Mechanisms of classical conditioning Flashcards
In Pavlovian’s classical conditioning study, what was the CS, US, CR and UR?
CS- Bell
US- Food
CR- Salivate
UR- Salivate
Pavlov’s theory of temporal contiguity states what?
It states that the CS and US must be presented close in time and they must do so repeatedly.
What are the two types of learning that can contribute to classical conditioning?
Stimulus-stimulus learning where an
association is made e.g between the bell and the food. And the response is automatic and in the background.
Stimulus-response learning occurs after an association has been made.
What is the key difference between classical and instrumental conditioning?
Classical conditioning occurs when a natural response is made after s-s association and s-r learning. Whereas in instrumental conditioning, the response is associated with a particular outcome.
Classical conditioning is often used to establish in instrumental learning.
What factors determine the rate of learning?
Two ideas will be associated and learnt faster if they are paired together close in time- Hume ( 1700’S) .
What is second-order conditioning?
It is conditioning that involves making an association between a neutral stimulus and a conditioned stimulus so that they both evoke the same response.
What is an important point about Pavlov’s(1927) theory of temporal contiguity?
Delay conditioning- Pavlov stated that learning could take place a few minutes apart as long as the CS remained on before the onset of the US.
If the CS ended before the onset of the US, it is much harder to form an association. This is called trace conditioning. Pavlov found the trace interval to be 2-3 minutes.
What is overshadowing/cue competition?
Overshadowing is when two or more stimuli are present and one stimulus produces a stronger response than the other because it is more relevant or salient.
What is latent inhibition in classical conditioning?
A learning phenomenon which states that it is easier to learn new associations with new stimuli than it is to form new associations with familiar stimuli because you have already applied a meaning to it.
What is a conditioned inhibitor?
It is a cue that when present, inhibits the reinforcement of the CS and so no CR is produced.
With suppression ratios, the lower the ratio…
The higher the rate of learning/acquisition.
Describe Kamin’s blocking effect.
Blocking occurs during the conditioning process when the CS is being paired with US. Another CS that has already been associated with the US is presented and prevents this new association.
Apart from temporal contiguity, what other factors influence the formation of associations and acquisition of behaviour?
- Overshadowing-some signals don’t stand out from the environment
- Latent inhibition- pre-exposure can render stimuli irrelevant
- Inhibitors and excitors
- Blocking- some cues are redundant
- Relative validity- some stimuli are poorly correlated with outcomes.
