The Ideal Method of Studying Textbook Material Essay

The Ideal Method of Studying Textbook Material - Essay Example After repeated pairings, the conditioned stimulus (the tone) was enough on its own to elicit the conditioned response. However, when the tone was repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus (food), the conditioned response (salivation) became progressively weaker and eventually disappeared altogether, a process called extinction. Classical conditioning can best be described as associative learning. The simplest form of classical conditioning is what Aristotle would have called the law of contiguity, which states that: "When two things commonly occur together, the appearance of one will bring the other to mind." ("Classical Conditioning") Similarly, John B. Watson, an early American psychologist, presented an 11-month old child, Albert, with a loud, frightening bang and a rat at the same time. After being subjected to six or seven repetitions of this paired stimulus over the period of a week, the child became afraid of the rat although he had not been afraid of it before being subjected to the pairings. ... Thorndike formed this theory while observing the behavior of cats trying to escape from homemade puzzle boxes. When the cats were first placed in the boxes, they took a long time to escape. With experience, however, successful responses occurred more frequently. This enabled the cats to escape in less time over successive trials. In his Law of Effect, Thorndike theorized that successful responses were "stamped in" by experience and thus occurred more frequently while unsuccessful responses were "stamped out" and subsequently occurred less frequently. In simple terms, what he learned is that some consequences strengthen behavior while some weaken behavior and that learning occurs through trial and error. Learning strategies involve techniques ranging from improving memory by association to better studying by behavior modification. Examples of behavior modification that have proven helpful and aid in learning are: Eliminate the environmental cues that interfere with studying. Set aside study time and adhere to the schedule. Reward yourself for starting on time or penalize yourself for starting late. Visualize the consequences of not studying, such as failing an exam. Beware of avoidance mechanisms. Beware of preparation overkill. The main ideas are to avoid procrastination and to practice discipline. Memory Memory is one of the most important concepts in learning. If you cannot remember anything, no learning can take place. A distinction is often made between short-term and long-term memory. Short term memory is brief and transient. Sort of like when you look up a phone number in the phone book to make a call. You remember it long enough to make the call but you do not recall it later. Your short-term memory holds a small

President Obama's Health care reform Research Paper

President Obama's Health care reform - Research Paper Example coverage, insured families that are only a sickness away from financial ruin as well to as patients whose insurance companies have rebuffed covering them. This law has several components that are outlined in the following paper. This paper is further going to give the case for and case against the law. The health care reform is a comprehensive insurance strategy that aims to ensure that every American has quality health care and it is affordable to them. The aim of the health care reform was to target and ensure that all Americans were insured for their health care in a way that was affordable for the individual, the family and the government at large. The reform’s plan was also to target every individual in America irrespective of whether one had a prior cover or not. This was very vital as the number of uninsured individuals was on the increase as would be compared from the year 2000 during which it was only 13.1% of the Americans. This number went up to 16.3% in the year 2010 (Christie, Para 1). The major reasons for such a big percentage is the increase in restrictions for acquiring health care insurance and the increasing cost of getting the cover as well. Some of the restrictions were the denial of cover for individuals with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes in children and young adults aged 19 and 25 years of age who did not have medical cover in the place where they were working. Furthermore, the high cost was way above the affordability of most middle and low-income earners. The battle to have the legislation about the reform has not been smooth sailing and it has been largely treated as a battle between the democrats against the republicans. On the 7th of November 2009, when the bill was tabled in the house, the democrats had the day by a slight margin of 219 while the republicans had 212 (Kane, Para 1). Later on march the 23rd 2010, president Obama signed the bill into law and that, according to some people, was the light at the end of the