classical conditioning

Question 1

what is unlearned association

Answer 1

experiencing stimulus automatically triggers response

Question 2

what is an unconditioned stimuli

Answer 2

a stimuli that can automatically elicit unlearned unconditioned responses
- because of pre existing unlearned association

Question 3

why do USs often elicit unconditioned responses

Answer 3

because the have motivational value

Question 4

what is an unconditioned response

Answer 4

an involuntary reflex or response to a US, which can be overt or internal

Question 5

what is a conditioned response

Answer 5

a previously neutral stimulus that, after being paired with a US, comes to trigger a conditioned response

Question 6

what is a conditioned response

Answer 6

the response elicited by the CS alone; it is an indirect elicitation of the UR and reflects the animal ‘knowing’ the US is coming

Question 7

is classical conditioning S-R or S-S learning

Answer 7

S-S learning
- the CS activates the mental representation of the US, which then leads to the response
- it is not a direct S-R link

Question 8

what is the devaluation thought experiment

Answer 8

• if you pair a cough with a tickle, a child giggles
• if you devalue the US the child stops giggling when they hear the cough

Question 9

what is the stimulus substitution theory

Answer 9

the CS acts as a substitute for the US, often causing the CR to closely resemble the UR e.g pigeons pecking a light as if it were a grain

Question 10

what is evaluative conditioning

Answer 10

when the motivational properties of a US transfer to the CS. this is frequently used in advertising by pairing brands with positive images

Question 11

what is second order conditioning

Answer 11

• a chain of association where a neutral stimulus is paired with an already established CS1
• the CS2 eventually elicits a response even though it was never paired with the original US

Question 12

what is sensory preconditioning

Answer 12

• two neutral stimuli are paired first
• then one is paired with US
• testing shows the animal learned the association between the two neutral stimuli, as it will respond to the tone

Question 13

what did Jenkins and Moore find

Answer 13

• demonstrated that the form of the CR depends on the US
• pigeons paired with grain pecked the key with an open back and closed eyes
• pigeons paired with water pecked with a closed beak and open eyes

Question 14

what is a criticism of Hull and Thordike

Answer 14

Hull argued all learning was S-R and required a visible response/reinforcer
- sensory preconditioning proved Hull wrong by showing learning can happen between neutral stimuli without immediate reinforcement to behaviour

Question 15

how is appetitive conditioning measured

Answer 15

by conditioned approach - the graph goes up
- head entries into a food hopper

Question 16

how is aversive conditioning measured

Answer 16

conditioned suppression
- freezing
- graph goes down as it suppressed other behaviours like lever pressing

Question 17

what is the suppression ratio formula

Answer 17

• rate during CS/ (rate before CS + rate during CS)
• 0.5 = no fear
• 0 = maximum fear

Question 18

what is extinction

Answer 18

• removing the US causes the CR to gradually dissipate

Question 19

what is spontaneous recovery

Answer 19

after a delay, the CR returns, proving the original association was not erased but merely masked by new inhibitory learning

Question 20

what is conditioned inhibition

Answer 20

• a signal that predicts the omission of an unexpected US (e.g., a tone + light means no food, while tone alone means food
• the inhibitor counteracts the expectation

Question 21

what is the motivational value of inhibitors

Answer 21

• omission of an expected good thing leads to a negative state
• omission of an expected bad thing leads to a positive state