PSYC*2330 Chapter 4: Classical Conditioning Mechnaisms (MIDTERM 2) Flashcards
Interference with conditioning of a novel stimulus due to the presence of a previously conditioned stimulus is known as what?
The blocking effect
What occurs during phase 1 of the blocking procedure?
The experimental group receives repeated pairings of stimulus A with the US
What occurs during phase 2 of the blocking procedure?
Stimulus A and B are presented together and paired with the US
What occurs during phase 3 of the blocking procedure?
Stimulus B is presented alone in a test trial to see if it elicits the CR
How did the experimental group in a blocking procedure respond to stimulus B in phase 3?
They showed very little responding
What are two important implications of the blocking effect?
- 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
What is the Rescorla-Wagner Model?
A mathematical equation for surprise
According to the Rescorla-Wagner Model, the level of surprise of a US depends on what?
How different the US is from what is expected
According to the Rescorla-Wagner Model, expectation of the US is related to what?
The conditioned/associative properties of stimuli that precede the US
What does the Rescorla-Wagner Model propose about learning and prediction?
That learning only occurs when there’s an error in prediction
According to the Rescorla-Wagner Model, does a strong conditioned response indicate a strong or weak expectation of the US?
Strong
What is being quantified by the equation [ΔV]= [Vmax-Vn]
How surprising the US is
In the Rescorla-Wagner equation, what does V represent?
The strength of the association between the CS and US
According to the Rescorla-Wagner Model, what occurs when the maximum associative strength has been reached?
No further learning can occur
According to the Rescorla-Wagner Model, is the US more surprising at V1 or V2?
V1
According to the Rescorla-Wagner Model, learning curves can differ in terms of what two things?
- The maximum associative strength (Vmax)
- The rate of acquisition
What is being represented by the equation [ΔVn]=[αβ(Vmax-ΣVn)]?
The change in associative strength
Can the Rescorla-Wagner Model make quantitative or qualitative predictions about the change in associative strength?
Qualitative
According to the Rescorla-Wagner Model, will a more salient CS/US result in a faster or slower acquisition of the CR?
Faster
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.
False. At the end of phase 1, VA is equal to the asymptote of learning.
In phase 2 of the blocking procedure, when both stimulus A and B precede the US, V is equal to what?
V=VA+VB (V is based on all stimuli present)
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?
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
What is being expressed by the equation [ΔV]=[k(λ-V)]?
The level of US surprise
In the Rescorla-Wagner equation, what does ΔV represent?
The difference between what occurs and what was predicted
