Chapter 3 Flashcards
Why is learning important for us?
Learning about the relations of cause and effect in our environment helps us to interact with it and predict it (survival)
We learn about our environment with Classical Conditioning
What did Pavlov study at first? What did he believed?
At first studied digestion in dogs; he realized that more digestive juices were produced when food was in sight
He thought that they were psychic secretions
Then he realized it was linked with the nervous system and not digestion
What are the main discoveries/achievements of Vul’fson and Snarskii
They were the first to perform classical conditioning experiments (before pavlov)
They tested how dogs salivated with different types of food
What is orosensory stimuli?
The taste and texture sensations of food (or anything that goes in the mouth)
What is object learning (for example with dogs food)
The association between an object’s visual features and how they feel in the mouth (for example)
More general: the association between two features of an object
What is Pavlov’s classical conditioning paradigm?
The basic procedure for classical conditioning
Goal is to associate 2 stimuli, one that doesnt elicit salivation (light/sound) (CS) and one that does (food) (US)
The response to this association is salivation to light and or sound (CR)
The salivation that was already elicited by food is the unconditioned response (UR)
What is sign tracking?
Animals (and humans) are interested by stimuli that suggests another stimuli (My dog goes to the door where her food is kept rather than to her bowl of food (in another room) to when she is hungry and wants us to give her food.)
Is sign tracking always observed?
No, depending on individual differences, it will show to varying degrees
Sign tracking is correlated with human problems of what?
Impulsivity and sensitivity to drug addiction
What is goal tracking
Going directly for the goal rather than the signs of it (ex: my dog would go directly to sniff/scratch her food bowl to tell us she is hungry)
What is the CS and US of a food preference?
CS= taste of food US = nutritional repletion
What is the CS and US of a food aversion?
CS = taste of food US = indigestion of food (for ex)
Is food aversion dependent of rational thinking? Can we convince ourselves that its not the food that caused our illness?
No, it is independent, 20% of people knew the food did not cause the sickness and still got aversion
How many trials does it take for a food aversion to develop?
only 1
Can food aversion happen if the sickness happens a long time after the food ingestion?
Yes, it is called long-delay learning