Classical conditioning Flashcards
What is classical conditioning?
Classical conditioning is a process in which one stimulus that does not elicit a certain response is associated with a second stimulus that does. As a result, the first stimulus also comes to elicit a response.
What is a conditioning trial?
A conditioning trial is each pairing of the neutral stimulus (NS) & the unconditioned stimulus (US) during conditioning.
True or false: Only one conditioning trial is needed for the NS to become established as a CS?
False. Several conditioning trials are often needed before the NS becomes established as a CS.
What is delayed conditioning?
A type of temporal arrangement in which the onset of the NS precedes the onset of the US, & the two stimuli overlap.
What are the different temporal arrangement of stimuli?
Delayed conditioning;
Trace conditioning;
Simultaneous conditioning;
Backward conditioning.
What is trace conditioning?
A type of temporal arrangement in which the onset & offset of the NS precedes the onset of the US.
True or false: In delayed conditioning, the NS generally serves as a predictor of the US?
True.
Which temporal arrangement is often the best arrangement for conditioning?
Delayed conditioning, especially if the time between the onset of the NS & the onset of the US (interstimulus interval, ISI) is relatively short.
What is trace interval?
The time between the offset of the NS & the onset of the US in trace conditioning.
True or false: trace conditioning can be as effective as delayed conditioning if the trace interval is relatively long?
False. Trace conditioning can be as effective as delayed conditioning if the trace interval in relatively short.
What is simultaneous conditioning?
A type of temporal arrangement in which the onset of the NS & the onset of the US occur simultaneously.
True or false: Simultaneous usually results in good conditioning?
False. Simultaneous conditioning usually results in poor conditioning, because the NS is no longer a good predictor of the US.
What is backward conditioning?
A type of temporal arrangement in which the onset of the NS follows the onset of the US.
Which temporal arrangement is considered the least effective procedure for conditioning?
Backward conditioning.
When can backward excitatory conditioning be achieved?
When the NS is a biologically relevant stimulus for fear.
What can backward conditioning result in?
Inhibitory conditioning.
For example, if a tone sounds just before a shock is terminated, then the tone reliably predicts the removal lof the shock. The tone then becomes a safety signal (CS-) that inhibits the occurence of fear.
What is acquisition?
Acquisition is the process of developing & strengthening a conditioned response through repeated pairing of a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus.
What do we call the maximum amount of conditioning that can take place in a particular situation?
The asymptote of conditioning.
True or false: In general, less intense USs produce stronger & more rapid conditioning than do more intense USs?
False. In general, more intense USs produce stronger & more rapid conditioning than do less intense USs.
True or false: In general, more intense NSs result in weaker & slower conditioning than do less intense NSs?
False. In general, more intense NSs result in stronger & more rapid conditioning than do less intense NSs.
What is extinction?
Extinction is a process in which a conditioned response is weakened or eliminated when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the US.
What is called a presentation of the CS without the US?
An extinction trial.
True or false: A response that has been extinguish cannot be reacquired when the CS is again paired with the US?
False. A response that has been extinguish can be reacquired quite rapidly when the CS is again paired with the US.
What is spontaneous recovery?
Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a CR to a CS following a rest period after extinction.
What is disinhibition?
Disinhibition is the sudden recovery of a response during an extinction procedure when a novel stimulus is introduced.
What is stimulus generalization?
Stimulus generalization is the tendency for a CR to occur in the presence of a stimulus that is similar to the CS.
What is semantic generalization?
Semantic generalization is the generalization of a conditioned response to verbal stimuli that are similar in meaning to the CS.
What is stimulus discrimination?
Stimulus discrimination is the tendency for a response to be elicited more by one stimulus than another.
How can stimulus discrimination be trained?
Through a procedure called discrimination training.
What is an excitatory CS (CS+)?
A CS that predicts the presentation/appearance of something.
What is an inhibitory CS (CS-)?
A CS that predicts the absence/removal of something.
What is experimental neurosis?
Experimental neurosis is an experimentally produced disorder in which animals exposed to unpredictable events develop neurotic-like symptoms.
What could be major factors in determining one’s personality?
The processes of conditioning interacting with inherited differences in temperament.
What is sensory preconditioning?
Sensory preconditioning is a process in which when one stimulus is conditioned as a CS, another stimulus with which is was previously associated can also become a CS.
What is different about sensory preconditioning as opposed to other processes of conditioning?
The procedure is sometimes more effective when the two stimuli in the preconditioning phase are presented simultaneously, as opposed to sequentially.
Sensory preconditioning can be viewed as a form of…
Latent learning.
What is a compound stimulus?
A compound stimulus consists of the simultaneous presentation of two or more individual stimuli.
What happens in overshadowing?
In overshadowing, the most salient member of a compound stimulus is more readily conditioned as a CS & interferes with conditioning of the least salient member.
What happens in blocking?
In blocking, the presence of an established CS interferes with conditioning of a new CS (that is now a NS).
What does blocking indicate?
The mere contiguity between an NS & a US is insufficient to produce conditioning.
What happens in latent inhibition?
In latent inhibition, a familiar stimulus is more difficult to condition as a CS than an unfamiliar stimulus.
What does latent inhibition prevent?
Latent inhibition prevents the development of conditioned associations to redundant stimuli in the environnement.
What happens in pseudoconditioning?
In pseudoconditioning, an elicited response that appears to be a CR is actually the result of sensitization rather than conditioning.
When is pseudoconditioning a problem?
Pseudoconditioning is a problem whenever the US is some type of emotionally arousing stimulus.
What is the S-R approach?
The S-R approach is to view classical conditioning as a process of directly attaching a reflex response to a new stimulus.
What is the S-S (stimulus-stimulus) model?
The S-S model is a model of conditioning in which the NS becomes directly associated with the US &, because of this association, comes to elicit a response that is related to the US.
What is Pavlov’s S-S (stimulus-substitution) theory?
According to Pavlov, the CS acts as a substitute for he US.
What is the preparatory-response theory?
According to the preparatory-response theory, the purpose of the CR is to prepare the organism for the presentation of the US.
What is the compensatory-response theory?
According to the compensatory-response theory, a CS that has been repeatedly associated with the primary response (a-process) to a US will eventually come to elicit a compensatory response (b-process).
What is the role of the a-process in the compensatory-response theory?
The a-process (ex: decreased blood pressure) becomes both an UR (ex: to heroin) & a US to the b-process that elicits a compensatory response (ex: increased BP).
Why is a conditioned compensatory-response useful?
Because it allows the body to prepare itself ahead of time.
What are the two most important implications of the compensatory-response theory?
Drug addiction. Drug addictions are partly motivated by a tendency to avoid the symptoms of withdrawal, which are essentially the compensatory responses to the effects of the drug.
Drug tolerance.
What did the Rescola-Wagner theory attempt to explain?
The effect of each conditioning trial on the strength (associative value) of the CS in its relationship to the US.
What does the R-W theory propose?
That a given US can support only so much conditioning, & this amount of conditioning must be distributed among the various CSs that are present.
True or false: Stronger USs support less conditioning than do weaker USs?
False. Stronger USs support more conditioning than do weaker USs.
According to the R-W theory, what is saying that the CS has a high associative value similar to?
It is similar to saying that the CS is a strong predictor of the US (that the subject strongly expects the US whenever it encounters the CS).
What is the overexpectation effect?
The overexpectation effect is the decrease in the conditioned response that occurs when two separately conditioned CSs are combined into a compound stimulus for further pairing with the US. (when the two CS put together have a higher associative value than the US stimulus itself)
