Author: nch5179

Operant conditioning to teach dogs

Recently, we learned about operant conditioning in psych 100. By definition, operant conditioning is forming associations between behaviors and resulting events. Specifically, we looked at a video of a woman teaching her dog to roll over by rewarding him with treats.

This video sparked a flashback in my memory to a time when I had a dog, around age 13. Although the dog, Nico, was pretty difficult to train, my mom insisted on training the dog herself, she did not want to pay someone to train him.

I remember my mother telling me that what she was first interested in getting him to do was to sit. So, similarly to the women in the video, she would say the word ‘sit’ then, obviously, Nico would not sit, because he had no idea what that meant. He had no prior associations with hearing ‘sit’ and being rewarded. So, my mom would have to physically make him sit, and then reward him with a treat.

This process continued over the following couple of days. Eventually, my mom did not have to force Nico to sit, he would just do it on his own. This is because he had made that association between hearing the word ‘sit’ and receiving a treat. Once Nico had learned that skill, my sister and I wanted to see how well we could use operant conditioning to get him to ‘shake.’ We followed the same process as our mom, picking up his paw and shaking it, after saying ‘shake.’ Then, as expected, we rewarded him. Surprisingly it took him quicker to pick up on then ‘sit.’

It wasn’t until taking this psych class that I learned that the process we were following had a name to it, operant conditioning. It was interesting to make that connection to my own life. Operant conditioning is a very popular way of forming associations between certain things and is more common then I had originally thought. It also works, clearly.

Setting the Mood

Throughout our day to day lives we experience many different and altering emotions, which, in combination with one another, help to create our specific mood. Mood can be defined as a temporary state of mind or feeling. This concept is related in a unique way to our memory. There are two different types of memories which involve our mood: mood dependent memory and mood congruent memory.

Mood dependent memory involves a concept known as as mood inducement, which is the idea that we will do certain things to either enhance or attempt at altering our mood, such as playing sad music when you want to feel sad, or alternatively, playing happy music when your sad in an attempt to lighten that heavy mood.

Mood congruent memory is the idea that a given mood tends to cue memories that are consistent with that mood. For instance, if you are depressed, you’ll tend to recall depressing things from your memory, and vice versa with happiness.

I found both of these types of memory to be highly relatable because I have personally experienced them both. I usually find that when I am sad, I tend to play music that matches my feelings, which fits the idea of mood dependent memory.

When I am upset about something, I sometimes just just want to remain in that state, only for a little bit that is, as weird as it sounds. I know I am not alone when I say that during times of sadness, you just think about one sad thing after another, making you sadder. However, on the contrary, when I am happy, in a good mood, and laughing a lot, all I can think about are the good things in my life. Both of these scenarios fall under the the concept of mood congruent memory.

Whether you knew it or not, I personally did not, it is good to understand that these concepts which an overwhelming majority of individuals can admit to experiencing, have titles and are actually very interesting subjects studied by psychologists and taught about today.

MRI’s to diagnose brain injuries

Almost our entire body is made up of water molecules which house an even smaller particle known as a proton. These protons serve as tiny magnets which are highly sensitive to magnetic fields. During a Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan (MRI), the protons in our body line up in the same direction. Short bursts of radio waves are then sent to certain areas of the body, which will cause the protons to knock out of their orignial alignment. This sends out radio signals, which are picked up by receivers. These signals provide information about the precise location of the protons in our body and also help to distinguish between the various types of tissue in the body. This is because the protons in different types of tissue realign at different speeds and produce their own distinct signals. The signals from the millions of protons in our body are all combined to create a very detailed image of the inside of our body.

MRI scans are effective at helping to diagnose many internal medical conditions. For example, when I was 12 years old I went skiing with my family up in the Poconos. I decided to try one of the steepest hills at the mountain and ended up taking a massive fall which cause me to hit my head on the snowy ice. In additon, I was not wearing a helmet, which I now realize was a major mistake on my part. The moments following the fall were hazy and patchy and I experienced alot of headaches and neck pain in the days following the fall. When we returned home, my mother and I decided that it was best to take me to the hospital to see if I had suffered from any brain injuires, which is what we were both questioning.

After talking with the doctor and relaying my symptons to him, he took me for an MRI scan, among multiple tests to check for any internal brain damage. I was then taken into a special room which held the large machine I would be laying in. The scan lasted about an hour and took multiple images of my brain, which it was able to do by sending radio waves to the priotons in my body which, in return, send out signals across the body. Luckily, after thouroughly reviewing the scans, the doctors were able to confirm that I did not have a brain bleed or any interanl damage, which I was relieved about. I had only suffered from a minor brain contussion.

Without the technology and high spatial resolution of magnetic resonance imaging scans, I may not have been able to recieve accurate results about my serious but luckily not life threatening injury. We are extremely lucky to have access to this type of advanced technology right at our fingertips, and I am grateful that it granted me relief over potenially a potenially damaging outcome.

“MRI, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mayfield Brain & Spine Cincinnati, Ohio.” Mayfieldclinic.com, 2018, mayfieldclinic.com/pe-mri.htm.

Lam, Peter. “MRI Scans: Definition, Uses, and Procedure.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 24 July 2018, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/146309.php.