PSYC*2330 Chapter 4: Classical Conditioning Mechnaisms (MIDTERM 1)

Question 1

T of F: If either the CS or US are highly familiar, learning will occur more quickly than if they were novel.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

What is the latent-inhibition effect/ CS-preexposure effect?

Answer 2

When exposure to the CS before conditioning trials interferes with learning

Question 3

What is involved in experiments on latent-inhibition/ CS-preexposure?

Answer 3

• Preexposure phase: The CS is repeatedly presented alone
• After preexposure, the CS is paired with the US using conventional conditioning procedures

Question 4

What is the US-preexposure effect?

Answer 4

When exposure to the US before conditioning trials interferes with learning

Question 5

What is stimulus salience?

Answer 5

The significance or notability of a stimulus

Question 6

Does conditioning typically proceed faster or slower with a more salient US and CS?

Answer 6

Faster

Question 7

What are three ways to make a stimulus more salient?

Answer 7

• Making it more intense
• Making it relevant to biological needs
• Making it more similar to what would be encountered in the organism’s natural environment

Question 8

T or F: Increased relevance/ belongingness of the CS to the US allows for conditioning to occur more rapidly.

Answer 8

True

Question 9

In terms of associations, what does “belongingness” refer to?

Answer 9

The biological connection a CS and US have with each other

Question 10

What is higher-order conditioning?

Answer 10

A procedure in which a previously conditioned stimulus is used to condition a new stimulus

Question 11

What occurs during the two phases of higher-order conditioning?

Answer 11

• CS1 is paired with a US often enough to condition a strong response
• In the absence of the US, CS1 is paired with CS2 to also elicit the CR

Question 12

T or F: Higher-order conditioning increases the range of situations in which classical conditioning can take place.

Answer 12

True

Question 13

What is the difference between second-order conditioning and conditioned inhibition procedure?

Answer 13

• Second-order conditioning: Involves sequential pairings of CS1 and CS2
• Conditioned inhibition: Involves intermixed/ simultaneous pairings of CS1 and CS2 on non-reinforced trials

Question 14

What is it called when CS1 is repeatedly paired with CS2, and one of the CSs becomes conditioned with a US, then the other CS ends up also eliciting the CR despite never being directly paired with the US?

Answer 14

Sensory preconditioning

Question 15

What is the stimulus substitution model?

Answer 15

The idea that organisms come to respond to the CS in similar ways as the US

Question 16

Why is the stimulus substitution model not completely accurate?

Answer 16

The CR is not always the same as the UR

Question 17

According to the stimulus substitution model, what happens to the neural pathways of the CS after learning?

Answer 17

The CS activates the same neural pathways as the US

Question 18

Which model does not support the finding that, when a live rat was used as a CS before food, the subject rat came to elicit social affiliative responses and not gnawing and biting?

Answer 18

The stimulus substitution model

Question 19

In general, how do responses differ when conditioning with a short CS-US interval and a long CS-US interval?

Answer 19

• Short CS-US interval: Activates responses appropriate for immediately dealing with the US
• Long CS-US interval: Activates responses that prepare the organism for the US over a longer period of time

Question 20

In quails, how did short CS-US intervals and long CS-Us intervals differ in terms of approach responses and locomotor activity?

Answer 20

• Short CS-US interval: Increased approach response, but not general locomotor activity
• Long CS-US interval: Decreased approach response, but increased general locomotor activity

Question 21

What is a behaviour system?

Answer 21

A series of response modes, each with its own controlling stimuli and responses, arranged spatially and/or temporally

Question 22

What is the behaviour systems theory?

Answer 22

The assumption that the presentation of a US in a conditioning procedure activates the behaviour system relevant to that US

Question 23

What is assumed to determine where the CS becomes incorporated into the behaviour system?

Answer 23

The CS-US interval

Question 24

What is S-R learning?

Answer 24

The learning of an association between a stimulus and a response

Question 25

What is S-S learning?

Answer 25

The learning of an association between two stimuli

Question 26

How do associations formed by S-S learning bring about a CR?

Answer 26

The CS activates a representation or memory of the US, not because the CS elicits the CR directly

Question 27

What is stimulus devaluation?

Answer 27

A reduction in the attractiveness of an US

Question 28

How do US devaluation studies help determine between S-R and S-S learning?

Answer 28

If conditioning established an S-R connection, the CR will be elicited by the CS, regardless of its value

Question 29

Do results from US devaluation studies provide evidence of S-S learning or S-R learning in most classical conditioning situations?

Answer 29

S-S learning

Question 30

T or F: Learning to respond to a CS helps the organism adapt to whatever changes are brought about by the US

Answer 30

True

Question 31

What is a conditioned compensatory response?

Answer 31

A conditioned response opposite to the reaction elicited by the US that compensates for it