282 Topic 3) Classical (respondent) conditioning

Question 1

Classical/respondent/Pavlovian conditioning

Answer 1

-Form of learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to signal the occurrence of a second stimulus
-Behaviors are elicited brought about by) antecedent stimuli (stimuli that causes the behavior or occur)
-Conditioning process involves manipulation of antecedent stimuli

Question 2

Unconditioned stimulus (US)

Answer 2

A stimulus that naturally elicits an unconditioned response without prior conditioning required

Question 3

Unconditioned response (UR)

Answer 3

-The response elicited by the presentation of an unconditioned stimulus
-Usually has a survival value
-Automatic response (reflexive)

Question 4

Appetitive

Answer 4

-A stimulus that an animal finds pleasant
eg) Play, company, food

Question 5

Aversive

Answer 5

-A stimulus that animal finds unpleasant
eg) loud noise, dark, pain

Question 6

What makes a good unconditioned stimulus

Answer 6

-The unconditioned stimulus should evoke a strong bodily response, this sets us up for better learning
-The more intense the unconditioned stimulus is the easier to produce a conditioned response
-More intense = more attention grabbing

Question 7

Habituation

Answer 7

-Process by which we respond less strongly over time to repeated stimuli
-Highly specific to stimulus producing it

Question 8

Sensory adaptation

Answer 8

-NOT habituation
-Reduction in sensitivity of the sense organs caused by repeated stimulation

Question 9

Fatigue

Answer 9

-NOT habituation
-Decrease in behavior due to repeated or excessive use of muscles

Question 10

Neutral stimulus (NS)

Answer 10

-A stimulus that does not naturally elicit a response
-CS begins as neutral stimulus

Question 11

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

Answer 11

-Previously neutral stimulus that has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus and now elicits a conditioned response that is similar to the unconditioned response
-“Similar” due to their being minor differences but main reaction stays the same
eg) UR would be shouting but CR might be flinching from fear

Question 12

Conditioned response (CR)

Answer 12

-A response elicited by a conditioned stimulus after that stimulus has been repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus
-Conditioned response is similar to unconditioned response but does not need to be identical

Question 13

Latency of conditioned response

Answer 13

-Interval of time between presentation of the CS and occurrence of the CR
-Requires the CR to occur before the US is present

Question 14

Intensity of the conditioned response

Answer 14

Conditioned response tend to get stronger as conditioning proceeds

Question 15

Test or probe trials

Answer 15

-Present the conditioned stimulus alone with no unconditioned stimulus
-Doing this shows learning if we see a conditioned response

Question 16

First order conditioning

Answer 16

-First stage
-Pairing neutral stimulus with unconditioned stimulus
-Same as classical conditioning

Question 17

Higher order conditioning/Second order conditioning

Answer 17

-Taking the new conditioned stimulus (bell) and using that as the unconditioned stimulus for a new neutral stimulus (light)
-Learning tends to get weaker the higher you get in this conditioning due to getting further from the unconditioned response

Question 18

What factors influence conditioning

Answer 18

-Nature of the neutral and unconditioned stimulus
-Temporal relationship of the neutral and the unconditioned stimulus
-Contingency between the NS and the US
-The number of pairings/trials
-Previous exposure to the NS

Question 19

Salient

Answer 19

More noticeable/important

Question 20

Stimulus features

Answer 20

-Physical characteristics effect the pace of conditioning
-Overshadowing

Question 21

Overshadowing

Answer 21

-When a compound stimulus is used as a CS, but only a particular element of that compound (typically the more intense stimulus) is able to elicit the CR

Question 22

Temporal relationships

Answer 22

-Short-delay conditioning
-Trace conditioning
-Long-delayed conditioning
-Simultaneous conditioning
-Backward conditioning

Question 23

Short-delay conditioning

Answer 23

-Best of the 5 types
-CS presentation alone, but US overlaps shortly after onset
-While the CS is still present the US starts, therefore there is a point in time where both the CS and US are present together (linked together)

Question 24

Long-delay conditioning

Answer 24

-CS and US overlap but the CS is on for a longer time
-CS becomes an imprecise (unreliable) predictor of the US
-The longer a stimulus is present with a gap the harder it is to link and make an association between the two

Question 25

Trace conditioning

Answer 25

-No overlap between the CS and the US -Temporal contiguity matters

Question 26

Simultaneous conditioning

Answer 26

-CS and US onset is at the same time -Less common in real world and mostly done within a lab setting -Less effective than delayed and trace conditioning -The US does not act as a warning to the CS and therefore does not link them together

Question 27

Backwards conditioning

Answer 27

-Worst out of the five -US occurs before the CS -Results are inconsistent

Question 28

Intertrial-Interval

Answer 28

-Type of temporal relationship regarding time between pairings -Interval between one CS-US exposure (trial) and another CS-Us exposure (another trial) -Can vary from seconds to years -Generally longer intervals are better than shorter ones (not too long)

Question 29

Contingency between the NS and the US

Answer 29

-The relationship between the NS and the US -Contingency between the NS and the Us means that the NS and the US co-occur reliably -NS does not happen without the US following it -US does not happen without the NS occurring first -NS never occurs alone -US only occurs after the NS happens

Question 30

Contiguity

Answer 30

-Events are close together in time and space -Easier to link the events

Question 31

Number of pairings

Answer 31

-More pairings of the NS and the US usually forms a stronger association -Though the first pairing produces the strongest learning effect and eventually the learning remains consistent

Question 32

Rescorla-Wagner Model

Answer 32

Δv= K(λ - v)

Question 33

ΔV

Answer 33

Trial by trial change in associative learning strength of US

Question 34

k

Answer 34

Constant related to salience (noticeable/important) of US

Question 35

λ

Answer 35

-Maximum possible associative strength of US -What occurs

Question 36

V

Answer 36

-Current associative strength of US -What is expected

Question 37

Conditioned Taste Aversion (CTA)

Answer 37

-Taste aversions (and preferences) are learned -Eat a novel food (new food) = aversive consequence -Can occur with just one trial (usually you need to go back and fourth between the CS and US multiple times) -CTA can occur even if the illness occurs hours later

Question 38

Previous experience

Answer 38

-Latent inhibition -Blocking -Sensory preconditioning

Question 39

Latent inhibition

Answer 39

-Pre-exposure of a stimulus in the absence of a US interferes with the ability of that stimulus to become a CS -eg) Always getting a burger (Neutral stimulus) and having a good experience but one day you eat a burger and get sick, you will be resistant to avoid burgers due to having many good experiences previously (If the first time you had a burger gave you a bad experience then you may develop CTA)

Question 40

Blocking

Answer 40

Failure of a stimulus to become a CS when it is part of a compound stimulus that includes an already effective CS

Question 41

Sensory preconditioning

Answer 41

1) two neutral stimuli ( A & B ) occur together 2) one of those stimuli (B) is conditioned to become a CS 3) when A is presented alone, it too will elicit the same CR as B -Eg) A is lasagna and B is garlic bread, you always have A and B together One day you go to friends house and only have lasagna and throw up after, this will cause you to feel nausea eating lasagna and eating garlic bread even though it never made you sick, it is usually always associated with lasagna which made you sick