Rescola Wagner model of CC Flashcards
What are we looking at in the RW model of CC
The history of CC & how the rules came to be
What are CER rules?
1:1 ratio
Never CS without US
ID competition and weaken
Order of event CS then US
What do we have when applying CC in the real world?
Compound stimuli
Which rules did we learn from RW model?
1:1 ratio
ID & weaken competing CS’s
When was CC first studied bty Pavlov
1900’s
When was RW model published
1972
What was the belief in first half of 20th century?
Neutral + something very strong (e.g. food naturally makes animal salivate)
As long as they are close enough in time, and in the right order, you’ll get the animal salivating earlier in time - when they see the neutral stimuli
What is the belief now in reference to cc??
Dogs have filters and are constantly gathering and categorising information from their environment.
There is a lot of learning & revision of their learning
I.e learning rather than just reflexes happening earlier
What did the old model of cc say
1)All you need for conditioning to occur is contiguity i.e. close enough in time
2) The CR is a “mini me” UCR i.e clone
3) Neutral stimulus –> US Which elicits natural responses
4) All CS are created equal
Which of the old model ideas have been revised?
All of them!
How has the contiguity rule changed?
It’s more complex than just being close in time
How has the CR being a clone changed
The UCR is more adaptive, it might look similar to the CR but not necessarily!
How has the CS must be neutral rule changed??
Animals will catalogue and learn even if the CS isn’t neutral
The US may be learnt even if it doesn’t have a strong visual presentation.
Learning still happens
How has the all CS’s are created equal rule changed?
This isn’t true! animals can discriminate between different neutral stimuli. They learn faster where there is a logical connection –> part to whole <–
e.g. pigeon does better if its a hexagon than a circle
e.g. rats getting ill he learns better if its a taste rather than a light
Who are the descendants of RW
Nicholas Mackintosh
Van Hamme & Wasserman
Pearce & Hall
What is the most studied phenomenon in all of psychology?
CC
What Q did R&W ask?
What do animals learn during CC?
Is it just about contiguity & the response kicking in earlier?
Does number of trials effect the strength of conditioning?
No, less trials is often more. What matters is contingency NOT contiguity:
Strict 1:1 ratio with good US and
Good inter trial interval
What is an important contingency question in cc?
Does the CS provide information about the US?
The dog would be asking:
Is it important
How do I know when it’s coming
what does the dog need in cc trials????
Good/reliable intel that IT is coming!
It is really important e.g. beef burger!
What are the competing stimuli, usual suspects
Food delivery - treat bags, camera, pocket reaches, smell, crinkles, context, reaching for toy
What will the dog do if there are enough reps
The best tip off!! ignore it at your peril!
What does the RW theory say?
The biggest bang for buck - change in strength of conditioning - has diminishing returns over time. The biggest change (wt novel stimuli) is early on.
What does negatively accelerated function mean?
The most significant change in conditioning strength is early on in the number of trials. the curve and level of change will decrease wt each additional trial. `
What are the features of the RW & its successors?
4 points
1) It’s precise
2) It accounts accurately for numerous CC phenomena (e.g. treat bag is the tip off)
3) Allows for testable predictions
4) Richer conception of how CC helps animals learn about their world
What is the hallmark of a good theory?
It has the seeds of its own falsification
What does RW say about CR’S being clones of UCRs?
The CR is the animal preparing himself for the US, not a clone of the UCR
e.g., fear often includes freezing and bracing himself for the inevitable rather than just an action - or doing the thing earlier
Learning vs performance
if we do conditioning trials of stimuli 1 to stimuli 2 where both are neutral [learning no performance]
Then we condition the second stimulus with a shock
What happens when we see the first neutral stimuli?
We prepare for shock! [performance]
Learning and performance are not the same
What are the implications of the RW model for dog trainers
1) Salience is partly a function of novelty
2) Biggest bang for buck in early trials
3) Pre exposed CS’s are at a disadvantage
4) We usually don’t have the luxury of novel & surprising CS’s (we are often dealing with fear pre-exposure)
SO
1) get em young! don’t waste early opportunity
2) Get the contingency right so they re categorise the information they have already banked.
3) Use heavy artillery when you are behind the 8 ball.
What’s the key in CC
Few trials = Massive payoff
How do we weaken competition
Elimination trials
1) Get rid of competitions where you can
2) Weaken-reaching means nothing much
3) time shift - order if events you’re CS rides alone & comes first
When do we have novel CS’s?
Pups!
don’t squander them!
….The first time …. foooooood!
how do we define CS = nothing in pups
Tradegdy
How do we define CS = bad in pups?
Catosphoric
