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
Dopamine neurons of which two areas process rewarding stimuli?
- The ventral tegmental area (VTA)
- The substantia nigra
Does a surprising reward result in a positive or negative prediction error?
Positive
T or F: After a conditioned association has been formed, the dopamine neurons are activated by the CS, not the reward.
True
After a conditioned association has been formed and the CS predicts the reward, causing a dopamine spike, what happens is no reward occurs?
Dopamine activity is depressed where reward activity would have occurred
If an appetitive event is better than predicted, will there be an increase, decrease, or no change in activation of dopamine neurons?
Increase in activation of dopamine neurons
If an appetitive event occurs as predicted, will there be an increase, decrease, or no change in activation of dopamine neurons?
No change in activation of dopamine neurons
If an appetitive event is worse than predicted, will there be an increase, decrease, or no change in activation of dopamine neurons?
Decrease in activation of dopamine neurons
