PSYC*2330 Chapter 4: Classical Conditioning Mechnaisms (MIDTERM 2)

Question 1

Interference with conditioning of a novel stimulus due to the presence of a previously conditioned stimulus is known as what?

Answer 1

The blocking effect

Question 2

What occurs during phase 1 of the blocking procedure?

Answer 2

The experimental group receives repeated pairings of stimulus A with the US

Question 3

What occurs during phase 2 of the blocking procedure?

Answer 3

Stimulus A and B are presented together and paired with the US

Question 4

What occurs during phase 3 of the blocking procedure?

Answer 4

Stimulus B is presented alone in a test trial to see if it elicits the CR

Question 5

How did the experimental group in a blocking procedure respond to stimulus B in phase 3?

Answer 5

They showed very little responding

Question 6

What are two important implications of the blocking effect?

Answer 6

• Shows that conditioning is not an automatic result of CS-US pairings
• Shows that for conditioning to occur, the CS must be informative, and the US must be surprising

Question 7

What is the Rescorla-Wagner Model?

Answer 7

A mathematical equation for surprise

Question 8

According to the Rescorla-Wagner Model, the level of surprise of a US depends on what?

Answer 8

How different the US is from what is expected

Question 9

According to the Rescorla-Wagner Model, expectation of the US is related to what?

Answer 9

The conditioned/associative properties of stimuli that precede the US

Question 10

What does the Rescorla-Wagner Model propose about learning and prediction?

Answer 10

That learning only occurs when there’s an error in prediction

Question 11

According to the Rescorla-Wagner Model, does a strong conditioned response indicate a strong or weak expectation of the US?

Answer 11

Strong

Question 12

What is being quantified by the equation [ΔV]= [Vmax-Vn]

Answer 12

How surprising the US is

Question 13

In the Rescorla-Wagner equation, what does V represent?

Answer 13

The strength of the association between the CS and US

Question 14

According to the Rescorla-Wagner Model, what occurs when the maximum associative strength has been reached?

Answer 14

No further learning can occur

Question 15

According to the Rescorla-Wagner Model, is the US more surprising at V1 or V2?

Answer 15

V1

Question 16

According to the Rescorla-Wagner Model, learning curves can differ in terms of what two things?

Answer 16

• The maximum associative strength (Vmax)
• The rate of acquisition

Question 17

What is being represented by the equation [ΔVn]=[αβ(Vmax-ΣVn)]?

Answer 17

The change in associative strength

Question 18

Can the Rescorla-Wagner Model make quantitative or qualitative predictions about the change in associative strength?

Answer 18

Qualitative

Question 19

According to the Rescorla-Wagner Model, will a more salient CS/US result in a faster or slower acquisition of the CR?

Answer 19

Faster

Question 20

T or F: At the end of phase 1 in the blocking procedure, the association of stimulus A with the US (VA) is less than the asymptote of learning.

Answer 20

False. At the end of phase 1, VA is equal to the asymptote of learning.

Question 21

In phase 2 of the blocking procedure, when both stimulus A and B precede the US, V is equal to what?

Answer 21

V=VA+VB (V is based on all stimuli present)

Question 22

According to the Rescorla-Wagner Model, what about phase 1 of the blocking procedure results in a lack of ability to form an association with stimulus B?

Answer 22

In phase 1 of the blocking procedure, the maximum associative strength has been reached between stimulus A and the US, therefore, stimulus B won’t be able to acquire any associative value

Question 23

What is being expressed by the equation [ΔV]=[k(λ-V)]?

Answer 23

The level of US surprise

Question 24

In the Rescorla-Wagner equation, what does ΔV represent?

Answer 24

The difference between what occurs and what was predicted

Question 25

Dopamine neurons of which two areas process rewarding stimuli?

Answer 25

• The ventral tegmental area (VTA)
• The substantia nigra

Question 26

Does a surprising reward result in a positive or negative prediction error?

Answer 26

Positive

Question 27

T or F: After a conditioned association has been formed, the dopamine neurons are activated by the CS, not the reward.

Answer 27

True

Question 28

After a conditioned association has been formed and the CS predicts the reward, causing a dopamine spike, what happens is no reward occurs?

Answer 28

Dopamine activity is depressed where reward activity would have occurred

Question 29

If an appetitive event is better than predicted, will there be an increase, decrease, or no change in activation of dopamine neurons?

Answer 29

Increase in activation of dopamine neurons

Question 30

If an appetitive event occurs as predicted, will there be an increase, decrease, or no change in activation of dopamine neurons?

Answer 30

No change in activation of dopamine neurons

Question 31

If an appetitive event is worse than predicted, will there be an increase, decrease, or no change in activation of dopamine neurons?

Answer 31

Decrease in activation of dopamine neurons