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Flashcards in Classical conditioning Deck (57)
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1
Q

What is classical conditioning?

A

Classical conditioning is a process in which one stimulus that does not elicit a certain response is associated with a second stimulus that does. As a result, the first stimulus also comes to elicit a response.

2
Q

What is a conditioning trial?

A

A conditioning trial is each pairing of the neutral stimulus (NS) & the unconditioned stimulus (US) during conditioning.

3
Q

True or false: Only one conditioning trial is needed for the NS to become established as a CS?

A

False. Several conditioning trials are often needed before the NS becomes established as a CS.

4
Q

What is delayed conditioning?

A

A type of temporal arrangement in which the onset of the NS precedes the onset of the US, & the two stimuli overlap.

5
Q

What are the different temporal arrangement of stimuli?

A

Delayed conditioning;
Trace conditioning;
Simultaneous conditioning;
Backward conditioning.

6
Q

What is trace conditioning?

A

A type of temporal arrangement in which the onset & offset of the NS precedes the onset of the US.

7
Q

True or false: In delayed conditioning, the NS generally serves as a predictor of the US?

A

True.

8
Q

Which temporal arrangement is often the best arrangement for conditioning?

A

Delayed conditioning, especially if the time between the onset of the NS & the onset of the US (interstimulus interval, ISI) is relatively short.

9
Q

What is trace interval?

A

The time between the offset of the NS & the onset of the US in trace conditioning.

10
Q

True or false: trace conditioning can be as effective as delayed conditioning if the trace interval is relatively long?

A

False. Trace conditioning can be as effective as delayed conditioning if the trace interval in relatively short.

11
Q

What is simultaneous conditioning?

A

A type of temporal arrangement in which the onset of the NS & the onset of the US occur simultaneously.

12
Q

True or false: Simultaneous usually results in good conditioning?

A

False. Simultaneous conditioning usually results in poor conditioning, because the NS is no longer a good predictor of the US.

13
Q

What is backward conditioning?

A

A type of temporal arrangement in which the onset of the NS follows the onset of the US.

14
Q

Which temporal arrangement is considered the least effective procedure for conditioning?

A

Backward conditioning.

15
Q

When can backward excitatory conditioning be achieved?

A

When the NS is a biologically relevant stimulus for fear.

16
Q

What can backward conditioning result in?

A

Inhibitory conditioning.
For example, if a tone sounds just before a shock is terminated, then the tone reliably predicts the removal lof the shock. The tone then becomes a safety signal (CS-) that inhibits the occurence of fear.

17
Q

What is acquisition?

A

Acquisition is the process of developing & strengthening a conditioned response through repeated pairing of a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus.

18
Q

What do we call the maximum amount of conditioning that can take place in a particular situation?

A

The asymptote of conditioning.

19
Q

True or false: In general, less intense USs produce stronger & more rapid conditioning than do more intense USs?

A

False. In general, more intense USs produce stronger & more rapid conditioning than do less intense USs.

20
Q

True or false: In general, more intense NSs result in weaker & slower conditioning than do less intense NSs?

A

False. In general, more intense NSs result in stronger & more rapid conditioning than do less intense NSs.

21
Q

What is extinction?

A

Extinction is a process in which a conditioned response is weakened or eliminated when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the US.

22
Q

What is called a presentation of the CS without the US?

A

An extinction trial.

23
Q

True or false: A response that has been extinguish cannot be reacquired when the CS is again paired with the US?

A

False. A response that has been extinguish can be reacquired quite rapidly when the CS is again paired with the US.

24
Q

What is spontaneous recovery?

A

Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a CR to a CS following a rest period after extinction.

25
Q

What is disinhibition?

A

Disinhibition is the sudden recovery of a response during an extinction procedure when a novel stimulus is introduced.

26
Q

What is stimulus generalization?

A

Stimulus generalization is the tendency for a CR to occur in the presence of a stimulus that is similar to the CS.

27
Q

What is semantic generalization?

A

Semantic generalization is the generalization of a conditioned response to verbal stimuli that are similar in meaning to the CS.

28
Q

What is stimulus discrimination?

A

Stimulus discrimination is the tendency for a response to be elicited more by one stimulus than another.

29
Q

How can stimulus discrimination be trained?

A

Through a procedure called discrimination training.

30
Q

What is an excitatory CS (CS+)?

A

A CS that predicts the presentation/appearance of something.

31
Q

What is an inhibitory CS (CS-)?

A

A CS that predicts the absence/removal of something.

32
Q

What is experimental neurosis?

A

Experimental neurosis is an experimentally produced disorder in which animals exposed to unpredictable events develop neurotic-like symptoms.

33
Q

What could be major factors in determining one’s personality?

A

The processes of conditioning interacting with inherited differences in temperament.

34
Q

What is sensory preconditioning?

A

Sensory preconditioning is a process in which when one stimulus is conditioned as a CS, another stimulus with which is was previously associated can also become a CS.

35
Q

What is different about sensory preconditioning as opposed to other processes of conditioning?

A

The procedure is sometimes more effective when the two stimuli in the preconditioning phase are presented simultaneously, as opposed to sequentially.

36
Q

Sensory preconditioning can be viewed as a form of…

A

Latent learning.

37
Q

What is a compound stimulus?

A

A compound stimulus consists of the simultaneous presentation of two or more individual stimuli.

38
Q

What happens in overshadowing?

A

In overshadowing, the most salient member of a compound stimulus is more readily conditioned as a CS & interferes with conditioning of the least salient member.

39
Q

What happens in blocking?

A

In blocking, the presence of an established CS interferes with conditioning of a new CS (that is now a NS).

40
Q

What does blocking indicate?

A

The mere contiguity between an NS & a US is insufficient to produce conditioning.

41
Q

What happens in latent inhibition?

A

In latent inhibition, a familiar stimulus is more difficult to condition as a CS than an unfamiliar stimulus.

42
Q

What does latent inhibition prevent?

A

Latent inhibition prevents the development of conditioned associations to redundant stimuli in the environnement.

43
Q

What happens in pseudoconditioning?

A

In pseudoconditioning, an elicited response that appears to be a CR is actually the result of sensitization rather than conditioning.

44
Q

When is pseudoconditioning a problem?

A

Pseudoconditioning is a problem whenever the US is some type of emotionally arousing stimulus.

45
Q

What is the S-R approach?

A

The S-R approach is to view classical conditioning as a process of directly attaching a reflex response to a new stimulus.

46
Q

What is the S-S (stimulus-stimulus) model?

A

The S-S model is a model of conditioning in which the NS becomes directly associated with the US &, because of this association, comes to elicit a response that is related to the US.

47
Q

What is Pavlov’s S-S (stimulus-substitution) theory?

A

According to Pavlov, the CS acts as a substitute for he US.

48
Q

What is the preparatory-response theory?

A

According to the preparatory-response theory, the purpose of the CR is to prepare the organism for the presentation of the US.

49
Q

What is the compensatory-response theory?

A

According to the compensatory-response theory, a CS that has been repeatedly associated with the primary response (a-process) to a US will eventually come to elicit a compensatory response (b-process).

50
Q

What is the role of the a-process in the compensatory-response theory?

A

The a-process (ex: decreased blood pressure) becomes both an UR (ex: to heroin) & a US to the b-process that elicits a compensatory response (ex: increased BP).

51
Q

Why is a conditioned compensatory-response useful?

A

Because it allows the body to prepare itself ahead of time.

52
Q

What are the two most important implications of the compensatory-response theory?

A

Drug addiction. Drug addictions are partly motivated by a tendency to avoid the symptoms of withdrawal, which are essentially the compensatory responses to the effects of the drug.
Drug tolerance.

53
Q

What did the Rescola-Wagner theory attempt to explain?

A

The effect of each conditioning trial on the strength (associative value) of the CS in its relationship to the US.

54
Q

What does the R-W theory propose?

A

That a given US can support only so much conditioning, & this amount of conditioning must be distributed among the various CSs that are present.

55
Q

True or false: Stronger USs support less conditioning than do weaker USs?

A

False. Stronger USs support more conditioning than do weaker USs.

56
Q

According to the R-W theory, what is saying that the CS has a high associative value similar to?

A

It is similar to saying that the CS is a strong predictor of the US (that the subject strongly expects the US whenever it encounters the CS).

57
Q

What is the overexpectation effect?

A

The overexpectation effect is the decrease in the conditioned response that occurs when two separately conditioned CSs are combined into a compound stimulus for further pairing with the US. (when the two CS put together have a higher associative value than the US stimulus itself)