Lecture 4 - Classical and Instrumental Conditioning Flashcards
What are the 3 types of avoidance?
Passive Avoidance
Active Avoidance
Shuttle Avoidance
What is Passive Avoidance?
Must withhold response
Exploits natural tendency mice enter dark environments
Unidirectional: mouse goes from light to dark chamber
What is Active Avoidance?
Rat must make response, in response cues make anxiety rise. Flaps turn shock on and off based upon light cue.
Unidirectional: mouse always shocked same chamber/location.
What is Shuttle Avoidance
Actively avoid, but no one chamber is safe.
Go between 2 compartments in box. Flap will turn shock on and off. it is looking at learning over a number of trials.
Mouse learns avoid shock based upon presentation light cue which is dependent on location of mouse.
Bi-directional: learn monitor cues both chambers
Outline Bolles 1971 theory of CC
Species Specific Defence Reactions (SSDR) e.g. flight, freezing
Learn respond stimuli associated with pain
Flight - active avoidance.
Freezing - passive avoidance
CR resembles UCR
Avoidance e.g. running more easily learned
Similar approach behaviour
What does SSDR mean
Species-Specific Defence Reactions
Outline Bolles and Fanselow 1980 Model of Fear and Pain
Fear can potentiate variety of SSDRs e.g. freeze, flee, and can inhibit other motivational systems e.g. pain
fear and pain functionally organised allow animal defend and recover
Example of Bolles and Fanselow 1980 Model of Fear and Pain
Seen in emergencies where only afterwards things begin to hurt
Why are all avoidance behaviours not the same?
Preparedness.
Running easier learn than turning or standing (avoid electric shock in running wheel).
Better with compatible (consistent) responses to species
Outline problems of Bolles 1971 Theory
- Can train animals avoidance responses do not resemble SSDR
- Avoidance learning faster when designated response causes omission of aversive US (add in instrumental component learning faster)
Outline issues of CC and extinction in Bolles 1971 Theory
- After just couple signalled shocks, animal may respond so efficiently CS never gets another shock.
- If present cue without outcome CC reaction extinguish. Problem fear does not diminish.
Who investigated the Two-Factor Theory
Miller-Mowrer 1960
What are the 2 factors in the 2-Factor Theory
CC
Instrumental Conditioning
Outline the 2-Factor Theory
Cue so powerful create fear.
Reducing exposure to CC warning signals is also reinforcing.
Active avoidance animals learn instrumentally to escape secondarily aversive stimuli that warn shock.
Adaptive anticipation: motivated reduce fear
Outline the 2-Factors in the 2-Factor theory of avoidance
Early trials animal knows how to avoid, trials in which warning signals paired with the to-be-avoided shock
CC stimuli become warning signals and arouse fear
Later trials response terminates warning signal and shock Reinforcement through fear reduction
Outline Kamin 1956 Classic test of the 2-Factor Theory Condition 1: Standard Escape Avoidance
Shuttlebox.
1. Standard escape avoidance - response removed shock and buzzer. LEARNT
Outline Kamin 1956 Classic test of the 2-Factor Theory Condition 2: US Avoidance
- US avoidance - not terminate buzzer but avoid shock. Some learning
Outline Kamin 1956 Classic test of the 2-Factor Theory Condition 3: CS Termination
- CS termination - terminate buzzer but not avoid shock. Some learning but shuttling punished
Outline Kamin 1956 Classic test of the 2-Factor Theory Condition 4: CC
- CC - same buzzer-shock pairings but responding no effect. No instrumental learning
Outline Kamin 1956 Classic test of the 2-Factor Theory Results
Learning similar in US avoidance and CS termination.
Signal getting turned off is a powerful reinforcer, as powerful as removing shock itself.
Driver for avoidance behaviour
Outline Bolles et al 1996 study that not all avoidance is the same
What matters is the response type.
2-Factor theory not predict that warning signal termination relatively unimportant in running wheel task.
Does not explain why importance of warning signal termination may depend on the response.
Lacks generalisability.
Why does Sidman 1953 experiment contradict Kamin’s
Believes animals can learn without an explicit warning signal
Given choice between signalled and un-signalled shock, animals nearly always choose signalled.
Why doesn’t conditioned fear just extinguish without reinforcement?
Outline Sidman 1953 experiment on a free-operant avoidance procedure
Brief electric shocks occur regular S-S intervals unless response made initiates longer R-S interval.
Each response made resets R-S interval
Animals learn avoid shock despite no explicit warning signal.
Powerful temporal component ease off feelings
Real life examples of powerful temporal component ease off feelings
Missing lunch hunger wears off
Appetitive example of 2-Factor Theory and Conditioned Inhibition
Useful explaining Anxiety.
Light -> Food or (Light + Tone) -> No Food
Avoidance learning, making response or its after effects might act conditioned inhibitor.
Light excitatory. Tone inhibitory.
Safety signals bad thing no longer occur.
Avoidance example of 2-Factor Theory and Conditioned Inhibition
Light -> Shock or Light + Avoidance response -> No shock.
Avoidance response cue conditioned inhibitor
Help discriminate instances of safety
Who investigated protection from extinction
Soltysik et al 1964, 83
Outline stage 1 of Soltysik et al 1964, 83
Cats pairings milld shock with 2 CSs
CRs = paw-flexion, changes respiration and heart-rate
CI presented 2 seconds after each CS on trials where shock omitted
CI came to inhibit CRs both CSa and CSb
Outline stage 2 of Soltysik et al 1964, 83
Both CSa and CSb presented without shock.
Only CSa followed CI
Outline stage 3 of Soltysik et al 1964, 83
Test conditioned fear CSa and CSb.
Fear extinguished CSb but not CSa.
CI protect conditioned fear from being extinguished. Cant rely on safety signals.
Outline 2-Factory Theory Conclusions
CC stimuli gain reinforcing and motivational properties
Avoidance learning be very persistent because execution avoidance response generates potential safety signals.
CIs protect conditioned fear from extinction
Outline Anxiety Disorder Clinical Implication
Many innate rather result learning
Behaviour therapy works, learning theory helps with analysis
Fear snakes/dirt persist without actual contact/infection
Because avoidance responses or rituals act as CIs
Outline Clinical Implication of Depression through learned helplessness - Seligman and Maier 1967
Phase 1: Shock was escapable, inescapable, or no shock
Phase 2: when allowed escape/avoid shock in different environment group from phase 1: exposed inescapable shocks did poorly
