Lecture 19, 20 and 21 - Behaviours and learning

Question 1

behaviours selected by …

Answer 1

evolution and experience

Question 2

behaviour is selected by evolution …. and behaviour is adaptive …

Answer 2

Reflexive: Eye- blinking, “sucking”and “gripping” in new-born humans.
Just happens
The new-born human examples are for survival purposes

Instinctual: Imprinting, homing behaviours.
Wired in behaviour
Homing behaviours such as in pigeons and other birds/animals that migrate
e.g. ducklings imprint on the first thing that they see

Behaviour is adaptive, if it was all reflexive and instinctual then it would actually be very limiting so nature over time has allowed for behaviour to be selected through experience

Question 3

behaviour selected by experience

Answer 3

Learning: A relatively permanent change in behaviour or knowledge as a result of experience. (It is a result of an interaction/s with the environment)
By habituation.
By the association of events - Classical Conditioning.
By the consequences of events - Instrumental conditioning.
By the observation of events - Observational learning.

There is an interplay between behaviours selected by evolution and behaviours selected by experience

Question 4

Learning

Answer 4

Learning: A relatively permanent change in behaviour or knowledge as a result of experience. (It is a result of an interaction/s with the environment)

Question 5

Habituation

Answer 5

Habituation is the decline in the tendency to respond to stimuli that have become familiar due to repeated exposure.
Not only familiar but also becomes a neutral stimuli in the environment of the organism, delivers no threats

Startling to a new sight or sound decreases quite quickly with experience.
Initial startle response is a adaptive initial reflexive action and it prepares you for what is going to happen next (fight or flight) but it is very energy expensive and interferes with your ongoing behaviour so we are wired such that when a stimulus is proven to be benign/neutral the tendency to react that way goes away.

Question 6

Habituation example

Answer 6

Example (Tim burgeon?)
Young turkeys show an alarm response to “hawk” shape, but not to”goose” shape.
Turkeys had an instinctual fear of the silluoette that was associated with hawks

Not an innate disposition, the turkeys have habituated to the more frequent goose shape.
Habitual rather than an instinctive response
Turkeys raised inside showed limited reactions to both shapes

Question 7

Ivan Pavlov

Answer 7

Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) - Russian
Personal life: impractical, absent-minded, sentimental
Professional side: punctual, perfectionist, tyrant.

Trained in medicine, interest turned to the digestive process (Nobel Prize in 1904 for physiology).

His aim was to discover what caused saliva to flow

To investigate the digestive system …
Present - food
Record - salivation and gastric excretions
Sometimes however the food bowl alone or the experimenter appearing would cause salivations

Image
Make enough pairings of the tone and the food then the animal will learn that the tone alone will produce salivation
New behaviour to the tone stimulus that has been created by the association of the tone with the food

Question 8

Classical conditioning explained

Answer 8

A neutral stimulus (NS) is repeatedly paired with a stimulus (US) that automatically elicits a particular response (UR).

The previously neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) that also elicits a similar response (CR).
Elicits beings the key words as it produces it automatically

Found in many species.

Question 9

Step 1 of classical conditioning

Answer 9

Present stimuli in isolation

Neutral stimulus that causes no response
unconditioned stimulus causes unconditioned response

Question 10

Step 2 of classical conditioning

Answer 10

Neutral stimulus immediately precedes unconditioned stimulus-pair repeatedly

neutral stimulus plus unconditioned stimulus causes unconditioned response

Question 11

Step 3 of classical conditioning

Answer 11

Present previously neural stimulus alone

Conditioned stimulus leads to conditioned response

Question 12

Steps of classical conditioning

Answer 12

1 - Present stimuli in isolation

Neutral stimulus that causes no response
unconditioned stimulus causes unconditioned response

2- Neutral stimulus immediately precedes unconditioned stimulus-pair repeatedly

neutral stimulus plus unconditioned stimulus causes unconditioned response

3- Present previously neural stimulus alone

Conditioned stimulus leads to conditioned response

Question 13

NS example

Answer 13

Tone

Question 14

US example

Answer 14

Food

Question 15

UR example

Answer 15

Salivation

Question 16

CS example

Answer 16

Tone alone

Question 17

CR example

Answer 17

Salivation

Question 18

Conditioned emotional responses

Answer 18

Many emotions carry distinct physiological correlates 
 increased heart rate
 "hair standing on end”
flushes
muscle tension.

Neutral stimuli (sounds, smells) associated with emotional events can elicit emotional responses.

Question 19

Little albert

Answer 19

Very unethical research on little Albert
Children: “Little Albert” and J.B. Watson and Rosalie Raynor
Unknown long lasting affects on little alberts behaviour as he cannot be tracked down
Initially little Albert doesn’t show the fear response to the white rat so established that his experience with the rat was a positive one
Bring the rat out and puts it front of little Albert( raynor) whilst Watson creeps up behind the baby with a metal bar in one hand and a hammer in the other and as the rat is put down he smacks down the hammer and scares the baby and does this seven times (the putting the rat down and making loud noise to scare baby at the same time) and each time gets the startle and fear response
Eventually just put the white rat down by itself and instead of trying to grab the rat little Albert tries to get away from the rat and shows a fear response to that rat
Watson challenged therapies and approaches of that time (especially Freudian analysis).

Question 20

Conditioned fear example in everyday live

Answer 20

Everyday life (e.g., dentist’s waiting room).
e.g. the sound of drilling is enough to stimulate an anxiety response in an individual

Question 21

Edwards and Acker (1972)

Answer 21

Adults: Can be long lasting - Edwards & Acker (1972) found that WWII veterans had changes in GSR to the sounds of battle even 15 years after the war.
Played sounds of battle and get more of an anxiety response in the people who have been in war 15 years ago than those who have been in the military but have not actually seen real combat

Question 22

Advertising uses

Answer 22

classical conditioning

Positive emotional experience could bring out a positive emotional response

Question 23

Fetishes

Answer 23

A person has heightened sexual arousal in the presence of certain inanimate objects (e.g., shoes, rubber). The object has become a conditioned stimulus that can elicit arousal on its own.

Thought that they are coming from some sort of classical conditioning phenomena where the stimulus is associated with an intense memo rent and the emotional response has been associated with that object

Question 24

Classical conditioning and other responses

Answer 24

Allergic reactions, anticipatory nausea, immune responses

Strong physiological response that can be associated with a particular stimuli

Question 25

Relation between the UR and CR

Answer 25

Pavlov believed that the CS came to elicit the CR by a process of stimulus substitution; i.e., the CS was equivalent to the US.
The conditioned stimulus became the US, they were wired together

However, while UR and CR are often very similar, they are not necessarily identical.

Consider:
Tone (CS) —> Salivation (CR)
Salivation is less copious and has fewer digestive enzymes than if food itself is presented.
Classical conditioning is not so much directed toward replacing the US with the CS, but a learning mechanism whereby the CS (and the CR) prepares the animal for the onset of the US and the UR.
Not so much for replacing something but more for preparation for an event to occur

Question 26

Compensatory-Reaction Hypothesis

Answer 26

Sometimes, the UR and the CR can be opposites.
Insulin injections - insulin depletes blood sugars. After a number of such injections, bodily reactions to the various CS produce opposite response to the drug (i.e., blood sugar levels go up).
The body “prepares” itself for the drug, and “tilts” the other way.
Getting out the gear to do the injections right before becomes the stimuli
Drug makes it go down but what the stimuli does is that it increases them

Question 27

Compensatory-Reaction Hypothesis - involved in drug tolerance?

Answer 27

Involved in drug tolerance?
Opiates (e.g., morphine, heroin) produce pain relief, euphoria, and relaxation.

After repeated injections, stimuli surrounding drug injections produce a compensatory reaction - depression, restlessness, increased sensitivity to pain.
Addicts whilst setting up their does often have a compensatory reaction die to perceiving that the drug administration is going to be imminent

The same effect requires more of the drug because system has been “tilted” the other way.

Question 28

Compensatory-Reaction Hypothesis - involved in drug overdose

Answer 28

Involved in drug overdose?
The compensatory reaction requires CSs to elicit the physiological “preparedness” for the drug.
What if the drug is administered without the compensatory reaction?
The same dose might be lethal because the body is unprepared.

Question 29

Siegal (1989)

Answer 29

Siegal (1989) tested the tolerance of rats for “overdoses” of heroin in novel or usual environments.

Two different rooms
Over 90% of the rats died from the overdose of heroin
Rats that have experienced some heroin should have some physical tolerance to the drug and they are the rats that received the drug in the room they normally didn’t get it administered into and we see a reduction of nearly about 2/3 of the rats die in that room
Rats that got the drug in the same room that they normally have it only 1/3 of them died and the difference between these two groups is only the location of where they got the drug

Question 30

Acquisition

Answer 30

The process by which a conditioned stimulus comes to produce a conditioned response. i.e., how a NS becomes a CS.

Question 31

Important factors of classical conditioning - number of NS and US pairings and US intensity

Answer 31

How often you have a fearful stimulus being presented to a person with an unfearful stimulus associated with it
However, the number of pairings required is also related to the strength of the US. The more intense the US, the stronger the CR, and the quicker the rate of conditioning.

Question 32

Important factors of classical condition listed

Answer 32

number of NS and US pairings and US intensity

CS-US temporal relations

Question 33

Important factors of classical conditioning - CS-US temporal relations

Answer 33

The timing of the CS and US can be important

Delayed (forward) conditioning - CS comes immediately before (and overlaps) with US.
Most effective procedure for acquiring CR. Effective interval depends on the type of CR

Trace (forward) conditioning - The CS starts and finished before the US
The procedure is less effective than delayed conditioning.

Simultaneous conditioning - the CS and the US start and end together
Often fails to produce a CR

Backward conditioning - CS begins after the US
The least effective way to acquire the CR (can actually produce the opposite effect)

Analogy of roadsigns PREPARING a driver for upcoming dangerous bends and the effectiveness of these depends on the location - too far in front is not very effective and after is not very effective

Question 34

Delayed (forward) conditioning

Answer 34

Delayed (forward) conditioning - CS comes immediately before (and overlaps) with US.
Most effective procedure for acquiring CR. Effective interval depends on the type of CR

Question 35

Trace (forward) conditioning

Answer 35

Trace (forward) conditioning - The CS starts and finished before the US
The procedure is less effective than delayed conditioning.

Question 36

Simultaneous conditioning

Answer 36

Simultaneous conditioning - the CS and the US start and end together
Often fails to produce a CR

Question 37

Backward conditioning

Answer 37

Backward conditioning - CS begins after the US

The least effective way to acquire the CR (can actually produce the opposite effect)

Question 38

Latent inhibition

Answer 38

Example - people taken our on a boat and it sinks and half of the people now have a fear of boats and the others don’t, this might be because these people have grown up on boats or something for their whole life so this is very familiar to them and it won’t scare them away

Latent inhibition = very familiar with a particular stimulus and then you try use it as a conditioned stimulus then it can be tricky, previous experience with the stimuli in a sense inoculates an individual from developing the fear in this particular way

Question 39

Contingency

Answer 39

A simple contiguity between the US and CS is not sufficient for conditioning to occur.
The CS must also be a reasonable predictor of the US.
The strength of the conditioned response depends on how often the CS accompanies the US, and how often the CS accompanies no US.

For example
The click is no longer a good presector of the puff of air after 100 trials of the click alone
Once the conditioned stimulus is no longer a good predictor of the unconditioned stimulus it is very difficult for classical conditioning to occur

Question 40

Extinction

Answer 40

If the CS is repeatedly presented without the US, then the CR will gradually decrease.
The rate of decrease depends on factors such as initial response strength. (Depends on how well established the response is)

Question 41

Spontaneous recovery

Answer 41

A CS -> CR relation is extinguished. After a period with no CS presentations, the CS may elicit the CR again.
Revived CR is less intense. Although it can recur repeatedly, it re-extinguishes relatively quickly.
Not as intense as the original responses and as long as you keep presenting the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus then it should reextinguish quite quickly

Question 42

Behaviour therapy application of spontaneous recovery - flooding

Answer 42

Fear elicited by a CS (certain phobias) is eliminated by process of extinction.
Some therapists regard flooding as too stressful for the patient.
Spontaneous recovery has obvious implications therapies such as flooding.
Therapists should be aware of this and warn clients in advance and that if they have a period where they do not encounter that feared stimulus then they should not be surprised if the next time you counter it some of the old fear comes back

Question 43

Stimulus generalisation

Answer 43

A conditioned response formed to one conditioned stimulus will occur to other, similar stimuli.

“Little Albert” also feared a furry white rabbit, fur coat, Santa Claus mask. - similar in appearance which results in these stimuli initiating the conditioned response
Chances of the exact same stimuli is low, will be similar not the same

Question 44

Stimulus discrimination

Answer 44

Stimulus discrimination occurs when an organism does not respond to stimuli that are similar to the stimulus used in training.
Learn to discriminated between stimuli levels such as only high whistle tones giving meat

Question 45

Generalisation gradients

Answer 45

Continuous stimulus dimensions can produce generalisation gradients. Stimuli closer the CS, produce greater CRs.
More distance away from CS, less salivation and vice versa

Question 46

Discrimination training

Answer 46

Stimulus A is associated with the US, and Stimulus B is not. If the subject discriminates, the CR occurs only with A.
Generalisation gradient sharpens due to experience e.g. only getting meat around 1000 Hz)

Question 47

Behaviour therapy application - Systematic desensitisation

Answer 47

Combines ideas from extinction, stimulus generalisation and counter- conditioning.
Use extinction with this particular stimulus and counter conditioning (with breathing exercises for example)
Increase the intensity of the stimuli over time for example getting the person to hold a fake spider toy

Treatment for phobias and anxiety problems.
e.g. fear of spiders that has become unmanageable i.e. a phobia

Question 48

Blocking

Answer 48

Conditioning does not occur if a good predictor of the US already exists (Kamin, 1969).

Experimental group - conditioning with the particular group of rats
Both groups shown light, noise and shock and train them with another classical conditioning response
Test with the new stimulus of just light alone - experimental group does not predict anything, control did not have initial training therefore good predictor of the fear response

Question 49

Higher-order conditioning

Answer 49

E.g. second-order conditioning
Once a stimulus has become an effective CS for a certain CR, then that stimulus can be used to condition other stimuli.
Use an established classical conditioning process to condition another stimuli
Allows the higher order conditioning response to link back to the initial incident even if it does not relate to the initial event

Question 50

Sensory preconditioning

Answer 50

Learning occurs in the absence of UR (unconditioned response or unconditioned stimulus). Classical conditioning reveals the association already learnt between two events.

1. Light + Tone (number of trials)
2. Light + Meat powder -> salivation
3. Light -> salivation
4. Tone -> salivation

e.g. Dog in harness doing this
Dog makes association between the light and the tone (not classical conditioning)
Enough light and meat trials to produce a conditioned response
Previous association of the light with the tone carries over which causes salivation when the tone is heard

CS-US pairings were not necessary for conditioning. Organisms can make more general associations between stimuli (S-S learning).
See man and dog walking day to day, dog gets off leash and jumps on you playfully but scares you, man comes up to you to apologise, makes you scared again despite not being there, it is to do with the association

Question 51

Biological constraints

Answer 51

So far have looked at US-CS relations as largely arbitrary; i.e., any discrete NS can become a CS for a CR.
Range of stimuli but important exceptions for how this works

Some behaviour theorists have treated this as a basic principle.

Question 52

Taste aversion learning

Answer 52

Example picture
Sacchrine is sweet
Bright, noisy, sweet water
Two different connections made to 2 different US

Group 1
Water, light and click forms the conditioned response which is the fear response - because these factors are more odminant than just saccharine
Water and sacchrine has no effect - learn nothing, no learning of classical conditioning

Group 2
LiCl makes rat feel ill much later
Water light and click no effect
Water and sacchrine causes the conditioned response to avoid water - internal therefore expect illness to be from something they have eaten
Associations between US & CS are more readily formed if they seem to belong together.

In example pictured :
Lights, clicks, electric shock - “external” pain likely to have external cause.
Sacchrine, illness - “internal” pain (nausea) is likely to involve things eaten.

Human example: Aversion to certain distinctive alcoholic beverages after a bad experience. e.g. Sophie with risotto
Keep going out due to latent inhibition (been doing it a lot, used to it, somewhat inoculated by the process of latent inhibition

Question 53

Theoretical implications of taste aversion learning

Answer 53

1. US-CS connections are not arbitrary. Depends on biological constraints or predispositions.
   A simple temporal contiguity (i.e., delayed conditioning) is not sufficient to produce conditioning.
   There are biological constraints acting on it too
2. Conditioned taste aversions can occur after quite long delays between the CS and the UR.
   So, a close temporal contiguity is not always necessary for conditioning.

Question 54

The hungry coyotes

Answer 54

The Hungry Coyotes (Gustavson et al., 1976).
Problem - Western USA, coyotes kill sheep.
Pilot Study - 6 coyotes and 2 wolves. LiCl treated rabbit and sheep meat. Attacks on live rabbits and sheep greatly reduced.
Do not eat it due to development of taste aversion
Teach/ advere coyotes from eating sheep

Method - 3000-acre ranch. 12 bait stations where tracks indicated heavy coyote activity. LiCl treated sheep carcasses and dog food in sheep hide.

Results - Best estimates suggest a 30% to 60% reduction ( in stock losses)

More recently - Denver zoo
Botswana - lions go into cattle fields
Do taste aversion, associated smell with feeling sick
Extremely effective

Question 55

Chemotherapy

Answer 55

Chemotherapy often produces severe nausea and vomiting in patients.
Loss of weight is not conducive to recovery from the cancer - individual is already sick enough.
Is some of the loss of appetite (and weight) due to learned taste-aversions?

Question 56

Bernstein (1978)

Answer 56

Bernstein (1978) - cancer ward, children 2 to 16 years.
Group 1: Ice-cream + chemotherapy
Group 2: No ice-cream + chemotherapy
Group 3: Ice-cream + No chemotherapy
After 2-4 weeks patients given a choice between “Mapletoff” ice cream and playing a game.
Seems to be a result of taste aversion
Solution - use something common that the patient eats a lot (i.e. use latent inhibition) to ensure that the patient does not get taste aversion to that food

Question 57

Contiguity

Answer 57

the connectedness in time and space of two stimuli (CS + UCS)

Question 58

Contingency

Answer 58

the predictability of occurrence of one stimulus from the presence of another