Chapter 4 The Development of Memory Basic laws of habituation and operant conditioning are sufficient for understanding behavioral relations called “memory.”

Overview Study of memory is difficult  Many different behaviors are used as evidence of memory  “Memory” refers to cognitive operations  Explanation of memory involves understanding these cognitive processes  Hypothetical structures, mechanisms and processes are inferred More scientific (behavior analytic) approach would be to study the behavioral relations related to “memory” (e.g., habituation, operant conditioning)

Concept of Memory in Developmental Psychology Remember circular reasoning (reification) from chapter 2?  behavior is observed & given a name- “memory”  Name is referred to as concrete object and becomes the object of study- as in “a memory” or “mental record of an event” The memory or mental record is never directly observed  The term “memory” is used to explain the behavior it represents

Concept of Memory in Developmental Psychology e.g. poor memory of preschoolers has been attributed to “limited information-processing capacity,” “lack of meaningful organization,” and inadequate knowledge base” None of these descriptions can be observed- they are inferred from the behaviors that are supposed to explain memory (circular logic) Environmental contingencies responsible for behavior are overlooked  hypothetical constructs versus behavior and environment

Research on Infant Memory Visual Recognition Memory  Single-stimulus habituation  Paired-comparison (novelty preference)  Novelty discrimination Operant Conditioning Procedures  Demonstration of long-term memory  Reactivation of forgotten memories  Contextual control over memory

Visual Recognition Memory Recognition memory- indicate if a stimulus has been encountered before Recall memory- produce a verbal response to name the stimulus  Infants are not capable of verbal behavior thus recall memory is not tested Visual recognition memory- inferred when infants respond differentially to familiar and novel stimuli

Single- Stimulus Habituation Procedures Habituation= process of repeatedly presenting an unconditional stimulus that results in a decrease in unconditional responding evoked by that stimulus

Single- Stimulus Habituation Procedures DV= fixation time between 2 types of stimuli A single patterned visual stimulus is presented repeatedly until visual fixation time toward it decreases Familiar stimulus and novel stimuli are successively presented e.g., Bornstein (1976)

Single- Stimulus Habituation Procedures Explanation of results Cognitive Memory is inferred if fixation time is shorter to familiar stimulus than novel stimuli Infant is initiator of his/her own actions Behavior Analytic Habituation has been demonstrated if fixation time is shorter to familiar stimulus than novel stimuli Results can be understood in terms of stimulus control as predicted by experimental literature on habituation Stimulus generalization Stimulus discrimination “Visual fixation” may be functionally related to consequence of seeing the stimulus displayed

Paired-Comparison (Novelty Preference) Procedures Variation of single- stimulus habituation procedures Two identical patterned stimuli are presented simultaneously until fixation time to both decreases (habituation) Novel stimuli are presented simultaneously with familiar stimuli DV= proportion of visual fixation to novel versus familiar stimulus

Paired-Comparison (Novelty Preference) Procedures e.g. Fantz (1964) Simplest explanation of results: after an initially high level of fixation to the constant stimulus, habituation occurs and duration of fixation decreases (habituation explanation).  Obscure terms, like “visual experience,” are not necessary  Extends principle of habituation to infants

Paired-Comparison (Novelty Preference) Procedures Operant principles explanation  Responses to novel visual events may be seen as special operants specific to visual system of infants  Decrease in fixation time reflects satiation (EO) or operant extinction (function-altering) The visual stimulus initially elicits looking and then the consequence of that looking (seeing the visual stimulus) ensures continued looking

Novelty Discrimination Procedures Visual stimuli are used as reinforcers for high- amplitude sucking  Nipple connected to power supply which illuminates slides of visual stimuli  Conjugate reinforcement schedule- intensity of consequence is directly proportional to intensity of the response

Novelty Discrimination Procedures Werner & Siqueland (1978) Cognitive interpretation “visual recognition memory, in some rudimentary form, is evidenced in the conditioned sucking of...infants within the first days of life” Behavior analytic interpretation  Operant conditioning with visual stimuli as reinforcers has been extended to newborn infants

Operant Conditioning Procedures Rovee-Collier and colleagues  Behaviorally trained researchers with cognitive orientation  Designs typically consisted of between subject comparisons with large groups of infants  Various aspects of infant “memory” were studied using operant foot kicks

Operant Conditioning Procedures Basic paradigm: Rovee & Fagen, 1976 Results indicate that certain behavioral relations endure over time- this endurance is called “memory”  This is the essence of operant behavior! Behavior analytic interpretation of results  Extend basic principles of reinforcement and stimulus control to 3-month-old infants (e.g., operant behavior could be conditioned using a visual reinforcer)  Reinforcement is function-altering; visual reinforcer altered sight of mobile to evoke foot kicks

Operant Conditioning Procedures Major experimental findings fall into three general categories 1)Demonstration of long-term memory in infants 2)The reactivation of forgotten memories 3)Contextual control over memory

Long-Term Memory in Infants “Forgetting”- testing for recall at various intervals of time Presumably refers to a decrement in responding solely as a function of the passage of time (where there is no opportunity to make the response).  Issue of stimulus control- weakening ability of discriminative stimuli to evoke responses  No behavioral process by which stimulus control declines solely as a result of passage of time

Long-Term Memory in Infants Stimulus control account of “forgetting”  Failure to reinstate all stimulus conditions relevant to original response strength (e.g. mobile on other side of crib, no ribbon attached to leg)  Competing responses to same stimuli (e.g. visual attending)  Competing responses conditioned to other stimuli Different conditions resemble discrimination training

Long-Term Memory in Infants Limitations  Experiments conducted in infants' home cribs  Observers recorded foot kicks  Only three sessions  Analysis of group results may have overlooked individual differences

Long-Term Memory in Infants Conclusions about general results  Operant conditioning demonstrated in infants  Discrepancy in responding between extinction and conditioning sessions demonstrates a stimulus- change decrement, possibly discrimination  Competing responses to same stimuli may account for loos of control during retention sessions

Reactivation of Forgotten Memories “Reactivation treatment”- when a moving mobile is re-presented, previously weakened responding rebounds and remains stronger than if no mobile is presented  Cognitive interpretation= “reactivates” the forgotten memory  Behavior analytic interpretation= stimulus control that was previously weakened is reinstated

Contextual Control Over Memory Foot kicks were lower in the presence of crib bumpers, novel mobiles or novel components of mobiles  Cognitive interpretation= normal memory retrieval in infants is dependent on the context, even if context was never paired with reinforcement  Behavior analytic interpretation= stimulus control is demonstrated not only by training stimuli but also by contextual stimuli When compound stimuli are paired with reinforcement for responding to them, components that actually acquire control differ from person to person

Cognitive & Behavior Analytic Views on Memory Summary Cognitive Interprets demonstration of operant conditioning in infants as evidence for inferred events (e.g. memory, forgetting, reactivation) Behavior Analytic “Memory” is a name for behaviors observed in certain contexts but it is never actually observed Accounts for memory phenomena largely in terms of stimulus control The more similar the stimuli presented, the stronger the resulting behavior (stimulus generalization) Foot kicks came under stimulus control of particular settings by producing a reinforcing consequence of the moving mobile