TOPIC 3 - Classical (Respondent) Conditioning Flashcards
Form of learning in which neutral stimulus comes to signal occurrence of a second stimulus
- behaviours elicited by antecedent stimuli
- conditioning process involves manipulation of antecedent stimuli
Classical Conditioning
Respondent/Pavlovian Conditioning
Stimulus that naturally elicits an unconditioned response without prior conditioning - automatic
- list the two forms of this type of stimulus:
unconditioned stimulus (US)
- Appetitive - pleasant US
- Aversive - unpleasant US
Response elicited by the presentation of an unconditioned stimulus
(Usually has survival value)
unconditioned response (UR)
Reflex arc, inborn behaviour
Innate
Qualities of an effective unconditioned stimulus:
- evokes strong bodily response
- more intense US -> easier to produce later conditioned response
Stimulus that doesn’t naturally elicit response
neutral stimulus
Previously neutral stimulus that has been paired with unconditioned stimulus -> now elicits conditioned response (similar to unconditioned response)
conditioned stimulus
process of learning about a relationship between two variables
acquisition
Acquisition process in classical conditioning:
unconditioned stimulus paired + conditioned stimulus -> unconditioned response
- connected conditioned stimulus to unconditioned so that EVENTUALLY, after the acquisition process, it’ll just be conditioned stimulus + unconditioned response
Example of Acquisition PROCESS taking place with Jewels
Unconditioned stimulus + conditioned stimulus elicits unconditioned response:
smell of food + sound of can opening elicits salivation
Conditioning AFTER ACQUISITION + Jewels example
Conditioned stimulus -> (elicits) -> conditioned response
sound of can opening -> (elicits) -> salivation (smell of food not needed)
Response elicited by a conditioned stimulus AFTER that stimulus has been repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned response
- similar to the unconditioned response, but does not need to be identical
- eg: for jewels the unconditioned response is to salivate to food; after acquisition, the conditioned response is to salivate to the sound of the can opening
The interval of time between the presentation of the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the occurrence of the (CR)
- basically how long it takes for subject to react to the CS
- requires the CR to occur before the conditioned stimulus prevented (no shit it’s testing if the CS is working)
Latency of the Conditioned Response
Conditioned responses tend to get stronger as conditioning proceeds
intensity of the conditioned response
Present the conditioned stimulus ALONE with no US (making sure the CS works)
Test Trials
Probe Trials
Type of classical conditioning that STARTS with pairing an unconditioned stimulus with a conditioned stimulus to get a conditioned response. Once that first round of conditioning is complete, you take the newly conditioned stimulus, and tie that to ANOTHER conditioned stimulus.
Example: US - smell of food; UR - salivating; CS - sound of can opening; CR - salivating
Let’s say I’ve conditioned Jewels to salivate (CR) to the sound of a can opening (CS). Now I will pay the sound of a can opening with a SECONDARY conditioned stimulus like the sound of a clap (CS1). Jewels salivates to the sound of the can so when I pair with the sound of the clap, eventually she’ll start salivating to the sound of the clap alone (CR1)
Higher Order Conditioning
The acquisition phase DURING classical conditioning occurs when the _________ stimulus is paired with _________ stimulus so that the subject produces a(n) _________ response because they’ve associated the _________ stimulus, with the _________ stimulus that is eliciting the unconditioned response.
The acquisition phase DURING classical conditioning occurs when the UNCONDITIONED stimulus is paired with CONDITIONED stimulus (or vice versa) so that the subject produces a(n) UNCONDITIONED response because they’re learning the CONDITIONED stimulus, is associated with the UNCONDITIONED stimulus that is eliciting the unconditioned response.
5 factors involving the NS and US that influence conditioning:
(btw NS and US):
- Nature of NS and US (features)
- Temporal Relationship (contiguity)
- Contingency
- # of pairings (can get mixed up)
- Previous exposure to the NS (has to be noticeable/salient enough)
A more intense unconditioned stimulus will make it _______ easier/harder to produce a conditioned response.
easier
Neutral stimulus has to be noticeable enough to get it to be associated with the unconditioned stimulus.
Higher intensity = more _______
Salience
Aspects of the NATURE of the NS and US (2):
- are they relevant to each other - eg: music and sound
- physical characteristics
- meaning
- physical features
When a new compound stimulus is used as a conditioned stimulus, but ONLY A PARTICULAR ELEMENT (the more intense or salient stimulus) is able to elicit the CR.
Overshadowing
When a stimulus has two prominent features but one is typically more salient.
- sometimes only one feature might get learned because it’s so much more salient it prevents us from learning about the other (overshadowing)
Compound stimulus
5 types of NS (becoming CS) and US temporal relationships:
- Short-delayed
- Trace
- Long-delayed
- Simultaneous
- Backward
type of temporal relationship in classical conditioning:
CS presented alone then US overlaps shortly after onset
- MOST EFFECTIVE conditioning procedure
short-delay conditioning
- so effective bc so close together in time, easy to link and assume they happen together
In short-delay conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus is presented ___________ (time) after the conditioned stimulus.
A minute or less than a minute after
(otherwise it’s not considered short-delay conditioning)
type of temporal relationship in classical conditioning:
CS presented first, and then US overlaps closer to the end of the CS, but the CS is on for a longer time - CS can run for a few minutes to up to a day
- think short-delay but longer CS, and US just overlaps for some time at the end
- eg: CS is 3 minutes -> US overlaps for last 30 seconds and continues past
- eg: CS is 24 hours -> US overlaps for 2 hours and continues past
long-delay conditioning
type of temporal relationship in classical conditioning:
NO OVERLAP between CS and US, so temporal contiguity matters (how close together in time the CS and US are presented)
Trace conditioning
type of temporal relationship in classical conditioning:
CS and US onset at the same time
Simultaneous conditioning
Criticism of simultaneous conditioning:
Prone to overshadowing when CS and US onset at the same time - the subject may only pay attention to the more biological automatic or salient stimulus, making it less effected than short/long-delayed and trace conditioning
With backwards and technically simultaneous conditioning being the exceptions, in all classical conditioning temporal relationships, the _________ stimulus is presented first.
Conditioned stimulus
(previously neutral)
Conditioned stimulus -> Unconditioned stimulus
type of temporal relationship in classical conditioning:
Unconditioned stimulus occurs before the conditioned stimulus -> CS usually right after US
Backward conditioning
Criticism of backward conditioning: US before CS
inconsistent results: how is the CS going to be known an indicator that the US is coming if the CS is presented after?
Temporal relationship/time between NS-US pairings
contiguity
Interval between one CS-US exposure (trial 1) and another CS-US exposure (different trials same CS-US)
Intertrial Interval
(pretty self explanatory)
Contingency between NS and US means that the NS and US ______ reliably
- contingency - knowing the US follows the NS, making the NS a reliable predictor of the US.
co-occur
Events are close together in time and/or space
Contiguity
More repeated pairings of the NS with the US usually forms a stronger association, but the first pairing produces the ________ learning effect because the more surprising something is, the more we learn about it. As the number of pairings trials increases, the learning curve starts to get closer to flattening out because it’s less surprising/only so much you can learn from a pair.
Strongest
- First pairing of NS and US produces strongest learning effect
Model representing the idea that the learning curve starts to flatten out as the number of trials increases -> indicates theres a maximum learning at which there are no more behaviour changes
Rescorla-Wagner model
remember:
RW model - learning
∆V=k(λ - V)
Rescorla-Wagner Model
- represents learning curve in classical conditioning - more trials, less surprising, associate value or degree of learning starts to flatten out as trial number increases
Learning something is poisonous or uncomfortable to eat; single occurrence can last a whole lifetime
Conditioned Taste Aversion (CTA)
Conditioned Taste Aversion Example:
When I ate a banana when I was 5, and I like accidentally bit down weird, and a massive chunk of it slid down my throat, and made me feel sick. I then avoided bananas for the next 10-12 years of my life.
That one time I decided to check out the Vietnamese place near my neighbourhood for boba, I got a hot pink coloured boba, and then had food poisoning for the first time in my life. I should’ve left a bad review. I’m never going back there that was so horrific.
eating a (usually novel) food -> experiencing an aversive consequence, even if it’s hours later
this is:
Conditioned Taste Aversion
__________ is the exception to the rule that classical conditioning generally needs more than one pairing of the NS and US for the NS to become a CS producing a CR.
Conditioned Taste Aversion
Pre-exposure (like before the lab) of a stimulus in the absence of a US can interfere with the ability of that stimulus to become a CS. So the NS has to be salient enough, but if it already has a function or use to it, ________ occurs and it may not become a CS.
latent inhibition
NS has to be salient and familiar enough to the subject, but not SO familiar that it causes: _______ (2)
latent inhibition
Failure of a stimulus to become a CS when it is part of a compound stimulus that includes an older conditioned stimulus that has been effective in the past
- old stimulus producing conditioned response ______ the learning of the new stimulus
Blocking
blocks
When a previous experience with one stimuli affects your experience with another stimuli connected to that first stimuli.
Sensory preconditioning
When two neutral stimuli (A and B) occur together. B is conditioned to become a CS and will produce a CR. But then when A is presented alone, it will elicit the same CR as B.
Eg: You always eat lasagna and garlic bread together. One day you go to your friends house and eat bad lasagna that makes you sick. You don’t have garlic bread then, but later on, when you’re having your usual lasagna and garlic bread combo or just garlic bread, you feel sick because you remember the food poisoning from your friend’s house, and lasagna is so closely associated to garlic bread for you.
Sensory Preconditioning
Emotional response to a stimulus that is acquired through Classical/Respondent conditioning (3)
- an automatic emotion gets associated with a stimuli through respondent conditioning
- think of Little Albert…poor guy….scared of fluffy creatures
- can be positive or negative
Conditioned Emotional Responses
The Role of the US influences the Form of the ______.
Example:
If the US is water -> drinking motions
If the US is food -> chewing motions
conditioned response (CR)
