Memory

              There are three ways that memory can be viewed: as types, stages, or as processes. There are two types of memory that can be looked at; explicit and implicit. Explicit memory deals with knowledge or experiences that can be consciously remembered. Although implicit memory deals with experience as well, it deals with experience as it influences behavior, even when these changes or experiences are not easily pinpointed. 
              The second way that memory can be viewed is as stages. Memory has three stages: sensory, short- term, and long- term. You are probably most familiar with viewing memory in this way. Sensory memory acts as a sort of "memory buffer" so if your brain determines that the information that you have received is not useful then it is not remembered. Short- term memory is the area that usually keeps small bits of information for more than a few seconds, but less than a minute. Long- term memory usually holds your most important memories, such as names or materials that you have studied for a test. 
              The third and final way that we can view memory is as processes. The first process, encoding, " is the process by which we place experiential things into our memories." Information cannot be properly remembered without this step.The second, storage, does exactly what it sounds like, it stores the memories that you obtain overtime. The final process, retrieval, is when your brain "retrieves" memories or information when it is needed.
              The part that stood out most to me from the videos and readings this week was the video about Clive Wearing. Clive has a very strong case of amnesia that is so severe that he cannot even remember something from thirty seconds ago. In the video Clive went on having a normal conversation with his wife, but what he did not notice was that his wife was essentially repeating the same things over to him. Usually a close family member in that position might become frustrated or upset because of the situation that their loved one has been put in, but I thought that it was really cool that his wife was very upbeat and positive when talking about Clive's situation even though the situation is definitely not the best. As we can see from Clive's case memory is a very important part of our daily lives that we too often take for granted and we should all try to be more thankful for the amazing gift of memory that God has given us.

Sources:
Chapter 8: Memory PDF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwigmktix2Y 

#M4ExpTask

False Memory and the Serial- Position Effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_c7nIuL1g4 

Learning

            According to chapter 6 learning is the process that occurs when life experiences change our behavior or thinking. There are an abundance of examples in everyday life that show that this statement is true.There are three main areas of learning classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning, but today I will just be focusing on classical conditioning. 

            This idea of classical conditioning actually came about accidentally. Ivan Pavlov discovered this way of learning in 1927 when working with dogs to further his research on the digestive system. In this experiment Pavlov placed a dog in a harness so that he could measure their salivation when presented with food. The accidental discovery of classical conditioning came when the dogs began salivating even at the sight or sound of the lab assistant bringing in the food. Essentially classical conditioning occurs when we begin to associate an object, sight, or sound with a specific sensation. This is a learned or remembered pattern that we develop over time or through repetition. In the case of Pavlov's experiment with the dogs, the dogs developed the inherent knowing of the food coming by the repetition of the lab assistant bringing them the food.

            I found this specific experiment to be especially interesting, because it shows just how adaptable human beings are especially when it comes to the ideas of learning. When it comes to learning we draw from the experiences we have. Much like the dogs in Pavlov's experiments we learn by association and recurring situations or examples.

             A specific real world example of classical conditioning could the idea of police officers. They are conditioned and trained to react to the sights, sounds, and environment around them. Another example could be the idea of a basketball player. Most of the time a person who does not or has not played basketball would not react to a ball abruptly being thrown at them in the same manner that a basketball player would. Through classical conditioning a basketball player would automatically put up their hands and catch the ball or try to catch it where as someone who has not been in sports might duck or try and get away from the ball.


Sources:
Chapter 6 PDF on learning