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Questions and Answers
What term describes a learned stimulus that produces a learned response in classical conditioning?
In the example of Pavlov’s dogs, what is the unconditioned response (UR)?
Which of the following describes the process of spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning?
Which statement best differentiates classical conditioning from habituation?
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What is the effect of overlearning on the conditioned response (CR)?
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In the conditioned emotional response paradigm, which is the unconditioned stimulus (US)?
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What is the main characteristic of the galvanic skin response in classical conditioning?
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In eye blink conditioning, what serves as the conditioned stimulus (CS)?
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What does spontaneous recovery indicate in the learning process?
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What is the relation between generalization and the strength of the conditioned response?
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What occurs during discrimination in the context of classical conditioning?
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How does the strength of the unconditioned stimulus influence learning?
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What does the principle of equipotentiality suggest about neutral stimuli?
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What determines the rate of learning according to the surprise component in classical conditioning?
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What happens to the conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is absent?
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In higher-order conditioning, what role does the release of endorphins play?
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Which factor is NOT involved in the calculation of the possibility that the unconditioned stimulus (US) will occur?
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What occurs as trials continue in classical conditioning according to the surprise model?
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Why is it important for stimuli to retain significance in classical conditioning?
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Which of the following describes the concept of blocking in classical conditioning?
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In the context of the surprise formula, what does the variable 'U' represent?
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What happens to the expectation of the unconditioned stimulus (US) when no intensity of US is present?
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Which of the following is a potential outcome when a CS becomes established and a new stimulus appears?
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According to the attentional theories of classical learning, why does blocking occur?
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Which law suggests that elements close together in time are more likely to be perceived as related?
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What is the term for the physiological systems maintaining a preferred state?
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In classical conditioning, what is the effect of presenting the conditioned stimulus alone?
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Which factor makes taste conditioned stimuli more effective compared to other senses?
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What does the term 'compensatory rebound effect' refer to in conditioning?
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What is the effect on tone learning when it is presented alone before being paired with food?
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Which statement best describes the relationship between the CS and US in the context of probability?
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In the S-R model, what happens when the unconditioned stimulus (US) does not produce an unconditioned response (UR)?
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What does higher order conditioning (HOC) involve?
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What can be concluded if both the tone and light produce a response after conditioning, even after the tone response is extinguished?
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In the process of conditioning, if an organism learns to respond to a bell expecting food, which type of association best represents this scenario?
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How is the informative value of the conditioned stimulus (CS) illustrated in experiments involving random presentation of shocks?
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What is a primary focus of Gestalt laws in understanding conditioned responses?
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Study Notes
Classical Learning
- Classical learning starts with a reflex, called an unconditioned response (UR), triggered by a reflexive stimulus, called an unconditioned stimulus (US).
- When a neutral stimulus is paired with the US, it becomes a learned stimulus, called a conditioned stimulus (CS), which produces a learned response, called a conditioned response (CR).
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Pavlov's dogs is a classic example:
- US: food
- UR: salivation
- CS: bell
- CR: salivation
Common Conditioning Paradigms
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Conditioned Emotional Response (CER)
- Uses Skinner boxes, an emotional reflex, and rapid learning
- US: shock to floor grid, causing freezing
- CS: a variety of neutral stimuli
- CR: suppression of ongoing behavior
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Example: Child Hearing Thunder
- US: sound of thunder
- UR: startle reaction, fear
- CS: seeing the sky get dark
- CR: seeing dark clouds, then crying
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Eye Blink
- Uses a monophasic reflex
- Slow conditioning
- Easy to measure the size of the CR
- US: airpuff
- UR: eyeblink
- CS: picture of an air balloon in dilation machines
- CR: eyeblink
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Galvanic Skin Response
- Used with human participants
- Not under conscious control
- US: mild electric stimulus
- UR: defensive arousal
- CS: any neutral stimulus
- CR: increased electrical resistance
Laws of Learning
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Acquisition - Learning occurs with a decreasing rate over time.
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Classical Learning is distinct from Habituation:
- Habituation uses only one stimulus (reflexive stimulus).
- Classical learning uses two stimuli (US and CS).
- The relationship between the US and CS is a specific law governing the learning process.
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Extinction:
- The CR diminishes when the CS is presented without the US.
- Spontaneous recovery: The extinguished CR reappears after a delay.
- Rapid relearning and extinction: There are two distinct types of relearning.
- Reacquisition: Learning is faster if the pairing of CS and US is reintroduced.
- Rapid reextinction: Extinction is faster if no pairing of CS and US is provided again.
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Overlearning:
- Learning continues even after there's no visible change in behavior.
- Overlearning leads to reduced spontaneous recovery.
- Example: Ringing a bell without giving food to a dog, causing the dog to stop salivating after a break, leading to less spontaneous recovery later.
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Generalization:
- Habituation to one stimulus generalizes to similar stimuli.
- Example: A trained hunting dog may react to fireworks similarly to a rifle shot.
- Generalized response is weaker than the CR and stronger when the general stimulus is more similar to the CS.
- Important note: Do not pair a new stimulus with the US! The goal is to make the old response apply to a new stimulus, not create a new response.
- Generalization is important because stimuli vary in specifics but can have the same significance.
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Discrimination:
- If two similar stimuli have different significances, we learn to discriminate between them.
Early Classical Conditioning
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Stimulus Strength:
- Stronger US: Leads to higher asymptote (peak response) and faster learning.
- Stronger CS: Leads to faster learning.
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It is possible to get more CR when the CS is absent than when it is present.
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Pavlov's Principles:
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Stimulus Substitution: The CS is activated first, leading to an excitation in the part of the brain usually activated by the US. This creates a path connecting them, resulting in the CR.
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Co-occurrence : The US triggers the UR, but the CR requires the presentation of the CS.
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Equipotentiality: Any neutral stimulus can become a CS.
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All three principles are WRONG.
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More Complex Antecedents
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Many stimuli can be present at the same time as potential learned stimuli (CS).
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Multiple CS: Multiple conditioned stimuli are not a problem.
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Higher Order Conditioning:
- Example: Video games (learned stimulus) + release of endorphins (reflex stimulus) → enjoyment (reflex response).
- Over time: the game by itself triggers enjoyment.
- A friend (neutral stimulus) comes over to play → enjoyment.
- This effect then generalizes to seeing that friend in other settings → enjoyment.
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Blocking:
- If a new stimulus appears while another CS is established, Pavlov predicted learning would occur based on co-occurrence.
- However, no conditioned response is observed to the second stimulus.
Theories of Classical Learning
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Why Blocking?
- Learning is not based on co-occurrence, but on surprise.
- Learning is driven by unexpected events.
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ΔXᵢ = Sᵢ ✕ (U - XΣ)
- Xáµ¢: possibility that the US will occur.
- Sáµ¢: importance of the CS.
- U: intensity of the US (usually set to 100).
- XΣ: overall expectation of the US given all the CS.
- U - XΣ: "surprise term."
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ΔXT = ST ✕ (U - XΣ)
- This equation explains how surprise influences the rate of learning.
- ST, the importance of the CS, determines the learning rate.
- As trials continue, the expectation builds, the surprise diminishes, and learning slows down.
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Basic Explanations:
- Deceleration of learning
- Extinction
- Higher asymptote with more intense US
- Faster learning with more intense CS
- Spontaneous recovery
- Blocking
Attentional Theories of Classical Learning
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Limited Attention: We have limited attention capacity.
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Attentional Focus: We learn to pay attention to stimuli that co-occur with the US.
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Blocking:
- Already having full attention on the tone distracts us from the light, preventing learning about the light.
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CS Pre-Exposure Effect:
- Presenting a potential CS (like a tone) repeatedly alone initially slows down learning when it is later paired with the US.
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Current Theories: Most current theories incorporate both expectation and attention components. However, no current theory can explain everything.
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Informative Value of CS:
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Clever CER Experiment:
- Random shocks are administered (US).
- The probability of a tone (CS) occurring during the shock is varied.
- Co-occurrence: CS + US = 20%. Very slow learning.
- Informative Value: Shock is more likely during the tone (CS+) than without it. This leads to faster learning.
- Probabilistic Relationship: The CS-US relationship can be probabilistic.
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Clever CER Experiment:
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S-S: The CS is associated with the US.
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S-R: The CS is associated with the response.
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If the US does not produce the UR:
- S-S: No CR.
- S-R: Yes CR
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S-S: The dog learns: Bell → Food → Drool. When the dog is full and hears the bell, they don't care about the food.
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S-R: The full dog still associates the bell with drooling.
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Standard CER with a Loud Noise:
- Stage 1: Condition a CR to the tone.
- Stage 2: Habituate the animal to the US so it no longer produces the UR.
- Stage 3: Test the CS.
- S-S: No CR.
- S-R: Yes CR.
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Higher Order Conditioning:
- Stage 1: Condition a CR to the tone.
- Stage 2: Second-order CR to light.
- Stage 3: Habituate the animal to the US so it no longer produces the UR.
- Stage 4: Test CS (Light).
- S-R learning is present in higher-order conditioning
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CS Organization:
- Simultaneous Stimuli: A flash and a bang happening simultaneously might be part of the same event.
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How to tell:
- Condition light and tone at the same time.
- Extinguish the response to the tone.
- Test for response to the light.
- Independent Stimuli: If the response to the light is not extinguished, the light and tone are two different stimuli.
- Single Stimuli: If the response to the light is extinguished, the light and tone are treated as a single stimulus.
Gestalt Laws
- Law of Similarity: Similar things are grouped together.
- Law of Temporal Proximity: Things close together in time are more likely to be grouped.
- Law of Spatial Proximity: Things close together in space are more likely to be grouped.
Biological Considerations
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Homeostasis: Physiological systems have a preferred state.
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Habituation: Keeps the system on an even keel.
- Preparation: Classical learning acts like habituation.
- Learned Response: Keeps the system on a more even keel.
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CR Alone Produces Only Compensatory Rebound Effect: - US: Moderate shock. - UR: Increased heart rate. - CS: Beep. - Test CS alone → CR is decreased heart rate.
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Pavlov Was Wrong: CR ≠UR
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Conditioned Taste Aversion:
- US: Gastrointestinal illness
- UR: Regurgitation
- CS: Food Item
- CR: Avoiding food
- Brief CS-US Delay: Strongest conditioned taste aversion after delays of hours.
- CR Matches the UR: This is unusual, because CR ≠UR typically.
- Taste as the Most Likely CS: Taste is more likely to be the CS than other senses.
Final Notes
- Building an established reflex makes classical learning simple.
- Laws of learning make classical learning both adaptive and flexible.
- Learning has evolved through variation and selection over generations
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Description
Explore the fundamentals of classical learning, including key concepts such as unconditioned stimuli, conditioned stimuli, and conditioned responses. Dive into examples like Pavlov's dogs and common conditioning paradigms. Test your understanding of the mechanisms behind behavioral responses.
