Chapter 6: Generalization, Discrimination and Concept Formation

Question 1

What is first order conditioning? What’s an example?

Answer 1

When one stimulus gets paired with another (one connection). Pavlovian conditioning.

Question 2

What is a continuous reinforcement schedule?

Answer 2

A reinforcement schedule in which every instance of the response is followed by the reinforcer.

Question 3

What is a partial reinforcement schedule?

Answer 3

A reinforcement schedule in which only some instances of the response are followed by the reinforcer.

Question 4

Why do variable ratio and variable interval schedules produce higher rates of responding?

Answer 4

More variance means that organism finds it harder to known when the outcome is coming, so animal responds more to be safe. Also more variance means that the organism doesn’t know when the R-O is no longer present. It becomes difficult to extinguish (habitual responding)

Question 5

Which type of schedules are rarely done in studies?

Answer 5

FI and VI studies.

Question 6

Distinguish between habitual responding and goal directed action.

Answer 6

Responding even though the outcome is no longer valued, goal-directed action results in not responding or less responding when the contingency is no longer present.

Question 7

How is habitual responding increased? (3)

Answer 7

1. Overtraining OC
2. Weak association between R-O (variable schedule or low ratio schedule)
3. Large trace between S-R-O

Question 8

What are the three steps in detecting a habit?

Answer 8

1. Train the S-R-O association many times
2. Devaluate the outcome
3. Test the habit by presenting the stimulus and see how animal responds

Question 9

How do we devaluate the outcome in a habit detection study? (2)

Answer 9

1. Sensory specific satiety (give them so much of the reward that it’s not valuable anymore)
2. Condition taste aversion: make the reward taste bad or pair it with a negative outcome

Question 10

What are the two ways we can discover a habit?

Answer 10

1. Outcome devaluation

2. Maze training

Question 11

How does maze training work? (3)

Answer 11

1. Training phase: animals learn maze to locate rewards, tend to use a place strategy at first (goal-directed behavior)
2. Overtraining: animals start to rely on a response strategy rather than a place one (more automatic)
3. Change positions (test): do animals turn left or right?

Question 12

Why does habit formation happen in the maze training?

Answer 12

It saves cognitive energy.

Question 13

What do lesions to the dorsal striatum do for habitual behavior?

Answer 13

It prevents it, we see this when rodents are given sucrose until the S-R-O becomes habitual. Then the sucrose is devalued (paired with noxious stimuli). Animals with lesions to dorsal striatum show low responding to devalued outcome, and rather goal-directed behavior.

Question 14

What is Pavlovian to Instrumental Transfer? PIT.

Answer 14

It is when a CS becomes a stimulus in a S-R-O response. The CS then turns into the anticipation of responding rathe than the anticipation of reward. (For example, the school bell is no longer just associated with school starting, but also becomes associated with going inside).

Question 15

How does PIT get trained? (3)

Answer 15

1. CS-US pairing CS = tone, US = food
2. Instrumental training, learn association between S(button)-R-O
3. Present CS and S-R(button) at the same time, measure responding.

Question 16

What is the famous experiment with slot machines and PIT on humans?

Answer 16

First, Ps played on slot machines A and B that had equal rates of winning where they had to squeeze handgrips to play.

Then they were conditioned with Pavolvian Training, where one symbol becomes associated with a 66% chance, while the other is associated with no chance of winning.

Last step is a preference test where the person is asked which symbol they like better. And then the trial where Pavlovian conditioning letters appear above the machine, while a machine measures participants strength and speed of response on hand-grips (PIT).

Results: machine with the lucky symbol was responded to with much more strength and speed than machine B.

Question 17

What is second-order conditioning?

Answer 17

A HO predicts a CS-US association. After repetition, the HO evokes the CR.

Question 18

What is sensory pre-conditioning?

Answer 18

When you condition two neutral stimuli to predict each other and follow this training with an aversive US to ONE of the neutral stimuli. The presentation of the other neutral stimuli results in the CR that has been trained with the one neutral stimuli.

Question 19

What does the backwards association of a HO and CS-US lead to?

Answer 19

A CR!

Question 20

What is a secondary reinforcer?

Answer 20

Things that predict primary reinforcers (clickers, tokens, $). Secondary reinforcers can retain their association even when CS-US is extinguished.

Question 21

What observation suggested that the CS-US association is distinct from the HO-US association?

Answer 21

Pavlov noted that there was a weak responses to the light, even when the bell-food association was gone (salivated).

Question 22

What is sensory pre-conditioning?

Answer 22

Present stimuli A and B together (bells) - association but no value.
Then condition B with a value (CS+:US+)
Then test to see if A also evokes a response? Well it does! Means we automatically update the value of A.