2A: Classical Conditioning

Question 1

Classical conditioning

Answer 1

A learning process whereby innate behaviours may be produced in new situations.
Associative learning process.
These behaviours are reflexive or involuntary.
Offers explanations for emotional responses as well as likes and dislikes such as debilitating fears.

Question 2

Unconditional reflex

Answer 2

Consists of an unconditional stimulus (US) and an unconditional response (UR).
They are largely innate.
Eg meat and salivation.

Question 3

Conditional reflex

Answer 3

Consists of a conditional stimulus (CS) and a conditional response (CR).
They tend to be products of experience or learning.
Eg food dish and salivation.

Question 4

Trial

Answer 4

Paring of US and neutral/CS

Question 5

Acquisition

Answer 5

Initial stage in learning

Question 6

Higher-order conditioning

Answer 6

A variation of Pavlovian conditioning in which a neutral stimulus is paired, not with a US, but with a well-established CS.

Question 7

Pseudo conditioning

Answer 7

The tendency of a neutral stimulus to elicit a CR when presented after a US has elicited a response.
Eg nurse coughs as they give you an injection, you then flinch when the nurse coughs again.
Strong stimulus (eg injection) can sensitise you to other stimuli so you react to them similarly as the strong stimulus.

Question 8

Delayed conditioning

Answer 8

The CS and US overlap.

The CS is presented before the US, but continues after the US appears.

Question 9

Trace conditioning

Answer 9

CS begins and ends before the US is presented.

CS leaves some sort of neural trace

Question 10

Simultaneous conditioning

Answer 10

The CS and US coincide exactly.
Is a weak procedure for establishing a conditional response.
Eg if lightning always accompanied thunder, a sudden flash of lightning wouldn’t elicit a response.

Question 11

Backward conditioning

Answer 11

The CS follows the US.

Very difficult and ineffective.

Question 12

Contingency

Answer 12

How reliably does the stimulus (N/US/CS) precede the response (CR/UR)?
Reliably pairing the stimuli with the response increases the speed and strength of learning.

Question 13

Inter stimulus interval

Answer 13

The interval between the CS and US.
The shorter the ISI, the more quickly conditioning occurs.
However, no ISI (simultaneous conditioning) is ineffective.
Dependent on a number of variables eg. Kind of response, type of procedure.

Question 14

Contiguity

Answer 14

How close in time and space are two events?

The inter stimulus interval

Question 15

Stimulus features

Answer 15

The physical characteristics of the CS and US can affect the speed of conditioning.
Compound stimulus.
Overshadowing.

Question 16

Compound stimulus

Answer 16

A CS that consists of two or more stimulus, such as light and a noise.

Question 17

Overshadowing

Answer 17

One stimulus can overshadow the effect of another (if it’s stronger, elicits a stronger response)

Question 18

Prior experience with CS and US

Answer 18

Novel stimuli are more likely to become conditioned stimuli.
Latent inhibition.
Blocking.

Question 19

Latent inhibition

Answer 19

The appearance of a stimulus without the US interferes with the ability of that stimulus to become a CS later on.
A familiar stimulus is more difficult to condition as a CS than an unfamiliar stimulus.

Question 20

Blocking

Answer 20

An established CS can block the conditioning of a new CS

Question 21

Number of CS-US pairings

Answer 21

Generally occurs slowly over time, takes a few trials. Curvilinear - slow to start but gets stronger/faster as more trials happen.
Some responses occur after only 1 pairing Eg taste aversion.

Question 22

Inter trial interval

Answer 22

The gap between subsequent trials.

Longer intervals are more effective than shorter ones (at least 20 seconds).

Question 23

Extinction

Answer 23

The weakening of the conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus.
Extinction is not unlearning of the conditioned response. It is a learned inhibition of responding.

Question 24

Spontaneous recovery

Answer 24

The re-emergence if a previously extinguished conditioned response.
Pavlov concluded that underlying processes of conditioning involves learning something new, not unlearning.

Question 25

Stimulus generalisation

Answer 25

The tendency for the subject to respond not only to the exact stimulus used but also to the other similar stimuli.
Eg little Albert.

Question 26

Stimulus discrimination

Answer 26

When a subject that has learnt a response to a specific stimulus does not respond to a new similar stimulus.
The less similar the new stimulus to the CS the greater the likelihood of discrimination.

Question 27

Stimulus-substitution theory

Answer 27

The CS acts as a substitute for the US.
Problem: if the CS is a substitute for the US, then the CR would always be the same as the UR (which it often is, but not always).

Question 28

Preparatory response theory

Answer 28

The purpose of the CR is to prepare the organism for the presentation of the US

Question 29

The compensatory-response model

Answer 29

A variation of the preparatory response theory that proposes the CR prepares the organism for the US by compensating for its effects.
Eg heroin.

Question 30

Rescorla-Wagner model

Answer 30

US can only support a certain amount of conditioning.
Stronger stimuli support more conditioning than weaker stimuli.
Eg highly preferred food produces a stronger salivation response than a less preferred one.