PSY 324 Chapter : Week 9 - Learning and Memory
14 Dec 2011
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Document Summary
Learning refers to the process by which experiences change our nervous system and hence our behaviour. Learning can take at least four basic forms: perceptual learning, stimulus-response learning, motor learning and relational learning. Perceptual learning is the ability to learn to recognize stimuli that have been perceived before. The primary function of this type of learning is the ability to identify and categorize objects and situations. Perceptual learning seems to be accomplished primarily by changes in the visual association cortex, learning to recognize complex auditory stimuli involves changes in the auditory association cortex, etc. Stimulus-response learning is the ability to learn to perform a particular behavior when a particular stimulus is present. Involves the establishment of connections between circuits involved in perception and those involved in movement. The behaviour could be an automatic response such as a defensive reflex, or it could be a complicated series of movements. Includes two major categories of learning that psychologists have studied extensively:
