Part 1: Classical/Pavlovian Conditioning Flashcards
Who studied the laws of association?
Pavlov and Ebbinghaus
Primary rules of association (3)
- Continuity
- Similarity
- Contrast
Learning
An enduring change in mechanisms of behaviour involving specific stimuli/responses that result from prior experiences
3 R’s of Animal Research
Replacement (of animals with other techniques)
Refinement (of methods to cause less suffering)
Reducing (# of animals used)
Dualism (Theory)
view of voluntary behaviour being attributed to the mind and involuntary behaviour being attributed to reflexes
Empiricism (Locke)
ideas in the mind come from past experience
Hedonism (Hobbes)
actions are determined by pursuit of pleasure or avoidance of pain
Nativism (Descartes)
humans are born with innate ideas and abilities
Nervism (Pavlov)
behavioural and physiological processes are regulated by the nervous system
Elicited Behaviours
occur in reaction to specific external stimuli
2 Events in a reflex
- Eliciting stimulus
- Corresponding elicited response
Reflex Arc Pathway
Afferent/sensory neuron - interneuron - efferent/motor neuron
Modal Action Patterns (MAPS)
response patient exhibited by all members of a species (reflexive)
Sign/Releasing Stimulus
specific feature of an object/animal that elicits an MAP/reflex
Supernormal Stimulus
artificially enhanced sign stimulus used to produce larger than average MAP (ex. adding sugar to food)
Foraging Response Sequence
- General search (non-directive)
- Focal search (directive)
- Food handling and ingestion mode (consummatory)
Habituation effect
progressive decline in vigor of elicited behaviour after repeated pairing; stimulus specific
ex. drug tolerance
Sensitization effect
progressive increase in vigor of elicited behaviour after repeated pairing with aversive stimuli; less stimuli specific
ex. fear
Sensory Adaption
temporary decline is sensitivity of sense organ due to fatigue
Where does fatigue occur?
muscle tissue
Where does sensory adaption occur?
sense organs
Dual-Process Theory (Hab. & Sen.)
Habituation process and sensitization process are underlying neural processes used to adapt responsiveness to stimulation
S-R System (Dual-Process)
shortest neural pathway; sense organs - muscles
Habituation occurs here
State system (dual-process)
neural structures that determine level of arousal/responsiveness
Sensitization occurs here
Opponent-Process Theory (Motivation)
Emotion arousing stimuli trigger the A/Primary process (emotional response) which then triggers the compensatory B/Opponent process (opposite emotional response)
Object Learning
association of 2 features of the same object (ex. colour and taste)
Fear Conditioning
Pairs an aversive US (shock) with a CS (light or tone) to elicit fear response
Measures for Fear Conditioning
- Freezing behaviour
- Conditioned suppression
Autoshaping/Sign Tracking Paradigm
movement towards stimulus that signals incoming positive reinforcer
Goal Tracking
CS elicits movement to US drop off location instead of CS itself
Evaluative Conditioning
changing the perceived value of an initially neutral stimulus by pairing it with a liked/disliked stimulus
Pseudo Conditioning
exposure to the US is sufficient to create CR-like responses to the CS
Random Control Procedure
CS and US are presented randomly
Explicitly Unpaired Control
CS and US are presented with enough time between them to prevent association from occurring
Temporal Coding Hypothesis
Classical conditioning involves not only learning WHAT to expect but also WHEN to expect it (in relation to the CS)
Inhibitory Conditioning
Learning to Predict the ABSENCE of the US (CS predicts absence of US)
- Excitatory conditioning must occur first
Conditioned Inhibition (Inhibitory Conditioning)
Trial 1: Excitatory (traditional trial)
Trial 2: A second CS (CS-) is paired with the initial CS, and US does not occur (CS- is now associated with lack of US)
Negative CS-US Contingency/Correlation (Inhibitory Conditioning)
Done in one trial type where CS signals absence of US more often than it signals its presence
Compound Stimulus/Summation Test (Testing Inhibition)
A stimulus is a conditioned inhibitor if it reduces responding to a previously conditioned excitatory stimulus
Retardation of Acquisition Test (Testing Inhibition)
A stimulus is a conditioned inhibitor if it is slower to become a conditioned excitor than a neutral stimulus
Latent Inhibition/CS Pre-exposure Effect
interference with conditioning due to repeated exposure to CS before trial
US Pre-exposure Effect
interference with conditioning due to repeated exposure to US before trial
Stimulus Salience
Significance/noticeability of stimulus
Higher-Order Conditioning (no US)
Previously conditioned stimulus (CS1) is used to condition a new stimulus (CS2)
EX. Dog attack (US) = scared of dogs
- Sees pack of dogs at the park, becomes afraid of the park (CS2)
Sensory Preconditioning (no US)
pairing of two weak stimuli (CS1 + CS2), if CS1 is paired with a US, CS2 will elicit the same response when paired with the same US
ex: vanilla and cinnamon are associated
Stimulus Substitution Model
Idea that classical conditioning results in participants responding to the CS in the same way as the US; CS essentially “substitutes” US
- Emphasized CR dependence on US
Behaviour Systems Model
Assumes presentation of a US activates the behaviour system relevant to that US (ex. food = foraging and feeding system)
US Devaluation (Evidence for S-S Learning)
Reduction of attractiveness of US
Phase 1: exp. and control groups are classically conditioned
Phase 2: exp. group’s US is devalued (through aversion conditioning)
- US devaluation reduces response to CS, suggesting S-S learning
Conditioned Diminution of UR
Reduction of magnitude of response to US due to presentation of CS that was conditioned with that US
Conditioned Compensatory Response (Drug Tolerance)
conditioned response opposite to original reaction elicited by US (compensatory)
Blocking Effect
Interference with conditioning of a new/novel stimulus due to the presence of a previously conditioned stimulus
- EX; if you get sick from grandmas pudding every time and learn to dislike it, her adding a sauce once will not cause you to dislike the sauce (you know it is the pudding that makes you sick)
Blocking Effect Procedure
Phase 1: Exp. group pairs stimulus A with US; control group just gets stimulus A (unpaired)
Phase 2: Both groups are presented A and B simultaneously and pair A+B to US
Test: Presented with B alone, exp. group will show less conditioning to B, it was blocked by A
- US must be unexpected for conditioning to occur
Rescorla-Wagner Model
Mathematical formula for strength of association (V=association strength, Delta=change)
Pierce-Hall Attentional Model
Suprisingness of the US in previous trials determines amount of attention paid to CS in next trial
Relative-Waiting-Time Hypothesis
idea that conditioned responding is dependant on how long the organism must wait for US after CS vs. how long they would have to wait for US regardless
Extinction
reduction of learned response that occurs because CS is no longer paired with US, or repeated presentation of CS without CS
