Psych 387 - Chapter 3

Front 1

CR

Back 1

conditional response

Front 2

CS

Back 2

Conditional stimulus

Front 3

GSR

Back 3

Galvanic skin response

Front 4

NS

Back 4

Neutral stimulus(i)

Front 5

S

Back 5

Stimulus

Front 6

UR

Back 6

Unconditional response

Front 7

US

Back 7

Unconditional stimulus

Front 8

Describe Pavlov's early life, career path, and other factors that led him to study the digestive processes and the salivary reflex in the dog.

Back 8

Started with circulatory system, then digestion (how food gets into blood) developed procedure to redirect salivary glands (and others) outside the body to be measured directly. Measured salive for wet food, hard food, easy-to-eject object (marble) and not so easy object (sand). Started noticing that dogs would start salivating when they came into the lab, before they got food. They called these 'psychic secretions'

Front 9

When did Pavlov become interested in psychic reflexes? (pp. 67-70)

Back 9

When he started to see dogs salivating before they were given food.

Front 10

What were the psychic secretions that became a focus of Pavlov's work?

Back 10

The saliva produced before a dog was given food, as if 'the glands possesed and 'kind of intelligence''

Front 11

Why did Pavlov shift the focus of his work from digestive processes to psychic secretions?

Back 11

Pavlov saw the 'psychic secretions' and wondered how experience could alter the action of a gland. The question so possessed him he shifted his attention to psychic reflexes.

Front 12

In what respect did Pavlov's identity suffer due to the shift in his attention to psychic secretions? (pp. 68-70)

Back 12

I don't know. He feared that he would be laughed at for digging into a non-physiology field.

Front 13

Describe Pavlov's work with dogs that illustrates Pavlovian conditioning.

Back 13

Recorded all external stimuli, and what happened with saliva (recorded with measuring vials and continuous record). Eventually saw the the sight of food, then the dish, and even sound of the person's feet would induce salivating.

Front 14

Define unconditional reflexes, (and give other terms used for it)

Back 14

Consists of SU and the behavior it evokes (the UR)inborn, permanent reflex found in most members of species, varies little b/w individuals. Could be called 'inborn, unlearned, or species reflexes'

Front 15

conditional reflexes, (and give other terms used for it)

Back 15

Consists of CS and the behavior it reliably evokes, the CR.Second reflex, not present at birth, acquired thru experiences, relatively impermanent. Vary b/w individuals. Also called 'acquired, learned, or individual reflexes'

Front 16

unconditional stimulus, (and give other terms used for it)

Back 16

Event that evokes a UR. Usually important to organisms survival. Also called unconditioned stimulus

Front 17

unconditional response, (and give other terms used for it)

Back 17

The behaviour evoked by the US. Also called unconditioned response

Front 18

conditional stimulus, and (and give other terms used for it)

Back 18

The event that evokes the CR. Also called conditioned stimulus

Front 19

conditional response. (and give other terms used for it)

Back 19

The behaviour evoked by the CS. Also called conitioned response

Front 20

What terms are used in place of these? (pp. 70-72)

Back 20

US, UR, CS, CR

Front 21

Neutral stiumulus:

Back 21

The neutral stimulus is simply a way of describing the conditional stimulus before it is able to elicit the conditional response. For example, the author describes the use of a hand clap as a conditional stimulus (p. 72). We would refer to the hand clap as a neutral stimulus before it could elicit the conditional response, salivation. In this unit's conceptual exercise, you will be asked to identify the neutral stimulus in examples of Pavlovian conditioning. For our purposes, we will consider a stimulus to be neutral if it does not elicit a particular conditioned or unconditioned response. For example, a bright light does not elicit eye blinks, so it is a neutral stimulus with respect to the eye-blink response. However, bright light does elicit pupil contraction, so bright light would be an unconditioned stimulus (not a neutral stimulus) for the pupil-contraction response.

Front 22

Is the presentation of the two stimuli (i.e., the neutral stimulus and the unconditional stimulus) independent of the behavior of the animal? Explain. Provide an original example illustrating that an organism whose behavior is subject to Pavlovian conditioning is more likely to survive than an organism whose behavior is not subject to such conditioning. (p. 73)

Back 22

Yes. Stimuli are presented regardless what the organism does. Deer that responds to sight, sound and smell of tiger is more likely to survive than one than only reacts to the teeth. Original: predator that learns to avoid the sight, colors or smell of poisonous animals is more likely to eat another meal.

Front 23

What type of behavior is subject to Pavlovian conditioning? (p. 74)

Back 23

Reflexive behaviours, such as salivating, blinking, sweating, etc.

Front 24

Describe Graham and Desjardins' (1980) study in which the experimenters used Pavlovian conditioning to influence the mating behavior of male rats (pp. 73-74)

Back 24

Paired exposure to vapors of wintergreen (NS)w/ exposure to female rats in heat (US). After 14 days, exposed to only wintergreen. Sex hormones then as strong as if a fem rat was there.

Front 25

Define higher-order Pavlovian conditioning.

Back 25

NS paired with established CS can make a second CS. CS2 does not need to be paired with US

Front 26

Describe Frolov's demonstration of higher-order conditioning.

Back 26

Used a dog: Established metronome as CS1, then paired sight of black square as CS2 (without pairing CS2 with food). Eventually, CS2 produced CR of salivation.

Front 27

Why does higher-order conditioning increase the importance of Pavlovian conditioning? (pp. 74-75)

Back 27

Means many more stimuli can ellicit CRs

Front 28

Second and third order conditioning

Back 28

Comment: Chance uses higher-order conditioning to refer to the use of a previously established conditional stimulus to function as an unconditional stimulus in Pavlovian conditioning. In this unit's conceptual exercise, we refer to one form of higher-order conditioning as second-order conditioning. In second-order conditioning, the CS (CS-0) predicts another previously established CS (CS-1). The CS-1 obtained its ability to elicit a CR because it was paired with a US for a UR. In third-order conditioning, a CS-0 is paired with a CS-1 that gained its ability to elicit a response by being paired with a previously established CS (CS-2), whereas CS-2 gained its eliciting function by being paired with a US. As such, when we refer to second-order or third-order conditioning, we are referring to the number of steps the CS is removed from a US. Although second-order conditioning can be quite effective, third-order conditioning (and further removed orders) have not generally been demonstrated to be very potent forms of conditioning.

Front 29

Describe Staats and Staats' (1975) classic experiment of verbal higher-order conditioning. (pp. 75-76)

Back 29

Had students look at nonsense syllables like YOF and XEH. Researcher paired some syllables with positive words (ie beauty) and some with negative words (eg thief). Later, had students rate nonsense syllables as pleasant or unpleasant. The connotation stuck to nonsense syllables.

Front 30

How can response latency be used to measure Pavlovian conditioning?

Back 30

How long it takes for UR response to appear after CS (NS) has been presented.

Front 31

How is the use of latency as a measure of Pavlovian conditioning problematic? (pp. 76-77)

Back 31

Sometimes delay between presentation of CS and US is so small, there isn't much room to see latency shorten.

Front 32

Describe the use of test trials to measure Pavlovian conditioning.

Back 32

A test trial presents CS without US to see if CR will appear. Could be, say, everyt fifth trial, or at random intervals. Strength of condition is then measured by number of CRs that appear in a block of, say, 10 test trials (can be plotted on a graph). Also called 'prove trials.'

Front 33

Provide an original example of this use of test trials. (pp. 76-77)

Back 33

Turn on a green light (CS) just before a cat appears (US) and rat runs away to hide (UR). Use test-trials to measure increase in appearance of UR

Front 34

Describe the method of measuring Pavlovian conditioning by means of intensity or amplitude of the CR. Provide an original example. (p. 77)

Back 34

Measuring the intensity of the CR (presented without or before the UR). Ie. In the light+cat+running rat test, increase in how fast the rat runs away from the light is the intensity. Or, plastic snowman + cold = shivering mouse, if snowman is shown without cold and mouse shivers, intensity of shivering is the measure (can that be made a number?)

Front 35

Define pseudoconditioning and

Back 35

Supposed CR appears because strong US sensitizes the subject to any pseudo-CS.

Front 36

explain why (pseudoconditioning) poses a problem in measuring Pavlovian conditioning. How can researchers overcome this problem? (pp. 77-78)

Back 36

Is bahaviour a conditional response, or result of earlier exposure to strong stimulus? Fix: Cotrol group: CS and US presnted in random order, sometimes alone, sometimes together. Experimental group: CS and US always appear together. If experimental group perform differently, may be conditioning at work.

Front 37

Describe the following four ways of pairing the CS and the US in Pavlovian conditioning:

Back 37

Trace conditioning, delayed conditioning, simultaneous conditioning, backward conditioning

Front 38

Describe the following four ways of pairing the CS and the US in Pavlovian conditioning: trace conditioning,

Back 38

CS begins and ends before US presented

Front 39

Describe the following four ways of pairing the CS and the US in Pavlovian conditioning: delayed conditioning,

Back 39

CS begins but does not end before US begins. Short delay vs. long delay: long delay: CR latency (time between CS and CR) gradually increases until CR appears just before US. CS in long delay includes the length of time as part of CS

Front 40

escribe the following four ways of pairing the CS and the US in Pavlovian conditioning: simultaneous conditioning, and

Back 40

CS and US begin and end at same time. Weak procedure

Front 41

Describe the following four ways of pairing the CS and the US in Pavlovian conditioning: backward conditioning.

Back 41

CS presented after US. Almost impossible to produce a CR with this.

Front 42

Specify the relative effectiveness of each of these procedures: Be able to provide and recognize original examples of each. (pp. 78-81) trace conditioning

Back 42

Light turns on, turns of, cat runs in, rat runs away.

Front 43

Specify the relative effectiveness of each of these procedures: Be able to provide and recognize original examples of each. (pp. 78-81) DELAYED CONDITIONING

Back 43

Light turns on, cat runs in, light turns off, rat runs away.

Front 44

Specify the relative effectiveness of each of these procedures: Be able to provide and recognize original examples of each. (pp. 78-81) SIMULTANEOUS CONDITIONING

Back 44

Light turns on as cat runs in, rat runs away.

Front 45

Specify the relative effectiveness of each of these procedures: Be able to provide and recognize original examples of each. (pp. 78-81) BACKWARD CONDITIONING

Back 45

Cat runs in, rat runs away, cat leaves, light turns on.

Front 46

What is a contingency?

Back 46

If then statement: Y is contingent on X to the extent that Y occurs if and only if X occurs.

Front 47

Describe Rescorla's (1968) experiment that demonstrated the importance of the CS-US contingency in the effectiveness of Pavlovian conditioning.

Back 47

Rats: CS light US mild shock. Four groups: 1: 10% of shocks not preceded by light, 2: 20%, 3: 30%, 4: 40%. In 10% group and similar groups, conditioning occurred. In 40% group, almost no learning took place.

Front 48

In everyday life, do we generally encounter high or medium-low degrees of contingency between the CS and the US? Explain. (pp. 81-82) Comment: At one time scientists thought that the critical factor in establishing the strength of a CS (i.e., the ability of the CS to elicit a strong CR) was the number of times the CS was paired with the US. For example, a tone could be best established as a CS for an eye-blink response through a large number of pairings of the tone with a puff of air, a US for the eye-blink response. However, two additional factors affect the strength of the CS, both of which are part of the contingency factor. The contingency factor consists of two probabilities: the probabilities that 1) the US will be presented after the CS and 2) the US will be presented in absence of the CS. As such, the strength of our CS (tone) would increase if (a) the puff presentation followed every presentation of the tone and (b) the puff was never presented alone (i.e., in absence of the tone). Consider the extent to which presenting the CS “predicts” the presentation of the US. We say that the CS predicts the US if (a) the CS is always followed by the US—the puff—and (b) the absence of the CS is followed by the absence of the US. The importance of the CS “predicting” the US may also be illustrated in the following applied example. Ed is an average-sized hockey player who is beaten up by the league hit man, “Moose” Gantua. In this case, the US would be the painful stimuli involved in being beaten; the UR and CR would be Ed's fear reaction, and the CS would be the sight of Moose to Ed. We are concerned with how strong Ed's fear reaction would be when he sees Moose (i.e., how strong would the CR be to the CS?).

Back 48

Medium to low. Walk out the door and sometimes is sunny, sometimes rainy, (in Canada, usually just cold).

Front 49

More on contingency:

Back 49

As we have said, the magnitude of the CR to the CS would be most importantly influenced by the extent to which the CS predicts the occurrence of the CR. As such, Ed's fear would be greatest if (a) the sight of Moose (the CS) was always followed by a beating (the US) and (b) beatings (the US) were only delivered by Moose (i.e., the US never occurred unless it preceded (predicted) the CS. In contrast, Ed's fear at the sight of Moose (the CS) would be decreased in magnitude if (a) the sight of Moose (the CS) was not always followed by a beating (the US) or if (b) Ed was beaten by bullies other than Moose—in which case the S would also occur in absence of the CS (the sight of Moose).

Front 50

What is CS-US contiguity

Back 50

Closeness in time or space between two events. (e.g. time between CS and US. Trace: time b/w end of CS and beginning of US. Delay: onset of CS and onset of US

Front 51

and how does CS-US contiguity influence the effectiveness of classical conditioning?

Back 51

Usual, the more contiguous, (the closer the CS is to the CR) the faster CR appears. However simultaneous is very ineffective, and the ideal interval varies in complex ways from situation to situation. However, in many cases, optimum interval between CS and US is often 1 second or less.

Front 52

Does the type of response being conditioned influence CS-US contiguity? Explain, citing an example from the text.

Back 52

Yes. Eyeblink responses: ideal is 1/2 second. 1 minute intervals ineffective. Taste aversion: CS-US interval of several hours can work.

Front 53

Are short intervals or long intervals (between the CS and the US) more effective in Pavlovian conditioning? (pp. 82-83)

Back 53

Yes. (meaning: it depends) Gregory Kimble: light, then puff of air 1/10-4/10 sec later. For him, longer was better (dispelling myth that shortest is best).

Front 54

What is a compound stimulus?

Back 54

CS consists of two or more stimuli (e.g. red light an buzzer) presented simultaneously.

Front 55

Describe the experiment that one of Pavlov's assistants conducted with a compound stimulus on a dog, including the results of the experiment. (pp. 83-84)

Back 55

CS was cold + tactile stimulation. Tactile effective, compound CS effective, cold utterly ineffective.

Front 56

Define overshadowing.

Back 56

The effect of one stimulus overshadows/overpowers the other almost completely.

Front 57

What features of a stimulus (when presented as part of a compound stimulus) are responsible for overshadowing? (pp. 84-86)

Back 57

Intense stimuli overshadow weak ones.The intensity of US is also important. Stronger usually more effective, but can also be too strong. CS and US should either both affect internal receptors or both external receptors

Front 58

How does prior experience with a CS influence the effectiveness of Pavlovian conditioning?

Back 58

Reduces effectiveness

Front 59

What is latent inhibition? (p. 86)

Back 59

Previous appearance of a stimulus in the absence of a US interferes with subsequent ability of that stimulus to become a CS. Ie. A bell heard many times in the past with no US is harder to use as a CS with any US.

Front 60

Define blocking.

Back 60

Effective CS is presented, then novel stimulus introduced as compound stimulus, but does not become a CS

Front 61

Compare and contrast blocking and overshadowing. (pp. 86-87)

Back 61

Both show one stimulus interefering with another in becoming a CS. Overshadowing is result of diff b/w stimuli via intensity and co., blocking, cause is prior experience w/ one part of compound stimulus. (They're leaving info out: what if the effective CS suffers from latent inhibition? Will the novel stimulus still be blocked?)

Front 62

Comment to distinguish blocking and overshadowing

Back 62

Comment: As we have emphasized, the basic procedure for establishing a neutral stimulus as a CS is to present that stimulus and quickly follow it with an unconditional stimulus (US). Overshadowing and blocking employ the basic Pavlovian conditioning procedure, but fail to establish the neutral stimulus as a CS. In overshadowing, two neutral stimuli are presented simultaneously and are followed by the US. If one of these stimuli comes to function as a CS and the other stimulus doesn't, we would say that the first stimulus overshadowed the second. In blocking, a CS is initially established in the standard fashion (by pairing it with a US). Then, in subsequent trials, this CS is simultaneously presented with a neutral stimulus and both stimuli are then followed by the US. If the neutral stimulus fails to come to function as a CS, we say that the previously established CS blocked the neutral stimulus from becoming a CS. In both overshadowing and blocking, the failure of the neutral stimulus to become a CS often occurs because the organism is attending to the other stimulus, perhaps because the other stimulus is more prominent or salient.

Front 63

Overshadowing and blocking in everyday life

Back 63

Overshadowing and blocking probably occur to a significant degree in everyday life (though they have only been studied in laboratory settings). For example, suppose your cafeteria lunch is served on a tray. The sight of food has probably been established as a CS for salivation because it has regularly preceded food in your mouth (an US for salivation). Every day, the sight of both the food and the tray precede food in your mouth, a pairing arrangement which might establish the sight of both (either) food and the tray as conditional stimuli for salivation. However, seeing the tray alone may never act as a CS for salivation, because it is blocked by the pre-existing CS (sight of the food). Conceivably, more of your attention is directed at the food than at the tray.

Front 64

What is sensory preconditioning? (pp. 87-88)

Back 64

Two NS (say, light and bell) paired for long time. Then, one (say, bell), established as CS. Then, the other (light) shown, and often produces the CR

Front 65

Describe the relationship between the number of pairings of the CS and US on Pavlovian conditioning. Is the relationship linear? Explain. What are the implications of this for survival of a species? (pp. 88)

Back 65

Not linear. First pairings more important than later. (decelerating curve). Makes sense: learn quickly, survive better.

Front 66

What is the relationship between length of the intertrial interval and the effectiveness of Pavlovian conditioning? (p. 89)

Back 66

20-30 seconds seems best for intertrial interval (between each pairing of CS and US, which is called a trial.

Front 67

How do age, temperament, and stress affect Pavlovian conditioning? (pp. 89-90)

Back 67

Age: the older, the less effective. Temperament: more excitable learns faster. Stress: anxiety acquires CRs faster.

Front 68

Define a Pavlovian conditioning extinction procedure.

Back 68

Repeatedly presenting CS without the US. .

Front 69

Under what conditions do we say that a CS-CR relationship has been extinguished? (p. 91)

Back 69

When the CR no longer occurs after the CS

Front 70

Flooding

Back 70

Comment: One form of therapy based on Pavlovian extinction is called flooding. In flooding, the CS for fear is presented in intensive maximal form. For example, to treat fear of snakes using flooding (also called implosive therapy), a therapist might ask a client to imagine being in a cave, surrounded by hundreds of snakes. This method teaches the fearful individual that imagining (and eventually, actual exposure to) the feared stimulus need not produce an unpleasant US. As you can imagine, flooding therapy elicits a lot of fear all at once, so fearful people are not generally eager to try it. In this unit's conceptual exercise, you will be asked to identify examples of flooding.

Front 71

How does Pavlovian extinction differ from forgetting?

Back 71

Forgetting is deterioration in performance after period of no practice. Extinction is more like learning to not respond with the CR (e.g. learning to not salivate.

Front 72

Be able to distinguish between examples of forgetting and Pavlovian extinction. (pp. 91-92)

Back 72

Biggest difference is that in extinction, practice will continue. In forgetting, it will not.

Front 73

Describe spontaneous recovery. (p. 92)

Back 73

Sudden reappearance of CR after extinction

Front 74

Does extinction completely reverse the effects of Pavlovian conditioning? Why or why not? (pp. 93-94)

Back 74

No. Spontaneous recovery may occur, suggesting CRs must be extinguished at least twice. Besides, does not undo effects: CR can be reestablished more easily than it was established.

Front 75

Describe the work of Edwin Twitmyer in conditioning the patellar reflex.

Back 75

He was testing effect of tension of patellar reflex by ringing a bell, then striking the hammer. Once, he rang the bell, did not strike the hammer, and the patient's leg jerked. Both were surprised. Twitmyer did further research, published and presented it, but no one asked questions because they wanted lunch.

Front 76

Explain why Twitmyer was unsuccessful in gaining attention for his work. (pp. 94-95)

Back 76

No one asked questions after his presentation because it had been a long morning, and they all wanted lunch. Twitmyer did no more research on conditioning.

Front 77

Describe Pavlov's stimulus substitution theory. What problems exist with this theory? (pp. 96-97)

Back 77

In brain, CS triggers the US location in the brain, which triggers the CR/UR. US-UR is like direct line to lab. CS-US-CR/UR is like calling operater and being patched through to lab: result is same, path is different. CS does the job of the US. PROBLEM: CR/UR not always same. CR is weaker than UR. Also, qualitative differences b/w CR/UR (ie dogs will chew food, stay still, but hear bell and become active w/out chewing.Worse: CR sometimes opposite of UR. Electric shock raises heart rate. CS paired with shock decreases heart rate.

Front 78

Describe the preparatory response theory. Provide an example that illustrates its usefulness. (pp. 97-98)

Back 78

What is learned is a response preparing organism for appearance of UR. Morphine: UR is decreased sensitivty to pain, by CR is increased sensitivity: prepping body to suppress the drug.

Front 79

What prediction does preparatory response theory make regarding the conditional stimuli involved in the development of tolerance to drugs? Explain this relationship using Lightfoot's (1980) study of beer drinking. (pp. 98-100)

Back 79

Predicts that in familiar environment, drugs will have diminishing effect because body is preparing to combat the drug. Unfamiliar environment will reduce tolerance. Lightfoot gave two groups beer for 30 minutes/day, 4 days in a row, in the same place. Then, one group went elsewhere and drank, another group went to same place and drank. Group that went to unfamiliar location did worse on intellectual and perceptual-motor skill tests after drinking.

Front 80

Describe the evidence related to Pavlovian conditioning and awareness. (pp. 98-99)

Back 80

Hypothesis: awareness is necessary for CS to produce CR. Problem 1: Students given list of words, responded with what first came to mind. After word 'barn,' they received a small electric shock. Body produced CR (galvanic skin response) to word 'barn,' but students could not say what word was followed by shock. Problem 2: worms and amoeba develop CRs, but probably not aware. Problem 3: If conditioning is different for humans, and we must become aware, why would we learn less efficiently than worms? Resolution: awareness is not a cause but part of what is learned.

Front 81

Explain how preparatory response theory can account for fatal drug overdoses (in which the dose should not have proved fatal). (p. 100)

Back 81

People who took heroine in unfamiliar place or way did not evoke preparatory response. Woman who usually had to stick self several times to get into a vein got it on first try once and almost died. Rats: 3 groups: heroine-inexperienced (96% died), heroine-experienced in unfamiliar setting (64% died), heroine experienced in familiar setting (32% died)