Lecture 2 Flashcards
What is associative learning?
This is when 2 unrelated elements like sounds or behaviours become connected in our brains the process of conditioning
What are the 4 elements of classical conditioning?
Unconditioned stimulus (US)
- A stimulus that elicits an unlearned response
Unconditioned response (UR)
- The unlearned response to the US
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
A stimulus to which an organism must learn to respond
Conditioned response (CR)
- The response to a CS (which is learned)
What are the main phases in a typical conditioning experiment?
The US will provide a UR
(dog salivates at food)
The US and CS are both presented and UR occurs
(dog salivates when it sees food and experimenter together)
CS elicits a CR
(Dog salivates when it sees the experimenter without food)
What are the typical classical conditioning stages?
Stage 1: Habituation
CS is presented by itself
Stage 2: Acquisition
CS is presented with the US
Stage 3: Extinction
Cs is presented alone again
What 2 factors influence the acquisition curve?
- Intensity of the US (more intense, more rapid learning)
- Order and timing (the CS coming before the US is better)
What is delayed conditioning? (timing) and what is the difference between short and long?
Short: The CS is presented then within a short time period the US is presented
Long: The CS is presented but there is a much longer gap between presenting the CS and the US. (In the ‘gap’ the CS is continuously presented)
What is trace conditioning? (Timing)
The CS is presented. But there is a large gap between the CS and the US. This is called the trace interval. In the trace interval none of the stimulus are presented
What is simultaneous conditioning? (Timing)
This is when the CS and US are presented at the same time
What is backward conditioning? (Timing)
US is presented then later the CS is presented
What is temporal conditioning
When the CS is presented for example at 6 pm but the US is not presented until 10 pm, so there is a large gap. Or there might be a specific time of day that correlates with a response. (Someone being nervous at 10pm each night because in the past there used to be bombing around then.
What is excitatory conditioning?
It is when the CS predicts the occurrence of the US
Which leads to a CR
What is inhibitory conditioning?
CS predicts the absence of US
There is no CR
What two tests predict inhibitory conditioning?
Summation test and retardation test
What happens in the retardation test?
If there is a possible inhibitor test the potential inhibitor with the US
Then test another neutral stimulus with the US
If the person learns the neutral stimulus faster, then the other variable might be an inhibitor
What is the summation test?
In the summation test, you test a new neutral stimulus with the CS
And you test the neutral stimulus + the inhibitor with the CS. If it is an inhibitor then it will show a weaker response than the neutral stimulus that is by itself
