Theories of Learning (Rescorla-Wagner, Blocking etc) Flashcards
Instrumental and classical conditioning occurs when we pair _____. These association pairings encode ________ __________ in the world, where one thing ______ another.
Instrumental conditioning occurs when we pair events.
association pairings encode causal relationships, where one thing predicts another.
Associative learning allows species to _______ and even _______ their environment, which is necessary for survival
allows species to predict and control their environment.
Conditioning is not always about causality, but also about what?
two events/ things can occur together
If laws of cause precedes effect, then learning will be better if the _______ or __ occurs before the ____, and worse if it occurs after.
Learning should be best of CS or response precedes and predicts the UCS, and worse if the CS comes after
If the tone is the CS and the shock is the UCS, then
Delay conditioning is when the CS occurs _____ _____ the UCS.
Delay = CS occurs right before UCS
Trace conditioning is when the CS occurs and there is a ______ _______ before the UCS.
Trace = CS , then trace interval, then UCS
Simultaneous conditioning is when the CS and UCS ______ ___________.
Simultaneous = when CS and UCS occur simultaneously
Backward conditioning occurs when the CS occurs _______ the UCS
Backward is when CS occurs after UCS
In Mahoney and Ayres (1976) study, they tested the learning rates of these different types of conditioning:
Forward 4, backward 8, simultaneous, backward 4, forward 8.
Rank them from least to most affective
Backward 8 = slowest
Backward 4
Simultaneous
Forward 4
Forward 8 = fastest
_________ is necessary for causation. But _________ does not equal causation
Correlation necessary for causation, but not sufficient
If two events are correlated they must ________ _________ more than they _______ _________.
must occur together more than they occur seperately
Rescorla (1968) described 3 types of contingency, which were?
Positive contingency
Zero contingency
Negative contingency
In positive contingency, the tone is __________ ___________ with the shock
positive contingency - tone positively correlated with shcock
In negative contingency, the tone is ___________ _________ with the shock
Negative contingency - tone negatively correlated with shock
In zero contingency conditions, the tone has _____ __________ with the shock
Zero contingency - no correlation of tone with shock
In positive contingency groups, subjects can predict the ____ from the ____. Excitatory learning occurs.
In negative contingency groups the CS is an ________ for the UCS. Inhibitory learning occurs.
Positive con - can predict UCS from CS
Negative con - CS inhibitor of UCS
CS UCS pairings only produce learning if the UCS is ____________
A Familiar
B Habituated
C Surprising
D None of the above
C Surprising
In Kamin’s (1969) experiment Group 1 were light conditioned with _______ ____, whereas group 2 were light conditioned with no ________ _____ . Both ____ and _____ were used as CS and the UCS was a _____.
group 1 - had a pretrained noise as the Cs
group 2 had n pretrained noise, CS was novel
light and noise were CS, UCS was shock
In Kamin’s (1969) experiment which group was surprised, and which was not?
Group 2 were surprised, group 1 were not.
Group 1 had less learning
Less learning occurred in which group of Kamin’s (1969) blocking experiment? Why was this the case?
Group 1 had less learning, this is because the pretrained noise has blocked the learning about light.
Rescorla-Wagner model describes what?
How much associative strength increases from trial to trial
What is the equation for the Rescorla-Wagner model?
Explain it
DeltaV = alphaxbeta(lamda-Sum of V)
Delta V = change in associative strength
alpha = salience/intensity of the CS
beta = salience/intensity of UCS
lamda = the size of teh UCS
As the _________ ________ (V) increases with the number of trials, the _______ __ ___________ _____ (Delta V) decreases
As the associative strength increases the change in associative strength decreases.
Trial to trial, ______, ______ and _______ are typically fixed, whereas _ and ______ vary from trial to trial
alpha, beta and Lamda are fixed
V and DeltaV vary from trial to trial
The Sum of V refers to how much the UCS is ________, and (lamda - sum of V) is _______________.
Sum of V = how much UCS is predicted
Lamda-sum of V = how surprising it is
If (lamda-sum of V) refers to how _________ the US is.
lamda-sum of V refers to how surprising the US is
Learning (change in _________ ______) stops or reaches an __________, when lamda = sum of associative strengths, therefore surprise = _____
learning or change in associaative strengths stops or reaches asymptote, when lamda = sum of associative strengths
therefore surprise = 0
Most learning occurs in _____ _______, as more trials occur, ____ learning occurs.
Most learning occurs in early trials, as more trials occur, less learning occurs
As the ___ becomes more predictable, the _______ (lamda-sum of V) decreases.
As US becomes more predictable, surprise decreases
True or false, once learning has reached the asymptote, increasing Lamda will still not allow for more learning.
False, if you increase the Lamda, you increase the potential for learning, even after the asymptote.
How does the Rescorla Wagner model explain Kamin’s (1969) experiment?
Group 1 less learning occurs as stimulus is not surprising (lamda-v) = small, and UCS is precited
Group 2 more learning as UCS is surprising, not predicted
What is the name for when two CS are conditioned at once, but only one is learnt?
Overshadowing
Overshadowing shows that best learning occurs when there is only one ________
A Unconditioned stimulus
B Response
C Conditioned stimulus
D all of the above
C CS
In Mackintosh’s (1976) overshadowing experiment, both _____ and _____ are competing for strength, where the most _______ stimulus wins.
light and noise competing for strength
most intense stimulus wins
In blocking procedures (Kamin 1969), the ___–______ stimulus gets all the strength in _______ _, with this occurring in grroup1.
Pre exposed stimulus gets all the strength in phase 1 for group 1 participants.
In extinction learning the UCS disappears, so the lamda drops to ________. Therefore the change in associative strength is _______. The initial omission of the UCS is ______.
(Remember Rescorla-Wagner equation)
If UCS taken away, lamda drops to 0. therefore a negative change in associative strength
initial UCS omission is surprising
In terms of learning, in conditioned inhibition trials the lamda also drops to ____, as the inhibitor predicts the omission of the ___.
lamda also drops to nothing
Inhibitor predicts omission of UCS
In conditioned inhibition trials, the associative strength of the __ AS WELL AS THE _________, decrease, and become negative
associative strength of CS as well as inhibitor become negative.
Inhibition essentially _______ from the excitatory stimulus
A Adds
B Subtracts
C Multiplies
D Divides
B Substracts
If tone predicts shock, and light predicts shock omission, why don’t warning signals extinguish when there is no shock after many trials?
Light predicts shock
tone predicts no shock
together they cancel out, so sum of associative strength doesn’t increase or decrease
