Learning and Memory - TCE Psychology (Tasmania)
“Describe theories of learning and the multi-store model of memory with supporting research.”
You need to explain the three main learning theories (classical conditioning, operant conditioning and observational learning) and the multi-store model of memory (sensory, short-term and long-term stores), each backed by named studies.
What this dot point is asking
Learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour resulting from experience. Memory is the set of processes by which we encode, store and retrieve information. The two topics are linked: learning relies on memory.
Classical conditioning
Classical conditioning is learning by association, first studied by Ivan Pavlov (1900s) with dogs. Pavlov noticed dogs salivated to food, then paired a bell with the food repeatedly.
- Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): food
- Unconditioned response (UCR): salivation to food
- Neutral stimulus (NS): the bell, before learning
- Conditioned stimulus (CS): the bell, after learning
- Conditioned response (CR): salivation to the bell alone
Acquisition is the initial learning of the CS-CR link. Extinction is the fading of the CR when the CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS. Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of the CR after a rest. Generalisation is responding to similar stimuli; discrimination is responding only to the specific CS.
Watson and Rayner's "Little Albert" study (1920) showed classical conditioning applies to human emotion: an infant was conditioned to fear a white rat by pairing it with a loud noise, and the fear generalised to other furry objects.
Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning is learning through consequences, developed by B. F. Skinner (1930s-50s) using the "Skinner box." Behaviour followed by reinforcement is more likely to recur; behaviour followed by punishment is less likely.
- Positive reinforcement: adding a pleasant stimulus (food pellet) to increase behaviour.
- Negative reinforcement: removing an unpleasant stimulus (turning off a shock) to increase behaviour.
- Positive punishment: adding an unpleasant stimulus to decrease behaviour.
- Negative punishment: removing a pleasant stimulus (loss of privilege) to decrease behaviour.
Reinforcement always increases behaviour; punishment always decreases it. "Negative" means something is removed, not that the consequence is bad. Negative reinforcement (e.g. taking painkillers to stop pain) increases the behaviour it follows.
Skinner also showed schedules of reinforcement matter: a variable-ratio schedule (reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses, as in gambling) produces the most persistent behaviour.
Observational learning
Albert Bandura's social learning theory holds that we learn by watching models, without direct reinforcement. In the Bobo doll experiment (1961), children who watched an adult act aggressively toward an inflatable doll later imitated that aggression more than children who saw a non-aggressive or no model.
Recall the four conditions
For observational learning to occur, the learner must: attend to the model, retain a memory of the behaviour, be able to reproduce it, and have the motivation to perform it (often expecting reinforcement).
Apply them to an example
A child watching a sibling praised for tidying up must notice the behaviour (attention), remember how it was done (retention), be physically able to copy it (reproduction), and want the same praise (motivation). If any one is missing, the behaviour is not imitated.
Use the memory aid
Remember the sequence as Attention, Retention, Reproduction, Motivation, which is exactly the order a TASC answer should list and apply.
The multi-store model of memory
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) proposed three stores:
- Sensory memory: a very brief, large-capacity store for raw sensory input (around a quarter of a second for visual; iconic memory). Sperling (1960) demonstrated its rapid decay.
- Short-term memory (STM): limited capacity and duration. Miller (1956) put capacity at about 7 plus or minus 2 items, expandable by chunking. Peterson and Peterson (1959) showed STM lasts roughly 18 seconds without rehearsal, using nonsense trigrams with an interference task.
- Long-term memory (LTM): potentially unlimited capacity and duration, holding information transferred from STM through rehearsal.
Information moves from sensory memory to STM through attention, and from STM to LTM through rehearsal. Forgetting can occur through decay, displacement or interference.
Many students treat the multi-store model as fully correct. In an evaluation you should note its limits: it is too simple about STM and LTM as single, unitary stores. Baddeley and Hitch's working memory model (1974) argues STM has several components (the central executive, phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad). Mentioning this earns evaluation marks.
Putting it together
For learning, contrast the three theories: classical conditioning explains involuntary, reflexive responses; operant conditioning explains voluntary behaviour shaped by consequences; observational learning explains acquiring behaviour without performing it. For memory, describe the flow through the three stores and cite the capacity and duration findings. Always anchor claims to named researchers, as TCE markers reward the use of specific psychological evidence.
Exam-style questions
Questions in the style of TASC exam questions on this dot point, each with a worked answer. They are written by ExamExplained unless tagged "Past paper"; the year shows the paper a question is modelled on.
PracticeQuestion 1 (Conditioning). Using the stimulus on systematic desensitisation and behaviour modification, and other relevant course information: a) Explain the following concepts in relation to conditioning: human application of conditioning processes; reinforcement; classical and operant conditioning. b) Analyse and critically evaluate the explanations, theories and concepts used to explain Human Learning.Show worked answer →
TASC marks Section A on Criteria 3 and 7 using extended ratings, so structure a full extended response, not short notes.
Part a) Define each concept precisely.
- Human application of conditioning processes: using learned principles to change real behaviour, e.g. systematic desensitisation pairs relaxation with a graded fear hierarchy to treat a phobia.
- Reinforcement: any consequence that increases the likelihood of a response. Positive reinforcement adds a desirable stimulus, negative reinforcement removes an aversive one. The gold-star token in the stimulus is a secondary reinforcer.
- Classical conditioning: learning by association of a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus until it triggers a conditioned response. Operant conditioning: learning shaped by consequences (reinforcement and punishment).
Part b) Evaluate with evidence. Classical conditioning (Pavlov) and operant conditioning (Skinner) explain reflexive and voluntary behaviour and underpin effective therapies, shown by the systematic desensitisation results where the treated group improved and the control group did not. Limits: behaviourism downplays cognition and biological preparedness, and cannot fully explain insight or observational learning, so it offers a partial account of human learning.
PracticeQuestion 5 (Memory). Using the Working Memory Model and short-term memory stimulus, and other relevant course information: a) Explain the following concepts in relation to the psychological study of Memory: Rehearsal; Encoding; Working Memory. b) Analyse and critically evaluate at least two (2) models and/or theories of Memory used to explain the process of encoding, storing and retrieving information.Show worked answer →
Section C is marked on Criteria 4 and 7. Address every dot point in part a, then build a comparative evaluation in part b.
Part a) Define each term.
- Rehearsal: repeating information to retain it. Maintenance rehearsal holds material in short-term memory; elaborative rehearsal links it to existing knowledge and aids transfer to long-term memory.
- Encoding: converting sensory input into a usable memory trace (acoustic, visual or semantic). Encoding is the entry ticket to long-term storage.
- Working memory: Baddeley and Hitch's active system of the central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad and episodic buffer, where information is manipulated.
Part b) Compare two models. The Atkinson-Shiffrin multi-store model (sensory, short-term, long-term stores) is supported by serial-position effects and amnesia cases but is criticised as too linear and for treating short-term memory as a single store. The working memory model corrects this by splitting short-term memory into specialised components, explaining dual-task performance, though the central executive remains poorly specified. Conclude that working memory better captures active processing while the multi-store model better captures the storage architecture.