PSYC*2330 Chapter 8: Stimulus Control of Behaviour (MIDTERM 3)

Question 1

Which phenomenon is based on the principle that how strongly organisms learn about one stimulus depends on how easily other cues in situations can become conditioned?

Answer 1

Overshadowing

Question 2

Which phenomenon illustrates competition among stimuli for access to the process of learning?

Answer 2

Overshadowing

Question 3

What are the two approaches to control by compound stimulus?

Answer 3

• The stimulus-element approach
• The configural-cues approach

Question 4

Which approach to control by compound stimuli assumes that organisms respond to a compound stimulus in terms of its individual elements?

Answer 4

The stimulus-element approach

Question 5

What approach to control by compound stimuli did Pavlov assume?

Answer 5

The stimulus-elements approach

Question 6

Which approach to control by compound stimuli assumes that organisms respond to a compound stimulus as if it were an integral whole?

Answer 6

The configural-cue approach

Question 7

The inability to generalize a compound stimulus to the single stimuli that compose it reflects what?

Answer 7

A generalization decrement

Question 8

According to the configural-cue approach, what does overshadowing reflect?

Answer 8

Different degrees of generalization decrement from training to testing

Question 9

How did Pavlov propose stimulus generalization occurs?

Answer 9

Learning about a CS gets transferred to the other stimuli on the basis of their physical similarity

Question 10

Rather than the transfer of learning, Lashley and Wade argued that stimulus generalization reflects what?

Answer 10

An absence of learning

Question 11

Who proposed that stimulus generalization occurs if organisms have not learned to distinguish differences among the stimuli

Answer 11

Lashley and Wade

Question 12

T or F: Stimulus control cannot be altered by learning experiences.

Answer 12

False

Question 13

Stimulus discrimination results in what?

Answer 13

Bringing behaviour under stimulus control

Question 14

T or F: Stimulus discrimination training can be conducted with either classical or instrumental conditioning procedures.

Answer 14

True

Question 15

What is the classical conditioning procedure for stimulus discrimination training?

Answer 15

On some trials, a stimulus is presented with the US and on others a different stimulus is presented without the US

Question 16

What type of procedure establishes behavioural control by using stimuli that signal when reinforcement will or will not available?

Answer 16

Stimulus discrimination procedures

Question 17

What is a discriminative stimulus?

Answer 17

A stimulus that controls the performance of instrumental behaviour by signalling the availability or nonavailability of reinforcement

Question 18

Is S+ a discriminative stimulus for performing or not performing an instrumental response?

Answer 18

Performing an instrumental response

Question 19

Is S- a discriminative stimulus for performing or not performing an instrumental response?

Answer 19

Not performing an instrumental response

Question 20

A multiple schedule of reinforcement is the instrumental conditioning procedure for what type of training?

Answer 20

Stimulus discrimination training

Question 21

What procedure uses different reinforcement schedules in the presence of different stimuli, delivered in succession?

Answer 21

A multiple schedule of reinforcement

Question 22

Does discrimination training increase or decrease the stimulus control of instrumental behaviour?

Answer 22

Increase

Question 23

Is a particular stimulus dimension more or less likely to gain control over responding if the S+ and S- differ along the same dimension?

Answer 23

Most likely to gain control if the S+ and S- differ along the same dimension

Question 24

Is stimulus control more precise when discrimination training is done with very similar or very different stimuli of the same dimension (ex. 1000 cps and 950 cps tones vs 1000 cps tone and no tone)?

Answer 24

More precise when trained with similar stimuli of the same dimension

Question 25

What are interoceptive cues?

Answer 25

Internal sensations

Question 26

T or F: Mechanisms of stimulus control by drug stimuli (interoceptive cues) produce very similar results to the mechanisms of stimulus control by stimulus features (exteroceptive cues).

Answer 26

True

Question 27

What occurs during a positive patterning discrimination procedure?

Answer 27

Reinforcement is provided when two stimuli are presented simultaneously (AB+), but not when presented separately (A- and B-)

Question 28

What occurs during a negative patterning discrimination procedure?

Answer 28

Reinforcement is provided when two stimuli are presented separately (A+ and B+), but not when presented simultaneously (AB-)

Question 29

When positive and negative patterning procedures are presented simultaneously, what are the six types of intermixed trials?

Answer 29

- Positive patterning: A-, B-, and AB+ - Negative patterning: C+, D+, and CD-

Question 30

When trained with positive and negative patterning procedures simultaneously, were rats able to solve both discrimination patterns?

Answer 30

Yes

Question 31

When trained with positive and negative patterning procedures simultaneously, how did rats respond to trials with positive patterning?

Answer 31

They learned to respond to simultaneous presentations of A and B (AB+), and to not respond to individual presentations (A- and B-)

Question 32

When trained with positive and negative patterning procedures simultaneously, how did rats respond to trials with negative patterning?

Answer 32

They learned to respond to individual presentations of C and D (C+ and D+), and to not respond to simultaneous presentations (CD-)

Question 33

Are positive or negative patterning procedures faster for acquiring stimulus discrimination?

Answer 33

Positive patterning results in faster learning

Question 34

T or F: When trained with positive and negative patterning procedures simultaneously, rats learned to respond to the combination of cues in a manner that can be attributed to the sum of their responses to the individual cues.

Answer 34

False. Rats learned to respond to the combination of cues that can NOT be attributed to the sum of their responses to the individual cues.

Question 35

What does Spence's Theory of Discrimination Learning propose?

Answer 35

That reinforcement in the presence of S+ conditions excitatory response tendencies and non-reinforcement in the presence of S- conditions inhibitory response tendencies

Question 36

According to Spence's Theory of Discrimination Learning, what does differential responding reflect?

Answer 36

Reflects both conditioned excitation to S+ and conditioned inhibition to S-

Question 37

If Spence's Theory is correct, and the S- does acquire inhibitory properties, what would the results of a summation test show?

Answer 37

S- will suppress responding that is otherwise elicited by S+

Question 38

Do the results from summation tests support or contradict Spence's Theory of Discrimination Learning?

Answer 38

Support

Question 39

Can the inhibitory influence of an S- counteract excitatory effects of S+ for drug self-administration behaviour, even if the excitatory influence of S+ remains intact?

Answer 39

Yes

Question 40

A discrimination between stimuli that differ only in terms of the value of one stimulus feature is known as what?

Answer 40

Intradimensional discrimination

Question 41

Intradimensional discrimination is related to what type of performance?

Answer 41

Expert performance (involves making subtle distinctions between stimuli)

Question 42

The peak-shift effect causes the highest rate of responding in a stimulus generalization gradient to move in which direction?

Answer 42

Away from the S+, in the direction opposite the S-

Question 43

A peak-shift is the result of what type of discrimination training?

Answer 43

Intradimensional discrimination training

Question 44

T or F: The peak-shift effect is a function of the similarity between the S+ and S- used in discrimination training.

Answer 44

True

Question 45

Was the biggest peak shift seen after training with S+ and S- that were very similar or very different?

Answer 45

Very similar

Question 46

How does Spence's Theory of Discrimination explain the peak-shift effect?

Answer 46

The excitation and inhibition gradients overlap, causing the inhibition towards S- to generalize to S+ and suppresses responding to it

Question 47

According to Spence, the degree of overlap in excitation and inhibition generalization gradients depends on what?

Answer 47

The degree of similarity between S+ and S- with more similarity resulting in greater overlap

Question 48

Responding to physically distinct stimuli as if they are the same due to common prior experiences with those stimuli is known as what?

Answer 48

Stimulus equivalence

Question 49

What are equivalence classes?

Answer 49

Groups of distinct stimuli that are all associated with the same outcome or produce the same response

Question 50

What does common outcome training involve?

Answer 50

Involves linking several different stimuli to a common outcome

Question 51

What does common response training involve?

Answer 51

Involves training the same response to several physically different stimuli

Question 52

What occurs during each of the three stages of stimulus equivalence training?

Answer 52

- Stage 1: Two different stimuli are individually paired with an appetitive US - Stage 2: One of the stimuli from stage 1 is paired with an aversive US to condition a fear response - Stage 3: The other stimulus from stage 1 is tested with the aversive US from stage 2 to see if the fear response generalized

Question 53

What term refers to new stimulus-response relations that emerge as a result of the acquisition of equivalence without being directly trained?

Answer 53

Emergent relations

Question 54

What are the three characteristics that describe a discrete stimulus?

Answer 54

- Presented for a brief period - Has a clear beginning and end - Can be easily characterized

Question 55

T or F: Discrete discriminative stimuli occur in the presence of background contextual cues.

Answer 55

True

Question 56

T or F: Contextual cues can provide an important additional source of control of learned behaviour.

Answer 56

True

Question 57

T or F: Contextual cues must signal a US or reinforcer to gain control over behaviour?

Answer 57

False. Contextual cues CAN come to control behaviour if they serve as a signal for a US or reinforcer, but they don't HAVE to.

Question 58

What is a binary relation?

Answer 58

A relation between two events

Question 59

What is a modulator?

Answer 59

A stimulus that signals the nature of a binary relation

Question 60

A binary relation signalled by a modulator is known as what?

Answer 60

A conditional relation

Question 61

When might contextual cues control behaviour, but not be correlated with the availability of reinforcement?

Answer 61

When a conditional relation is established

Question 62

In the context of conditional relations, how do contextual cues influence behaviour?

Answer 62

The contextual cues act as modulators