency becomes stronger as
6 Retrieving. When people talk about remembering something, they usually mean we age (M. C. Anderson, 2009b; Mather
retrieving or recalling information from long-term memory. & Carstensen, 2005). e reasons we
Retrieving is the process of selecting information from long-term may change, distort, or forget informa-
memory and transferring it back into short-term memory. Love tion will be discussed in Module 12.
Is Like
ere are several reasons you can’t remember or retrieve the Next, we’ll explain how psycholo-
? gists demonstrated the existence of two
separate memory processes: a short-
song’s title. You may not have effectively encoded the title into term and a long-term memory process.
long-term memory because you got distracted or neglected to form a new
association (chocolate heart). e key to successfully retrieving information
from long-term memory is to effectively encode information, usually by mak-
ing associations between new and old information, which we’ll soon discuss.

244 M O D U L E 1 1 T Y P E S O F M E M O R Y

Separate Memory Systems

What is the Most researchers agree that there are two time. For example, you can recall in great detail many childhood
memory systems (Neath & Surprenant, 2003). memories that years ago were stored in long-term memory. Other
evidence? One system involves short-term memory, evidence for two memory systems comes from findings that brain
which stores limited information for a brief damage can wipe out long-term memory while completely sparing
period of time and then the information disap-
pears. For example, a stranger tells you his or her short-term memory. Still other evidence for two
name, but a few minutes later you have totally for- memory systems comes from research on how you
gotten the name because it disappeared from remember items in a relatively long list. We’ll give
short-term memory. A second system involves long-term memory, you a chance to memorize a list of items, which will
which stores large amounts of information for very long periods of show that you have two separate memory systems—
short- and long-term memory.

Primacy Versus Recency Short-Term Versus Long-Term Memory

Can you Please read the following list only once and try Why didn’t One reason you probably didn’t
remember to remember the animals’ names: remember the name “elephant” is that
you remember it came from the middle of the list. e
bear, giraffe, wolf, fly, deer,
this list? elk, gorilla, elephant, frog, snail, “elephant”? middle section of a list is usually least
turtle, shark, ant, owl remembered because that information
Immediately after reading this list, write down (in any order) as may no longer be retained in short-term memory and may not
many of the animals’ names as you can remember. have been encoded in long-term memory. Evidence for the
If you examine the list of names that you wrote down, you’ll dis- primacy-recency effect is shown in the graph below (Glanzer
cover a definite pattern to the order of the names that you remem- & Cunitz, 1966).
bered. For example, here’s the order in which names in the above list
would most likely be remembered.
First items: Primacy effect. In studies using similar lists, subjects Primacy
effect
more easily recalled the first four or five items 60 Recency
effect
(bear, giraffe, wolf, f ly) because subjects had
Photo Credits: (bear) © PhotoDisc, Inc.; (frog) © PhotoDisc, Inc.; (owl) © PhotoDisc, Inc.more time to rehearse the first words presented.
Percent Correct 40

As a result of rehearsing, these first names were
transferred to and stored in long-term memory,
from which they were recalled. is phenomenon is 20

called the primacy effect. 0
The primacy effect refers to better recall, or improvement in retention, of 1

information presented at the beginning of a task. 5 10 15
Position of Word in a 15-Word List
Middle items. Subjects did not recall many items from the middle
of the list (gorilla, elephant, frog) because they
did not have much time to rehearse them. For example, subjects showed better recall (70%) for the
When they tried to remember items from the first items presented, which is the primacy effect. e primacy
middle of the list, their attention and time effect occurs because subjects have more time to rehearse the
were split between trying to remember the first items, which increases the chances of transferring these
previous terms and trying to rehearse new ones. Less rehearsal meant items into long-term memory. Remember that rehearsal has
that fewer middle names were stored in long-term memory; more two functions: keeping information longer in short-term
interference meant that fewer names remained in short-term memory. memory and promoting encoding—the transfer of informa-
Last items: Recency effect. Subjects more easily recalled the last tion into long-term memory.
four or five items (turtle, shark, ant, owl) because they
were still available in short-term memory and could be In addition, subjects showed better recall (60%) for the
read off a mental list. is phenomenon is called the last items presented, which is the recency effect. Sometimes
recency effect. subjects say that they can still “hear these words” and usually
The recency effect refers to better recall, or improvement report these items first. e recency effect occurs because the
last items are still in short-term memory, from which they are
in retention, of information presented at the end of a task. recalled (Glanzer & Cunitz, 1966).

Together, these two effects are called the primacy- e occurrence of the primacy-recency effect suggested the
recency effect. existence of two separate kinds of memory processes, which
The primacy-recency effect refers to better recall of information present- we now call short-term and long-term memory (R. C. Atkin-
son & Shiffrin, 1968; Baddeley, 2009c).
ed at the beginning and end of a task.
Next, you’ll discover that instead of one, there are several
As we’ll explain next, the primacy-recency effect is evidence that different kinds of long-term memory.
short- and long-term memory are two separate processes.
D . L O N G - T E R M M E M O R Y : S T O R I N G 245

D. Long-Term Memory: Storing

Declarative Versus Procedural or Nondeclarative

Why does A er brain damage, Clive Wearing (picture However, this mirror-drawing test is relatively difficult because
Clive play below) remembered how to play the piano looking into a mirror reverses all hand movements: up is down
but forgot the names of his children
the piano but and had no memory of his wedding. and down is up. As H. M. did this task each day, his drawing
forget names? Clive retained some memory abili- improved, indicating that he was learning and remembering
ties while losing others because the necessary motor skills. But here’s the strange part. Each
different types of memory are stored differently in the and every day, H. M. would insist that he had never seen or
brain. For instance, the ability to play the piano uses one done mirror-drawing before (N. J. Cohen, 1984).
type of long-term memory, and remembering names and How could H. M. have no memory of mirror-drawing,
personal experiences uses a second type of long-term mem- yet show a steady improvement in his performance as he
ory. e discovery that there are two kinds of long-term mem- practiced it each day? Based on H. M.’s mirror-drawing, as
ory is a relatively new finding, and like many discoveries in science,
it was found quite by accident. well as data from other patients and numerous animal studies,
Researchers were testing a patient, well known in memory cir- researchers discovered there are two different kinds of long-term
cles as H. M., who suffered severe memory loss because of an earlier memory, each involving different areas of the brain (Nyberg &
brain operation to reduce his seizures. H. M.’s task seemed simple: Cabeza, 2005; Squire & Kandel, 2009).
draw a star by guiding your hand while looking into a mirror.
You’ll understand why H. M. could improve at mirror-drawing
but not remember doing it a er you learn about the two kinds of
long-term memory—declarative and procedural.

Declarative Memory Procedural or Nondeclarative Memory

Which bird cannot fly? How did you learn to play tennis?
What did you eat for breakfast? Why are you afraid of spiders?
You would recall or retrieve answers to Even though you can play tennis and are afraid of spiders, you can’t
these questions from one particular kind of explain how you control your muscles to play tennis or
long-term memory called declarative memory. why you’re so terrified of such a tiny (usually harmless)
Declarative memory involves memories for bug. at’s because motor skills and emotional feelings
facts or events, such as scenes, stories, words, con- are stored in procedural memory.
Procedural memory, also called non-
versations, faces, or daily events. We are aware of and declarative memory, involves memories
for motor skills (playing tennis), some
can recall, or retrieve, these kinds of memories. cognitive skills (learning to read), and emo-
ere are two kinds of declarative memory—semantic and tional behaviors learned through classical conditioning (fear of
episodic (Eichenbaum, 2004). spiders). We cannot recall or retrieve procedural memories.
Even if you have not played tennis for years, you
Semantic memory Episodic memory can pick up a racket and still remember how to serve Photo Credits: left, © Digital Stock Corporation; right, © PhotoDisc, Inc.
“Which bird cannot fly?” “What did you eat for break- because that information is stored in procedural
asks you to remember a fast?” asks you to remember an memory. But you cannot describe the sequence of
fact, which involves event, which involves episodic movements needed to serve a ball because these skills are stored in
semantic (sah-MAN-tick) (ep-ih-SAW-dick) memory. procedural memory. Similarly, if you learned to fear spiders through
memory. classical conditioning, you cannot explain why you’re afraid because
Episodic memory is a type of the reasons are stored in procedural memory. Although procedural
Semantic memory is a declarative memory and involves memories greatly influence our behavior, we have neither awareness
type of declarative memory of nor ability to recall these memories (Baddeley, 2009b).
knowledge of specific events, Now we can explain H. M.’s strange behavior. He was able to
and involves knowledge of improve at mirror-drawing because it involved learning a motor skill
personal experiences (episodes), that was stored in procedural memory. But he could not talk about the
facts, concepts, words, defi- skill because no one is aware of or can recall procedural memories.
or activities, such as naming or Although H. M. gradually improved at mirror-drawing, he could not
nitions, and language rules. remember the event of sitting down and drawing because that involves
Most of what you describing favorite restaurants, declarative (episodic) memories, which were damaged in his brain
surgery (Hilts, 1995). e study of H. M. is a classic study because it
learn in classes (facts, movies, songs, habits, or hobbies. first demonstrated the existence of two kinds of long-term memory:
terms, definitions) goes Most of your college activi- declarative memory and procedural memory. We’ll discuss the brain
into semantic memory systems underlying these types of long-term memory in Module 12.
(Eysenck, 2009). ties and experiences go into
episodic memory (Baddeley,
2009a).

Since his brain operation, H. M. cannot remember new facts
(semantic memory) or events (episodic memory). us, H. M. has
lost declarative memory, which explains why he does not remem-
ber events, such as doing mirror-drawing (Squire et al., 2004).

However, H. M.’s motor skills improved during mirror-
drawing, which indicates another kind of long-term memory.

246 M O D U L E 1 1 T Y P E S O F M E M O R Y

E. Research Focus: Do Emotions Affect Memories?

Hormones and Memories

Do hormones Many of us have vivid memories moral, or ethical reasons cannot be studied in humans.
that involve highly charged emo- Because of safety concerns, neuropsychologist James
affect tional situations (Goldstein, McGaugh (1999) began using an animal model to study

memories? 2008). For example, imagine how hormones produced during emotional states affect

the emotional excitement memory. He found that certain drugs or hormones
Halle Berry (right photo) felt when she became the associated with emotional experiences could either
first African American woman to win an Oscar for increase or decrease the recall of long-term memories.
Best Actress. During her acceptance speech, Halle For example, if rats were given an injection of a hormone
said, “This moment is so much bigger than me” (epinephrine) that is normally produced by the body dur-
(Berry, 2002). Halle was so overwhelmed by the Excitatory hormones can ing emotional or stressful states, rats remembered better
experience she could hardly contain her tears of “stamp in” memories. what they had just learned (McGaugh, 1990). is was a

joy. She will remember this event the rest of her life because some- new and interesting finding and made him wonder why emotional
thing happens during strong emotions that increases the chances experiences improve long-term memories for related events.
of remembering the particular situation, person, or event. After McGaugh found that the “emotional” hormones and
What actually happens to improve memory during an emo- drugs could be safely used in animals, he began his work with
tional event was studied in a long-term research program that human subjects. His study on animals and humans of why emo-
began in animals. In Module 2 we explained that researchers may tional events seemed to “stamp in” memories spanned 40 years of
use an animal model (p. 34) to answer questions that for safety, research. Here’s one of his interesting studies.

Memories of Emotional Events Results and conclusion. Researchers found that both drug and

Can drugs A er almost 20 years of research using an
animal model, McGaugh found a way to placebo subjects remembered about the same number of neutral
block emotional safely study this phenomenon in humans. events. However, the graph below shows that, compared to subjects
memories? Subjects. ose in the experimental in the placebo group, subjects given a drug that blocked “emo-

group received a drug (propranolol) that tional” hormones remembered fewer emotionally charged events
decreases or blocks the effects of hormones (epinephrine and nor- (Cahill et al., 1994). Other studies on humans found that intense
epinephrine) that are normally produced during emotional states. feelings triggered by emotional or stressful situations are encoded,
A er taking this drug, experimental subjects would still feel emo- or “carved in stone,” by hormones released during emotionally
tions, but the drug would block the secretion of those emotionally charged situations and that these memories are better remembered
produced hormones that had been shown to increase memory (McGaugh, 1999). Until recently, scientists haven’t understood how
in animals. Subjects in the control group received a placebo, but these hormones boost memory formation. Researchers have now
because of the double-blind procedure, no subjects knew whether discovered that these hormones cause tiny molecular changes that
they were given a drug or a placebo. help brain cells form memories (Hu et al.,
Procedure. So that the drugs would have Percent of Correct Answers after 2007). McGaugh’s research is a good exam-
Blocking Emotionally Produced Hormones ple of using an animal model to lay the basis
time to act, subjects were given either a pla-
cebo or the drug 1 hour before seeing a series Placebo 68% for similar studies in humans. But of what
of slides. To prevent their expectations from use is it to animals or humans for emotional
biasing the results, subjects did not know Hormone-blocking drug 54% memories to be better remembered?
whether they got a drug or a placebo. Based on years of research, McGaugh
Each subject watched a series of 12 slides and heard an accompa- believes that one reason emotions seem to “stamp in” memories
nying story. e beginning of the slide story was emotionally neutral is to help a species survive. For instance, if emotions stamped in
and simply described a mother leaving home with her son to visit her memories of dramatic or life-threatening situations, our early
Photo Credit: © AP Images/Kevork Djansezian husband’s workplace. e middle of the slide story was emotionally ancestors would better pay attention to and remember to avoid
charged and described the son having a terrible accident in which these dangers and thus increase their chances of survival (R. J.
his feet were severed and his skull was damaged. e end of the Dolan, 2002). An important clinical application of McGaugh’s
slide story was emotionally neutral and described the mother leav- research is that it explains why bad emotional memories, such as
ing the hospital to pick up her other child from preschool. Subjects those formed a er witnessing or being in a terrible accident or suf-
were tested for retention of the slide story a week later. fering physical or sexual abuse, are stamped in and thus become so
Hypothesis. Based on their results from the animal model, powerful and so difficult to treat and overcome.
McGaugh and his colleagues guessed that if a drug blocked the While McGaugh’s research shows that emotional feelings are
effects of memory-enhancing hormones normally produced dur- easily encoded, you’ll see next that nonemotional information,
ing emotional situations, subjects who took the drug should show such as learning terms and definitions, can be encoded only with
poor retention for emotional events. hard work.

E . R E S E A R C H F O C U S : D O E M O T I O N S A F F E C T M E M O R I E S ? 247

F. Encoding: Transferring

Two Kinds of Encoding

How do It’s very common for someone to say, “Let me Why is it that detailed personal
tell you about my day,” and then proceed to experiences and conversation seem
we store describe in great detail a long to be encoded effortlessly and auto-
memories? list of mostly bad things, Let me tell you matically and easily recalled? Why
about my awful is it that much of book learning,
including long, word-for-word day. First...
conversations. You can easily recall these detailed such as memorizing terms or defini-
personal experiences, even though you took no notes. at’s tions, usually requires deliberate effort
because many personal experiences are automatically, and with and considerable time and may still not be
no effort on your part, encoded in your long-term memory. easily recalled when taking exams? e answer is that
Encoding refers to acquiring information or storing information in there are two different kinds of encoding: automatic and
effortful encoding.
memory by changing this information into neural or memory codes.

Automatic Encoding Effortful Encoding

Why are Just as most of us can easily and in great detail Why are e person below is pulling his hair
recall all the annoying things that happened because learning unfamiliar or com-
some things today, the person below is recalling a long list of some things plicated material almost always
easy to encode? very detailed personal activities that were auto- hard to encode? involves semantic information, such
matically encoded into his long-term memory. as complex terms, which is difficult
In fact, many personal events (o en unpleasant ones), as well as things to encode because such information is o en uninteresting,
we’re interested in (movies, music, sports) and a wide range of skills complicated, or requires making new or difficult associa-
(riding a bike) and habits, are automatically encoded (Dere et al., 2008). tions. For all these reasons, semantic information, such as
Automatic encoding is the transfer of information from short-term into terms, can be encoded only with considerable concentration

long-term memory without any effort and usually without any awareness. and effort (Squire & Kandel, 2009).

Personal events. One reason many of your personal experiences Effortful encoding involves the transfer of information from

and conversations are automatically encoded is that they hold your short-term into long-term memory either by working hard to repeat

I bought this hat at a interest and attention and easily fit together or rehearse the information or, especially, by making associations
second-hand store for a with hundreds of previous associations.
quarter, and then I bought Because personal experiences, which are between new and old information. I’ve been studying these
these shoes from a guy examples of episodic information, are You already know that some terms for hours and I still can’t
who said that he makes encoded automatically into long-term
them from old tires . . . memory, you can easily recall lengthy con- information, such as learning a remember their definitions.
skill, habit, or interesting per-
sonal event, is often encoded
versations, facts about movies and sports effortlessly and automatically. In
figures, television shows, clothes you contrast, semantic information,
bought, or food you ate. such as learning hundreds of new
Interesting facts. You may know avid or difficult terms, facts, concepts,
sports fans or watchers of popular TV pro- or equations, usually requires
grams who remember an amazing number effortful encoding because you
of facts and details, seemingly without must form hundreds of new
effort. Because these kinds of facts (seman- associations. Forming new asso-
tic information) are personally interesting ciations is o en just plain hard
and fit with previous associations, they work and is made even more dif-
are automatically and easily encoded into ficult if you are simultaneously taking two or three difficult
declarative long-term memory. classes or have limited time because of other responsibilities,
Skills and habits. Learning how to per- such as a part-time job.
form various motor skills, such as playing tennis or riding a bike, and Although there are two methods of effortful encoding—
developing habits, such as brushing your teeth, are examples of proce- rehearsing and forming associations—the most effective
dural information, which is also encoded automatically. For example, method involves forming associations between the new
H. M. learned and remembered how to mirror-draw because mirror- information that you are trying to learn and the old informa-
drawing is a motor skill that is automatically encoded into procedural tion that you have already stored in long-term memory. e
long-term memory. better the effortful encoding, the better the recall on exams.
On the other hand, factual or technical information from textbooks We’ll explain the two methods of effortful encoding, rehears-
is usually not encoded automatically but rather requires deliberate, or ing and forming associations, and why the second method is
effortful, encoding, which we’ll discuss next. more effective and results in better recall.

248 M O D U L E 1 1 T Y P E S O F M E M O R Y

Rehearsing and Encoding Levels of Processing
ink of encoding information in your brain as similar The poorest system for
How to saving information on a gigantic computer hard drive. How encoding information is to
important are simply repeat the informa-
much do you Unless you have a very good system for labeling and fil-
remember? ing the hundreds of computer files, you will have great associations? tion, which is maintenance
difficulty finding or retrieving a particular file from the rehearsal. e best encoding
hard drive. Similarly, how easily you can remember or retrieve a particular system is to make associations, which is elaborative
memory from your brain depends on how much effort you used to encode the rehearsal. How much effort and time you put into
information. ere are two kinds of effortful encoding: maintenance rehearsal encoding information is the basis for the levels-of-
and elaborative rehearsal (Baddeley, 2009a; S. C. Brown & Craik, 2005). processing theory (Craik & Lockhart, 1972).
The levels-of-processing theory says that remember-
Maintenance Rehearsal
ing depends on how information is encoded. If you encode
e easiest way to remember information for only a short
period of time, such as a new phone number, for exam- by paying attention only to basic features (length of phone

ple, 926-4029, is to simply repeat or rehearse it. is kind number), information is encoded at a shallow level and

of effortful encoding is called maintenance rehearsal. results in poor recall. If you encode by making new asso-

Maintenance rehearsal refers to simply repeating or rehears- ciations, this information will be encoded at a deeper level,

ing the information rather than forming any new associations. which results in better recall.

Maintenance rehearsal works best for maintaining or For example, students were shown a series of
words and asked a question after each one. The
keeping information longer in short-term memory, such as questions were of three types, designed to trigger
remembering a phone number for a few seconds while dial-
ing it. However, if you want to remember the phone number three different levels of processing.
1. Shallow processing question:
later, maintenance rehearsal is not a good encoding process “Is the word printed in capital letters?” Asks about
because it does not include a system for keeping track of Maintenance
how and where that particular phone number will be stored. rehearsal is not one physical feature of the word.
If you need to remember a phone number for a long period a very effective 2. Deeper processing question:
of time and avoid having to keep looking it up, you’ll need encoding process. “Does the word rhyme with rain?” Asks about sound

to use another form of effortful encoding called elaborative rehearsal. properties of the word.
3. Deepest processing question:
Elaborative Rehearsal “Does the word fit into the sentence ‘She was late for

ere are some phone numbers and much information from lectures and text- the ’?” Asks about the meaning of the
books that you want to encode so that you remember the information for long word.
periods of time. To have the greatest chance for remembering something, it’s After students answered these questions, they
best to encode information using elaborative rehearsal. were tested to see how many of the original words
Elaborative rehearsal involves using effort to actively make meaningful associations they recognized.

between new information that you wish to remember and old or familiar information that Percentage of Words Recognized

is already stored in long-term memory.

For example, using elaborative rehearsal, you could associate this phone 18% Shallow processing
number, 926-4029, with age: An old person is “926,” I’m not
“40,” but I wish I were “29.” To recall this number, you think 45% Deeper processing

of the different age associations and those associations lead Deepest processing 80%
to the phone number.
To test the usefulness of elaborative rehearsal, students
were asked to remember many groups of three words each, As shown in the graph above, students recog-
such as dog, bike, and street. Students who encoded the nized the lowest percentage of words a er shallow
words with maintenance rehearsal (repeating words) did processing and the highest percentage after the
poorly on recall. In comparison, students who encoded deepest processing (Craik & Tulving, 1975).
the words using elaborative rehearsal—that is, taking the
effort to make associations among the three words (dog is study clearly demonstrates that the system
Elaborative rides a bike down the street)—had significantly better recall you use to process or encode information has a great
rehearsal is a (McDaniel & Einstein, 1986). effect on how easily you can remember or retrieve
very effective the information (M. C. Anderson, 2009a). As we’ll
encoding process. Effectiveness. Elaborative rehearsal is such an effec- discuss in Module 12, a major reason for forgetting
tive system of encoding because by making associations is poor encoding (S. C. Brown & Craik, 2005).
between new and old information, you create cues for locating or retrieving the
new information from long-term memory. For example, thinking of the asso- Next, we’ll discuss a kind of memory that has
ciation (dog rides a bike down the street) helps you remember the three words resulted in great controversy because of the dif-
(dog, bike, street). ficulties in determining whether the event ever
happened.

F. E N C O D I N G : T R A N S F E R R I N G 249

G. Repressed Memories

Recovered Memories

The man in the picture on who almost ruined her life by making her believe
Who’s to blame? the right was accused by her so-called “repressed memories” and won a
his daughter, Katrina large settlement (BBC News, 2007; Madeley,
(le picture), of allegedly molesting her as a child 2007).
and being a murderer. Katrina’s childhood mem- Katrina’s case illustrates one of the more
ories first surfaced during psychiatric treatment explosive issues in psychology: the problem
many years later, when she was 25. She never of repressed and recovered memories.
made these accusations in a conscious state, but Psychiatrist Harold Lief, one of the first
only while under the influence of psychiatric to question the accuracy of repressed mem-
medication and controversial treatment meth- ories, said, “We don’t know what percent
ods, such as writing out her dreams using her of these recovered memories are real and
nondominant hand (believed to prevent lying, “He abused me.” “I did not.” what percent are pseudomemories (false). . . .

but no scientific evidence supports this). But we do know there are hundreds, maybe thousands of cases of
It was quickly discovered that the horrors Katrina was describ- pseudomemories and that many families have been destroyed by
ing couldn’t possibly be true, and she later withdrew the allegations. them” (J. E. Brody, 2000a, p. D8).
Fortunately, Katrina and her father have mended their relationship We’ll discuss four issues about repressed and recovered
and are now closer than ever before. Katrina sued the psychiatrist memories.

Definition of Repressed Memories

e idea of repressed memories is based recovery of repressed memories usually
What’s different on Sigmund Freud’s theory of repression, occurs in the first 12 months of therapy,
about a repressed which underlies much of his psycho- and recovered memories usually involve
memory? analytic theory of personality (discussed specific incidents (Andrews et al., 2000).

in Module 19). Many therapists believe repressed
Repression is the process by which the mind pushes a memory of some memories of sexual abuse do occur. How-

threatening or traumatic event deep into the unconscious. Once in the ever, a prominent memory researcher

unconscious, the repressed memory cannot be retrieved at will and may disagrees: “The idea that forgetting in

remain there until something releases it and the person remembers it. abuse survivors is caused by a special

Some therapists believe that children who are sexually abused repression mechanism—something more
cope with such traumatic situations and their feelings of guilt by powerful than conscious suppression—is
repressing the memories. For example, a client may enter therapy Repressed memories still without a scientific basis” (Schacter,
with sexual problems or a mood disorder and later in therapy are difficult to recover. 1996, p. 264). us, the controversy over
uncover repressed memories, such as being sexually abused as a
child, as the cause of her current problems. Clients usually have repressed memories continues (Lo us & Davis, 2006).
total amnesia (loss of memory) for the traumatic experience, their Researcher Elizabeth Lo us (1997b, 2005a) partly blames increased
reports of recovered memories on some therapeutic practices.

Therapist’s Role in Recovered Memories

How does a Some therapists who treat survivors of traumatic memories in their clients rather than
incest and other traumatic situations releasing repressed ones (Loftus & Davis,
therapist know? maintain that repressed memories 2006). Lo us and others suggest that thera-
are so completely blocked that it may pists not assume the cause of psychologi-
take deliberate suggestion and effort to release them, some- cal problems must be an earlier traumatic
times using images, hypnosis, or so-called truth serum, experience and caution against aggressive
sodium amytal. efforts to recover traumatic memories
For example, in one case a client recalls that her therapist (Geraerts et al., 2007; Loftus, 2003b).
insisted that she showed signs of having been sexually abused us, therapists are in the difficult posi-
during childhood and probably had terrible memories buried tion of distinguishing accurate accounts
in her unconscious. e client was dubious at first but, want- of repressed memories from those that
ing to please her therapist, finally admitted to being raped at may have been shaped or reinforced by
the age of 4. However, a er leaving the hospital and enlist- the suggestions or expectations of the
ing help from new therapists, she concluded that the sexual The therapist may have therapist (Baddeley, 2004).
assaults had never happened (B. Bower, 1993). suggested traumatic memories.
Questions about whether suggestions
Whatever the therapists’ good intentions, Lo us (1993, 1997b) can influence repressed memories raise the issue of whether false
and others wonder if some therapists are suggesting or implanting memories can be implanted.

250 M O D U L E 1 1 T Y P E S O F M E M O R Y

Implanting False Memories

Do people Because, in some cases, it appears that thera- Researchers concluded that although the memory of being
pists’ suggestions may have contributed to lost in a mall is neither as terrible nor as terrifying as the mem-
believe “fake” implanting false memories, researchers stud- ory of being abused, this study does show that false memories
memories? ied whether fake memories could in fact be can be implanted through suggestion alone. Even on a follow-up
implanted and later recalled as being “true.” interview, subjects continued to insist that they remembered the
Researchers gave 24 adults a booklet that contained descrip- false event.
tions of three events that occurred when each adult was 5 years old There are now hundreds of studies reporting false memories
(Loftus, 1997a). Two of the childhood can be implanted in children and adults
events had really happened because they Percentage of Subjects Who Remembered (Lo us, 2003a, 2005b). However, the fact
were obtained from parents or relatives. True and False Memories that false memories can be implanted

One childhood event of being lost in a False 29% Recalled events and later recalled as true does not dis-
shopping mall, crying, being comforted True after reading prove the occurrence of repressed mem-
by an elderly woman, and finally get- ories. Rather, these studies simply show
68% booklet

ting reunited with the family had not About 29% of subjects said that they remembered a that a false suggestion can grow into a
happened, according to parents and childhood event that never happened (false) and 68% vivid, detailed, and believable personal
relatives. A er reading the three events remembered childhood events that did happen (true). memory (Loftus, 2000, 2005b). Brain

described in the booklet, the adults (aged imaging is now being used to examine
18–53) were asked to write what they remembered of the event or, if the biological mechanisms that lead to impaired memory after
they did not remember, to write “I do not remember this.” exposure to misinformation (Okado & Stark, 2005).
e graph above shows that 68% of subjects remembered some e repeated finding that false memories can be implanted and
or most of the two true events from their childhood. However, later remembered as “true” raises a question about the accuracy
about 29% also said they remembered having experienced the one of repressed memories that are later recovered and believed to
false event of being lost in the mall at age 5 (Lo us, 1997a). be true.

Accuracy of Recovered Memories
Some individuals may initially enter therapy may not be accurate, since people o en become more open to sug-
How accurate for help with mood disorders or eating prob- gestion and may later recall events that had been suggested during
are repressed lems, but during the course of therapy, they hypnosis as being true (Lynn et al., 2003).
memories? recover memories, apparently repressed, of Another reason to question the accuracy of recovered memo-
childhood sexual abuse. Since researchers ries is reports of hundreds of clients who later retracted charges of
have shown that “false” memories can be implanted through sug- childhood sexual abuse based on memories recovered in therapy
gestion and believed to be “true” memories, some question the (de Rivera, 1997; Loftus & Davis, 2006). In over a dozen other
accuracy of a client’s recovered memories. cases, including the case of Katrina (discussed on the preced-
In a recent study, researchers examined the accuracy of recov- ing page), clients have successfully sued and won large monetary
ered memories of childhood sexual abuse in 128 individuals. Over a awards from their therapists for implanting false memories of child
six-month period, researchers searched for corroborating evidence abuse (Lo us, 1999; Madeley, 2007). All these examples question
for the reported recovered memories. ey found corrobo- the accuracy of some recovered memories.
rating evidence for 37% of memories recovered outside Conclusions. Memory researcher Elizabeth Loftus
of therapy, which almost matches the corroboration (1997a, 2003a) states there are examples of recovered
rate for childhood memories we all have (45%). memories that are accurate. However, she questions
However, none of the memories recovered inside the accuracy of recovered memories for three reasons:
of therapy could be corroborated. ese results Research has shown that memories that are very detailed
do not necessarily indicate that memories recov- but later proven false can be implanted in both children
ered in therapy are always false, but it does and adults; some clients later retracted their recovered
suggest there is reason for some skepticism (Ger- memories; and memories might have been implanted by
aerts, 2007; Geraerts et al., 2007). therapists’ suggestions and/or the clients needed and used
As the study above suggests, the accuracy of these memories to explain their current psychological
recovered memories often cannot be established problems. For these reasons, new guidelines caution thera-
because there is no corroborating evidence of the cli- Some question the pists against using forceful or persuasive suggestions that
ent’s report that the traumatic event really did occur accuracy of repressed might elicit memories from their clients (J. E. Brody, 2000a).
20–30 years earlier (Roediger & McDermott, 2005). The debate over repressed and recovered memories,
memories.

Also, there is reason to question the accuracy of recovered memo- which reached its peak in the mid-1990s, has recently decreased
ries because people usually do not recall the memories on their because some therapists have been sued by their patients over the
own, but o en do so with the help of therapists or support groups accuracy of recovered memories and researchers have showed that
(Roediger & McDermott, 2005). Additionally, if the memories were false memories could be implanted in both children and adults
obtained under hypnosis or “truth serum” (sodium amytal), they (Lynn et al., 2003).

G . R E P R E S S E D M E M O R I E S 251

Concept Review

1. Three processes are involved in memory: The 8. The better recall of items at the beginning 60 Primacy
process in which information is placed or stored of a list is called the (a) effect
in memory by making mental representations is effect. The better recall of items at the end Percent Correct 40
called (a) ; the process of placing of a list is called the (b) 5
encoded information into a permanent mental effect. Evidence that there are two kinds of 20
state is called (b) ; the process memory, short- and long-term, comes from
of getting information out of short-term or per- the (c) effect. 0
1

manent storage is called (c) . 9. There are two kinds of encoding.

2. The initial step in memory is a process that holds visual and Simply repeating or rehearsing the infor-
auditory information in its raw form for a very brief period of mation is called (a) .
time, from an instant to several seconds; this process is called Actively making associations between
new and old information already stored is
. called (b) .

What did 3. Memory that holds raw
you say? visual information for up 10. One kind of long-term memory that involves memories for
Oh, yes. to a quarter of a second is facts or events, such as scenes, stories, words, conversations, faces,
Now I called (a) . or daily events, is called (a) memory. We can

remember.

Memory that holds raw retrieve these memories and are conscious of them. One kind of
auditory information for up declarative memory that involves events or personal experiences is
to several seconds is called (b) . The process for called (b) memory. A second kind of declarative
controlling the transfer of information from sensory memory to memory that involves general knowledge, facts, or definitions of Photo Credits: (#1) © Royalty-Free/Masterfile; (#5) © Colin McPherson/Corbis; (#7) © PhotoDisc, Inc.; (#13) © AP Images/Kevork Djansezian
the next memory process is (c) . words is called (c) memory.

4. The kind of memory that has a limited 11. A second kind of long-term memory that
capacity of about seven items (plus or minus involves performing motor or perceptual tasks,
two) and a short duration (2–30 seconds) carrying out habits, and responding to stimuli
for unrehearsed information is called either because of classical conditioning is called
(a) or . memory. We cannot retrieve
One way to increase this memory capacity is these memories and are not conscious
by combining separate pieces of information into of them.
larger units, which is called (b) .
One way to increase the duration of this memory is 12. Something happens that is so threatening,
shocking, or traumatic that our mind pushes
by repeating the information, which is called (c) . that memory into the unconscious, from which

5. The kind of memory that can store almost it cannot be retrieved at will. This phenomenon
unlimited amounts of information over a long is called .
period of time is , whose accuracy
may undergo change and distortion across time. 13. During very emotional or stressful
situations, the body secretes chemicals
6. The process for controlling the transfer of information from short- called (a) that act to
term memory into long-term memory is called , make encoding very effective, and this
which may be automatic or may involve deliberate effort. results in vivid, long-term memories.
Researchers believe that this hor-
7. The process for selecting infor- Love monal encoding system for stressful
mation from long-term memory and Is Like
transferring it back into short-term Chocolate. or emotional events has helped our
species (b) .
memory is .

Answers: 1. (a) encoding, (b) storage, (c) retrieval; 2. sensory memory; 3. (a) iconic memory, (b) echoic memory, (c) attention; 4. (a) short-term, or
working, memory, (b) chunking, (c) rehearsal, or maintenance rehearsal; 5. long-term memory; 6. encoding; 7. retrieval; 8. (a) primacy, (b) recency,
(c) primacy-recency; 9. (a) maintenance rehearsal, (b) elaborative rehearsal; 10. (a) declarative, (b) episodic, (c) semantic; 11. procedural or non-
declarative; 12. repression, or repressed memory; 13. (a) hormones, (b) survive

252 M O D U L E 1 1 T Y P E S O F M E M O R Y

H. Cultural Diversity: Oral Versus Written

United States Versus Africa

What do If you went to grade school in the United word. In the less industrialized countries of Africa, such as Ghana,
States, you spent considerable time in your there are fewer public or private schools, fewer textbooks and
you remember first 8 years learning to read and write. In libraries. As a result, these cultures are said to have a strong oral
best? the U.S. culture, reading and writing tradition, which means that these people have considerable

Photo Credit: © Ulrich Doering/Alamy skills are viewed as being not only practice in passing on information through speaking and
Figure/Text Credits: Bar graph data from “Repeated Memory of Oral Prose in Ghana and New York,” by B. M. Ross and C. Millson, 1970, International Journal of Psychology, 5, 173–181; Excerpt from very important for personal growth and development retelling. The Ghana culture emphasizes the oral tradi-
Remembering: A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology, by F. C. Bartlett, p. 65, 1932. Cambridge University Press. Copyright © 1932. Reprinted with the permission of Cambridge University Press. but also necessary for achieving success in one’s tion, which means encoding information a er hearing it
career. For similar reasons, the schools of many indus- rather than a er reading it.
trialized cultures place heavy emphasis on teaching With Ghana’s emphasis on oral tradi-
reading and writing, which allow individuals to tion, we would expect that African peo-
encode great amounts of information in long-term ple would better encode and remember
memory. In addition, reading and writing skills information that was spoken. In compar-
are necessary for being admitted to and doing ison, with the United States’ emphasis
well in college. on written tradition, we would expect
In contrast, if you went to grade school in the that American people would better
more rural countries of Africa, you would have encode and remember information that
spent your first 8 or so years learning primarily In more rural parts of Africa (Ghana), children was read rather than spoken. Let’s see if
through the spoken word rather than the written must rely more on oral than written information. this hypothesis has been supported.

Remembering Spoken Information

War of the Ghosts Who best On the le is part of a story called “War of the Ghosts,” which was
One night, two young men from Egulac remembers read aloud in English to college students at Winneba Training College
went down to the river to hunt seals, in Ghana and at New York University. Each group of students heard
and while they were there it became what they the story twice and were told to just listen to the story so that they
foggy and calm. Then they heard war heard? would not take notes on their own. ey were not told that they would
cries, and they thought: “Maybe this is be tested on its content.
a war party.” ey escaped to the shore Although English was not the native language of the Ghanaian students, they had
and hid behind a log. Now canoes came learned English in previous schooling, and English was used exclusively in their Training
up, and they heard the noise of paddles College. Sixteen days a er hearing “War of the Ghosts,” students were asked to write down
and saw one canoe coming up to them. as much of the text as they could remember. Researchers scored the amount and accuracy
of recalled information by counting the number of ideas or themes and the total number of
ere were five men in the canoe, and words (330). e “War of the Ghosts” story has been used frequently in memory research
they said: because it can be broken down into 21 themes, or
ideas, and easily scored. For example, two of the
“What do you think? We wish to 21 themes or ideas are (1) two young men went to Average Number of Themes (%)
take you along. We are going up the
river to make war on the people.” hunt seals and (2) they heard war cries. Ghanaians 80%
As the graph on the right shows, Ghanaian
One of the young men said: “I have students remembered a significantly higher per- New Yorkers 57%
no arrows.”
centage of themes and a larger number of words
“Arrows are in the canoe,” they said. than did American students. The Ghanaian
“I will not go along. I might be students’ superior performance was even more Average Number of Words (%)
killed. My relatives do not know where
I have gone. But you,” he said, turning remarkable since they were tested by having to Ghanaians 70%
to the other, “may go with them.” write the themes or ideas in English, which was
So one of the young men went, but their second language. New Yorkers 48%
the other returned home.
And the warriors went up the river ese results support the idea that the Ghana-
to a town on the other side of Kalama. ian students showed superior recall of spoken
The people came down to the water, information because of their long oral tradition, which involves practicing encoding infor-
and they began to fight, and many were mation through hearing rather than reading (B. M. Ross & Millsom, 1970). is study indi-
killed (story continues but is too long cates that a culture’s emphasis on how information is presented or taught can influence how
for full reprint). information or events are encoded and how easily they can be recalled.
Next, we’ll examine some unusual cases of encoding and retrieving information.

H . C U L T U R A L D I V E R S I T Y : O R A L V E R S U S W R I T T E N 253

I. Application: Unusual Memories

Photographic Memory

One kind of unusual mem- as pairing 70 names and faces a er studying a
Can you recall ory that many of us wish stack of 100 faces for just 20 minutes. As a child,
everything? we had is the ability to Tatiana’s mother would read to her, and when
remember everything with Tatiana was 2½ years old, she read one of the
little or no difficulty. Such an amazing memory is books back to her mother. In college, Tatiana
commonly called a photographic memory. says, “I remember visualizing the notes that I
Photographic memory, which occurs in adults, is had taken in class and being able to recall them

the ability to form sharp, detailed visual images after verbatim for tests so I didn’t have to study”

examining a picture or page for a short period of time (P. Rogers & Morehouse, 1999, p. 90). To keep

and to recall the entire image at a later date. She could perfectly visualize her class her memory sharp, she spends 45 minutes
ere are no reports of someone developing a notes so didn’t have to study for exams. each day memorizing the order in which cards
appear in a freshly shuffled deck. Wow! Tatiana’s
photographic memory and only one or two reports
of adults who had a truly photographic memory (Stromeyer, 1970). ability to visually remember her notes during exams comes close to
Sometimes people with exceptional memories are mislabeled as satisfying the definition for having a photographic memory.
having photographic memories (Adams, 2006; Higbee, 2001). Although there are few examples of adults with photographic
At a national memory contest (U.S. Memoriad), Tatiana Cooley memories, a very small percentage of children do have photo-
(photo above) came in first by doing incredible memory feats, such graphic memories.

Extraordinary Episodic Memory

What did you eat What would it be like to viv- (provided she heard about it, of course). Jill remembers all
idly remember everything of her life experiences in vivid detail without effort—now,
for lunch when you you have ever experienced that’s beyond impressive!
were 14 years and in your life? Jill Price, now As amazing as Jill’s memory abilities are, she is con-
126 days old? in her forties, is known to stantly tormented by her memory. She describes feeling
have super-memory abili- powerless because she can’t stop remembering certain
ties. Interestingly, Jill doesn’t have any special abilities to events no matter how much she tries. Just for a moment
remember words, numbers, or factual information (types imagine not being able to forget all of the unpleasant life
of semantic memory; p. 246), but she has an unsur- experiences you’ve had and have them play over and over Photo Credits: top, © Doug Levere; center, © Dan Tuffs/Getty Images; bottom, © moodboard/SuperStock
passed, unimaginable ability to remember her life in your mind with such clarity that you feel like you are
events since the age of 14 (episodic memory; p. 246). Jill Price effortlessly actually reliving the moments. is is how Jill lives. She
Name any date and Jill can without hesitation tell remembers life events is stuck remembering both the good times and the bad
with remarkable detail. (Neimark, 2009; E. S. Parker et al., 2006; Price, 2008).
you what she did on that day, such as what she had
for lunch, where she went, and whom she spoke with, as well as A new super memory has recently been discovered: the extraor-
any significant news or world events that took place on that day dinary ability to recognize faces.

Super Memory for Faces

Can you Most of us cannot remember the faces in passing to avoid the awkwardness of interacting with them.
remember the of people we met a few years ago and Imagine how awkward it would be for someone to come up and
only in passing. New
face of a person research finds that some say he saw you 3 years ago at
the grocery store while you
you saw in passing people (as many as 2%) were buying milk and cook-
a few years ago? in fact have this ability ies! People with this incred-
and are referred to as ible memory would be great
super-recognizers, meaning they can easily recognize working in security and law
someone they met in passing, even years later. enforcement, as well as pro-
Super-recognizers have an extreme version of vide trustworthy eyewitness
memory for faces. ey may recognize someone they testimony (R. Russell et al.,
saw while shopping several months ago. They can 2009; Science Daily, 2009b).
also recognize people who have changed in appear- Many of us have expe-
ance, such as hair color or aging. Because their “Super-recognizers” easily rienced a very vivid and
memory for faces is so extreme, they often have to recognize familiar faces, detailed memory that is
pretend to not recognize someone they simply saw even in large crowds. called a “flashbulb memory.”

254 M O D U L E 1 1 T Y P E S O F M E M O R Y

Flashbulb Memory Remote Historical Events
In a study of flashbulb memory, Danes (people from Denmark)
What makes Although it happened about 20 years ago, I who lived through the Nazi occupation and liberation during
a memory (H. K.) have a detailed memory of my cabin World War II and Danes born during or a er World War II were
so vivid? in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California asked questions about the days of the occupation and liberation,
shaking and then seesawing on the edge of a
mountain during a frightening earthquake. such as what the weather conditions were like and what they were
I can play back this terrible scene in great detail and vivid color as doing when they heard the news. Nearly all the older Danes
if I were actually experiencing an earthquake. Many individuals reported having flashbulb memories, being able to recall detailed
have had a similar experience, and this kind of memory event is personal memories about the two war events. Also, the majority of
called a flashbulb memory (R. Brown & Kulik, 1977).
Flashbulb memories are vivid recollections, usually in great detail, of older Danes but very few younger Danes accurately recalled
dramatic or emotionally charged incidents that are of interest to weather conditions. ese researchers concluded that
the person. This information is encoded effortlessly and flashbulb memories represent a special kind of

may last for long periods of time. Examples of automatic encoding that occurs when
Flashbulb Memories events are emotionally and personally
Impact and Accuracy interesting. e results of this study
Do you remember precisely what you and other research show that
Figure/Text Credit: Adapted from “Vivid Memories,” by D. C. Rubin and M. Kozin, 1984, Cognition, 16, 81–95. Copyright © 1984 by Elsevier Science Publishers BV. were doing when you first learned of Cues Percent*
Adapted by permission from Elsevier Science. the 9/11 attacks? Flashbulb memo-
ries usually involve events that A car accident you were in or witnessed 85 flashbulb memories can last 60
are extremely surprising, are
emotionally arousing, or have When you first met your college roommate 82 years or even longer (Bern-
very important meaning or con-
sequences for the person. For Night of your high school graduation 81 tsen & omsen, 2005).
example, when people were
questioned about what they were Night of your senior prom (if you went or not) 78 Brains and Hormones
doing when they heard that Pres- An early romantic experience 77 Researchers think the rea-
ident Kennedy or Reagan had A time you had to speak in front of an audience 72 son flashbulb memories are
been shot, or when the space shut- When you got your college admission letter 65 so detailed and long-lasting
tle Challenger exploded, about Your first date—the moment you met him/her 57 is that their emotionally
80–90% could recall vivid details First time you flew in an airplane 40 arousing content activates a
seven months later (Pillemer, 1984). Moment you opened your SAT scores 33 special brain area and several
Your 17th birthday 30 hormones. For example,
23 researchers believe that flash-
The last time you ate a holiday dinner at home 21 bulb memories involve a brain
Your first college class structure called the amygdala (p.
Researchers concluded that only events The first time your parents 80), which plays a key role in process-
left you alone for some time 19

that are personally significant and have an Your 13th birthday 12 ing and encoding strong emotional

emotional impact result in the formation of experiences (Squire & Kandel, 2009).
flashbulb memories (Davidson & Glisky, 2002). Also, in the Research Focus on page
Although flashbulb memories are reported *Percentage of students in the 247, we discussed how emotionally trig-
memory experiment who reported gered hormones are involved in encod-
with great confidence and in vivid details, this that events on the experimenter’s ing long-term memories as if “in stone”
does not mean the memories are necessarily accu- (McGaugh, 1999). The secretion of these
rate. at’s because people mistake the vividness list were of flashbulb quality “emotional” hormones is thought to play
of flashbulb memories for their accuracy. In fact, (D. C. Rubin & Kozin, 1984). an important role in encoding emotionally
researchers report that although flashbulb memo-
ries are very vivid, this does not guarantee any spe- charged personal experiences into long-lasting
cial accuracy (Talarico & Rubin, 2003). memories (Lemonick, 2007).

Most-Remembered Events Pictures Versus Impressions
As you can see in the center table, the top five Each of us has a remarkable memory system that
flashbulb memories of college students involved a car can encode, store, and retrieve unlimited amounts
accident, a college roommate, high school graduation and of information over long periods of time. But it’s
prom, and a romantic experience, all of which are emotionally important to remember that memories are not perfect pic-
charged events (D. C. Rubin & Kozin, 1984). tures of objects, people, and events but rather our personal impres-
sions of these things. For example, the things that you remember
Initially, flashbulb memories were claimed to represent a special when you’re in a good mood and having a “good day” are very dif-
kind of memory that was complete, accurate, vivid, and immune ferent from the things that you remember when you’re in a bad
to forgetting (R. Brown & Kulik, 1977). Since then, several studies mood and having a “bad day.” is means that what you remember
have investigated these claims and reported that flashbulb memo- and recall may be changed, biased, or distorted by a wide range of
ries do not seem to be a separate, special kind of memory because emotional feelings, personal experiences, stressful situations, or
they are subject to inaccuracies, change with retelling, and are even social influences (Roediger & McDermott, 2005).
forgotten over time (C. A. Weaver & Krug, 2004).

I . A P P L I C A T I O N : U N U S U A L M E M O R I E S 255

Summary Test

A. Three Types of Memory You can considerably increase the capacity of short-term memory
by combining separate items of information into larger units,
1. The study of memory, which is the ability to which is called (d) .
retain information over time, includes three sepa-
rate processes. The first process—placing informa-
tion in memory—is called (a) . D. Long-Term Memory: Storing
The second process, which is filing information in
memory, is called (b) . The third 7. Let’s follow the progress of information from the time it enters
sensory memory to its storage in long-term memory. For an
process—commonly referred to as remembering— instant to several seconds, incoming raw information is held in
is called (c) .
(a) . If you do not pay attention to this informa-
2. Although we think of memory as a single event, it is really a tion, it disappears forever; if you pay attention, that information
complex sequence that may be separated into three different kinds is automatically transferred to short-term memory. The transfer
of memory. The initial memory process that holds raw informa- of information from sensory memory to short-term memory is
tion for up to several seconds is called . During controlled by the process of (b) .
this time, you have the chance to identify or pay attention to new
information.

3. If you pay attention to information in sensory memory, this
information is automatically transferred into a second kind of
memory process, called memory.

4. If you rehearse or think about information in short-term 8. If information in short-term memory is not
memory, that information will usually be transferred or encoded (a) , it will disappear in 2–30 seconds. If
into the third, more permanent kind of memory process called you rehearse or think about information in short-term memory,
it may be transferred into long-term memory. The transfer of
.

information from short-term into long-term memory is controlled
by a process called (b) . In some cases, informa-
B. Sensory Memory: Recording tion is transferred automatically; in other cases, this transfer

5. Visual sensory memory, known as process may require deliberate effort.
(a) memory, lasts about
a quarter of a second. Auditory memory, 9. The process of selecting information from long-term memory
known as (b) memory, may and transferring it back into short-term memory is called
last as long as 2 seconds. Sensory memory
has many functions; for example, it prevents . Because information has been encoded into
you from being overwhelmed by too much long-term memory does not guarantee that such information can
always or easily be remembered or retrieved.

incoming information and gives you time to 10. One demonstration of the existence of, and difference
identify the incoming data and pay attention
to them. between, short-term and long-term memory is observed in the
order that subjects remember items from a multiple-item list. Photo Credits: (#1) © Royalty-Free/Masterfile; (#5) © PhotoDisc, Inc.
Subjects tend to have better recall of items at the beginning of
C. Short-Term Memory: Working a list; this tendency is called the (a) effect
and involves long-term memory. Subjects tend to have better
6. If you pay attention to infor- recall of items at the end of the list; this tendency is called the
mation in sensory memory, it
is automatically transferred to (b) effect and involves short-term memory.
The order in which subjects recall items from a long list is called
short-term memory, which has the (c) effect.
two main characteristics. The first
is that unrehearsed information will dis- 11. There are two different kinds of long-term memory. One
appear after 2–30 seconds, indicating that kind involves memories of facts or events, such as scenes, stories,
short-term memory has a limited (a) . The second words, conversations, faces, or daily events. We can retrieve
characteristic is that short-term memory can hold only about seven these memories and are conscious of them; they constitute
items (plus or minus two), indicating that short-term memory has (a) memory. There are two kinds of declarative
a limited (b) . You can increase the length of time memory. One kind consists of factual knowledge of the world,
that information remains in short-term memory by intentionally concepts, word definitions, and language rules; this is called
repeating the information, which is called (c) . (b) memory. The second kind of declarative

256 M O D U L E 1 1 T Y P E S O F M E M O R Y

memory consists of knowledge about personal experiences (epi- G. Repressed Memories
sodes) or activities; this is called (c) memory.
17. If something happens that is threatening,
shocking, or traumatic, our minds may push
12. A second kind of long-term memory involves memories for that information deep into the unconscious,
performing motor or perceptual tasks, carrying out habits, and
responding to stimuli because of classical conditioning; this is from which it may one day be released and
enter consciousness. This phenomenon is
called memory. We cannot retrieve these called (a) and is the theory
memories and are not conscious of them.
behind the formation of (b)
memories. Unless there is corroborating evidence, the accuracy
E. Research Focus: Do Emotions Affect Memories? of repressed memories is difficult to establish.

13. There are times when for safety, moral, or ethical
reasons researchers cannot use human subjects
but instead use an (a) model. H. Cultural Diversity: Oral Versus Written
Using this model, researchers found that dur-
ing emotional or stressful situations, the body 18. Students from Ghana, Africa, remembered
secretes chemicals called (b) , more information when it was read to them
which make encoding so effective that these situ- than did American students who heard the
ations become very vivid long-term memories. One reason for the same information. These results show how
evolution of this carved-in-stone memory system is to help the Ghana’s tradition of passing on information
species survive by remembering dangerous situations. orally, which is an example of
influences, improves both encoding and
recalling or retrieving information.

F. Encoding: Transferring I. Application: Unusual Memories

14. The process of storing information in 19. A person who can effortlessly remember life events that
memory by making mental representations is
called (a) . There are two process- occurred many years ago with remarkable detail has
extraordinary (a) memory. In
es for encoding information. Most procedural and adults, the ability to form sharp, detailed visual
episodic information is transferred from short-term
into long-term memory without any effort, and usu- images after a short period and recall the entire
image at a later date is called (b)
ally without any awareness, through a process called memory. Memories that are vivid recollections,
(b) encoding. Much semantic infor-
mation is transferred from short-term into long-term memory usually in great detail, of dramatic or emotionally
charged incidents are called (c) .
Photo Credits: (#13) © AP Images/Kevork Djansezian; (#18) © Ulrich Doering/Alamy by deliberate attempts to repeat, rehearse, or make associations. Although very vivid, these memories are not
Together, these deliberate attempts are referred to as
(c) encoding. necessarily completely accurate.

15. There are two kinds of effortful encoding, which differ in
their effectiveness. Encoding by simply repeating or rehearsing
the information is called (a) . This method is not
very effective because it involves little thinking about the informa-
tion or making new associations. Encoding that involves thinking Answers: 1. (a) encoding, (b) storing, (c) retrieving; 2. sensory memory;
about the information and making new associations is called 3. short-term, or working; 4. long-term memory; 5. (a) iconic, (b) echoic;
(b) . 6. (a) duration, (b) capacity, (c) maintenance rehearsal, (d) chunking;
7. (a) sensory memory, (b) attention; 8. (a) rehearsed, (b) encoding;
16. One theory says that memory depends on how information is 9. retrieval, or retrieving; 10. (a) primacy, (b) recency, (c) primacy-recency;
encoded in the mind. If we pay attention only to basic features of 11. (a) declarative, (b) semantic, (c) episodic; 12. procedural or nondeclara-
the information, it is encoded at a shallow level, and poor memory tive; 13. (a) animal, (b) hormones; 14. (a) encoding, (b) automatic,
results. If we form new associations, the information is encoded at (c) effortful; 15. (a) maintenance rehearsal, (b) elaborative rehearsal;
a deeper level, and good memory results. This theory is called 16. levels of processing; 17. (a) repression, (b) repressed; 18. cultural;
19. (a) episodic, (b) photographic, (c) flashbulb memories
.

S U M M A R Y T E S T 257

Critical Thinking

Can Phony Memories
Change Your Behavior?

QUESTIONS I t’s been well established eating strawberry ice cream. Some of 4 Would the results Photo Credit: © Paul Anton/Corbis
that people can be made to these subjects even reported details be different if
1What type of long- believe “fake” memories, but about the experience such as “may subjects were pre-
term memory is can “fake” memories change have gotten sick after eating seven sented with a bowl of
used to recall a bad people’s behavior? Research cups of ice cream.” strawberry ice cream
childhood experience psychologist Elizabeth Loftus instead of being
with food? of the University of Califor- During this same visit, subjects asked to report their
nia–Irvine and her colleagues completed a second questionnaire preference on a
2 Why were studied whether simply sug- about eating preferences and many questionnaire?
researchers gesting food preferences can of these “believers” (20 of the 47)
able to implant false change what people decide to now reported less preference for and 5 What type of
memories in these eat. To answer this question, less willingness to eat strawberry ice learning occurs
subjects? these researchers asked col- cream. In contrast, the control when a person has a
lege-aged subjects to complete ques- group of subjects who did not bad experience with
3 Is it possible for tionnaires on their personalities and receive false feedback did not show food and then avoids
a person to have food experiences. As part of the any change in their preference for eating it?
had a traumatic expe- questionnaires, subjects were asked strawberry ice cream.
rience with strawberry about childhood food experiences, 6 Should physicians
ice cream as a teen- such as whether they “ate a piece of As many people have learned, a implant false
ager and not remem- banana cream pie.” strong and long-lasting aversion to a memories to help
ber it as an adult? certain food can develop after only patients lose weight?
One week after completing the one bad childhood experience. Lof-
questionnaires, subjects returned tus gives an example that a novel ANSWERS
and were told that their responses food such as béarnaise sauce may TO CRITICAL
were used to create a “unique” pro- make a person sick one time and THINKING
file of their early childhood food lead to avoiding the food in the QUESTIONS
experiences. Everyone’s prof ile future. The current study suggests it
included generic statements such as is possible for such an aversion to
they disliked spinach, enjoyed eat- occur based only on a false memory.
ing bananas, and felt happy when a Loftus and her colleagues are now
classmate brought sweets to school. examining whether false memories
In addition, the profiles of a group of really liking certain healthy vege-
of subjects included one completely tables during childhood can be
made-up point: “Felt ill after eating implanted and make people more
strawberry ice cream.” The remain- likely to eat such foods as adults.
ing subjects were the control group (Adapted from D. M. Bernstein et
and their profiles did not include a al., 2005; Loftus, 2005a; Park, 2005;
statement about getting ill as a result Skloot, 2006; M. Smith, 2005)
of eating strawberry ice cream.

When subjects in the false memory
group were told the questionnaire
results showed they had a bad child-
hood experience with strawberry ice
cream, researchers asked several fol-
low-up questions about the phony
memory, such as where they were
when they got sick and who else wit-
nessed the event. About 41% of sub-
jects given the false memory believed
they had once gotten sick from

258 M O D U L E 1 1 T Y P E S O F M E M O R Y

Links to Learning

Key Terms/Key People Learning Activities

automatic encoding, 248 memories of emotional PowerStudy for Introduction PowerStudy 4.5™
chunking, 243 events, 247 to Psychology 4.5
declarative memory, 246
declarative versus memory, 239 Try out PowerStudy’s SuperModule for Types of Memory! In addition to the
memory processes, 240, 244 quizzes, learning activities, interactive Summary Test, key terms, module out-
procedural or oral versus written line and abstract, and extended list of correlated websites provided for all mod-
nondeclarative ules, the DVD’s SuperModule for Types of Memory features:
memory, 246 memories, 253 t 4FMG QBDFE
GVMMZ OBSSBUFE MFBSOJOH XJUI B NVMUJUVEF PG BOJNBUJPOT
echoic memory, 241 photographic memory, 254 t 7JEFP BCPVU %BOJFM T QIFOPNFOBM BCJMJUZ UP SFNFNCFS
BT XFMM BT TIPSU UFSN
effortful encoding, 248 primacy effect, 245 memory, memory and the brain, chunking, and false memories.
elaborative rehearsal, 249 primacy-recency t /VNFSPVT BOJNBUJPOT
JODMVEJOH B WJSUVBM EPMQIJO UIBU UFBDIFT ZPV BCPVU
encoding, 239, 244, 248 the training procedure for mine detection.
encoding: kinds of, 248 effect, 245 t *OUFSBDUJWF WFSTJPOT PG TUVEZ SFTPVSDFT
JODMVEJOH UIF 4VNNBSZ 5FTU PO QBHFT
episodic memory, 246 procedural or 256–257 and the critical thinking questions for the article on page 258.
false memories:
implanting, 251 nondeclarative CengageNOW!
flashbulb memories, 255 memory, 246 www.cengage.com/login
flashbulb memories: brain recency effect, 245 Want to maximize your online study time? Take this easy-
and hormones, 255 recovered memories, 250 to-use study system’s diagnostic pre-test and it will create a personalized study
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iconic memory, 241 repressed memories, 250 to this book, speeding up your review of the module.
interference, 242 repression, 250
levels-of-processing retrieving, 239, 244 Introduction to Psychology Book Companion Website
theory, 249 semantic memory, 246 www.cengage.com/psychology/plotnik
limited capacity, 242 sensory memory, 240, 241 Visit this book’s companion website for more resources to help you
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long-term memory: systems, 245 Study Guide and WebTutor
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storing, 239
working memory, 240, 242

Suggested Answers to Critical Thinking If this study was conducted in a naturalistic setting, such as at an
ice cream shop, the results may be different.
1. When you recall a childhood event, such as feeling ill after eating a 5. Taste-aversion learning is associating a particular sensory cue
certain food, you are using a type of declarative memory called epi- (such as the taste of strawberry ice cream) with getting sick and
sodic memory. Episodic memory is a type of long-term memory that thereafter avoiding that particular sensory cue in the future.
involves knowledge of specific events and personal experiences. 6. The results of this study may have implications for dieters, but it
is unethical to lie to a patient even if the doctor believes it will
2. It is likely that false memories can be implanted only in people who are benefit the patient. Also, false memories may work only for foods
unaware of the mental manipulation. Subjects in this study did not know that are infrequently eaten. For instance, researchers have not
they were being deceived, and this is why they were highly suggestible. been able to create false memories of people associating com-
monly eaten unhealthy foods, such as potato chips and chocolate
3. Yes, it is possible to have forgotten a previous traumatic experience. chip cookies, with feeling ill.
Repression is the process by which the mind pushes a memory of
some threatening or traumatic event deep into the unconscious. L I N K S T O L E A R N I N G 259

4. The research design of the current study is limited because it
involved a laboratory setting rather than a naturalistic setting.