lesson 9

Question 1

Paradigms for Studying Choice

Answer 1

Experimental setups designed to allow researchers to observe and analyze how animals (and humans) make decisions between two or more options.

Question 2

Go/No-Go Paradigm

Answer 2

A choice paradigm where the animal has one primary response option (e.g., lever press). The “choice” is whether to perform the response (“go”) in the presence of one stimulus or to withhold the response (“no-go”) in the presence of another stimulus.

Question 3

Discrimination (in Choice)

Answer 3

The ability to distinguish between different stimuli, allowing for differential responses to each based on learned contingencies. Necessary for successful performance in choice paradigms.

Question 4

Psychophysics

Answer 4

The branch of psychology that investigates the relationship between physical stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they

1 produce. Choice experiments, like gradually morphing shapes, can be used in psychophysical studies to assess perceptual abilities.

Question 5

Transfer Test (Transposition Test)

Answer 5

Presenting an animal with novel stimuli that vary along a dimension (e.g., shape, color) on which they were previously trained to discriminate between two extremes. Used to assess the generalization of learning and the nature of the representation formed.

Question 6

Matching to Sample (MTS)

Answer 6

Procedure:

Sample: A stimulus is presented.
Test: Multiple response options are presented, one matching the sample.
Reinforcement: Choosing the matching option is rewarded.

Question 7

Non-Matching to Sample (NMTS)

Answer 7

Procedure: Similar to MTS, but reinforcement is delivered for choosing the test stimulus that is different from the sample.

Question 8

erm: Retention Interval (RI)

Answer 8

Definition: The delay period between the presentation of the sample and the presentation of the test stimuli in delayed matching or non-matching to sample tasks. Used to assess short-term memory.

Question 9

Delayed Matching to Sample (DMTS)

Answer 9

A matching to sample task with a retention interval inserted between the sample and the test. Requires the animal to remember the sample across the delay.

Question 10

Delayed Non-Matching to Sample (DNMTS)

Answer 10

Procedure: A non-matching to sample task with a retention interval. Requires the animal to remember the sample and choose the non-matching option after the delay.

Question 11

Symbolic Matching to Sample

Answer 11

Procedure: The sample and the matching response option are not physically identical but are symbolic representations of the same thing (e.g., a color sample and a word representing that color as choices).

Question 12

erm: Mazes as Choice Paradigms

Answer 12

Environments where animals navigate and make choices about which path to take. Ecologically relevant for studying spatial learning and decision-making.

Question 13

Y-Maze

Answer 13

A simple maze with a stem leading to two arms, often used in reversal learning tasks.

Question 14

: Hampton Court Maze

Answer 14

: A complex maze with multiple choice points and pathways, requiring a sequence of decisions to reach a goal.

Question 15

Radial Maze

Answer 15

A maze with a central area and multiple arms radiating outwards, often baited with food at the end of each arm. Commonly used to study spatial memory and foraging strategies in rodents.

Question 17

Jimmy has been tricked into entering a hellish Squid Game-type situation (Warning: there are some spoilers for Season 1 of the show in this question). He finds himself with a group of similarly desperate people playing a deadly version of the game Simon Says. In this game, a huge freaky robot gives commands, like “jump on one foot” or “touch your nose”, which have to be obeyed immediately if they are preceded by the phrase “Simon says…”, and must not be performed if the phrase is not spoken.

Question 1 of 3:

On trials when the robot does say “Simon says…”, this game is an example of

Non-match to location

Symbolic match to sample

Delayed match to sample

Symbolic non-match to sample

Answer 17

Symbolic match to sample

Question 18

on n trials when the robot does NOT say “Simon says…”, this is an example of

Non-match to sample

Delayed match to sample

Symbolic non-match to sample

Match to location

Answer 18

Symbolic non-match to sample

Question 20

The following day, Jimmy and those of his peers that survived the “Simon says” challenge are playing the memory game (also called Concentration). In this game, there is an array of cards flipped over on their backs. Each player has to turn over two cards on their turn. If the cards match (have the same image on them), the player keeps them and gets a point; if they don’t match, they get turned back over and the next player goes. Jimmy is paired with Jane. On her first turn, Jane turns over a picture of a mug and one of a dog. Both cards are then turned back over (because they didn’t match). Jimmy then turns over a picture of the same dog. For his second card, he has to find the dog card that Jane recently turned over. Jimmy’s task is an example of

Matching to sample

Delayed non-matching to sample

Delayed matching to location

Symbolic non-matching to sample

Answer 20

Delayed matching to location

Question 21

radial maze for studying memory

Answer 21

Rats explore baited open arms, are removed for a retention interval (RI), and then returned to the maze with all arms open and unbaited. Memory is assessed by the number of previously visited (depleted) arms they avoid.

Question 22

Ecological Relevance of Radial Maze for Rats

Answer 22

connection to Natural Behavior: Mimics foraging behavior where rats explore for scattered food sources and avoid revisiting depleted locations.

Question 23

variations in Radial Maze Experiments

Answer 23

Varying RI duration (short-term vs. long-term memory), using different rooms (contextual memory), manipulating the number of open/blocked arms, and the rate of reward replenishment.

Question 24

Effect of Sample Study Time on Memory (MTS)

Answer 24

Finding: Longer duration of studying the sample stimulus leads to better memory performance in subsequent tests.

Question 25

Effect of Retention Interval (RI) on Memory

Answer 25

Finding: Increasing the duration of the retention interval (the delay between sample and test) generally leads to decreased memory performance.

Question 26

Term: Effect of Distractors on Memory

Answer 26

Finding: Increasing the number of incorrect options (distractors) at the time of the memory test decreases the accuracy of memory recall.

Question 27

Effect of Inter-Trial Interval (ITI) on Memory

Answer 27

counterintuitive Finding: Longer inter-trial intervals (the time between the end of one trial and the start of the next) can lead to improved memory performance on subsequent trials.

Question 28

Proactive Interference

Answer 28

Definition: Difficulty in retrieving a recent memory due to interference from older memories. In DMTS, remembering the sample from a previous trial can interfere with remembering the current trial's sample.

Question 29

Retroactive Interference

Answer 29

Definition: Difficulty in retrieving an older memory due to interference from events that occurred after the memory was formed (intervening events). In DMTS, distracting events during the retention interval can disrupt memory for the sample.

Question 30

Serial Order Learning

Answer 30

Definition: The process of learning and remembering a sequence of stimuli or events in the order they occurred.

Question 31

reflection Point: Serial Order Learning with Matching Paradigm

Answer 31

Possible Procedure: Present a sequence of colored lights (e.g., red, blue, green) to a pigeon, requiring a peck at each. After a delay, present one of the colors from the sequence (e.g., blue) along with a novel color (e.g., yellow). Reward the pigeon for pecking the color that was part of the original sequence (blue). By varying the position of the tested color in the sequence and the delay, you can assess memory for serial order.

Question 32

Primacy Effect (in Serial Recall)

Answer 32

Definition: The tendency to remember items presented at the beginning of a list or sequence better than items in the middle. Often observed with longer retention intervals.

Question 33

Recency Effect (in Serial Recall)

Answer 33

Definition: The tendency to remember items presented at the end of a list or sequence better than items in the middle. Often observed with shorter retention intervals.

Question 34

Serial Position Effect

Answer 34

Definition: The overall pattern of accuracy in recall of a list or sequence, showing better memory for items at the beginning (primacy) and end (recency) compared to those in the middle.

Question 35

Potential Explanation for Primacy and Recency Effects

Answer 35

Current Understanding: Likely involves complex forms of retroactive interference where items in the sequence interfere with each other's encoding and retrieval. The differential effects at different serial positions and across retention intervals are still under active investigation.

Question 36

Jimmy and Jane are still stuck in the Squid Game, and still playing the memory game. As you may recall, on the first trial, Jane flipped images of a mug and a dog (in that order); Jimmy then found a dog but, on his second trial, accidentally chose the mug card Jane had flipped instead of the dog. Is this a case of proactive or retroactive interference? Proactive Interference Retroactive Interference

Answer 36

Correct! This is proactive interference. The earlier memory of the location of the mug card interfered with Jimmy’s retrieval of the location of the dog card, a slightly later memory.

Question 37

On the next trial, Jane flips images of a house and a boat; Jimmy then lifts an image of a child and one of a chocolate bar. On the next trial, Jane first lifts a new card which has the boat on it (so, she now needs to find the old boat card she flipped on the last trial). For her second card, however, she accidentally chooses the chocolate bar card that Jimmy had picked on his turn. Is this a case of proactive or retroactive interference? Proactive Interference Retroactive Interference

Answer 37

This is retroactive interference. The later memory for the location of the chocolate bar that Jimmy chose has knocked the location of the other boat card out of Jane’s short-term memory.

Question 38

Category (Concept) Learning

Answer 38

Definition: The process by which animals (and humans) learn to group stimuli together based on shared features or consequences, allowing them to respond appropriately to novel instances of the category.

Question 39

Basic Method for Studying Category Learning in Animals

Answer 39

Procedure: A matching procedure where subjects (often pigeons) are presented with images belonging or not belonging to a category and must make different responses. Transfer tests with novel exemplars assess concept learning beyond simple memorization.

Question 40

Exemplars (in Category Learning)

Answer 40

Individual instances or examples of a category used during training in a category learning experiment.

Question 41

Transfer Test (in Category Learning)

Answer 41

Purpose: To determine if an animal has learned a general concept or rule by testing its ability to correctly categorize novel exemplars of the trained categories. Failure suggests memorization of training exemplars.

Question 42

Exemplar Effect

Answer 42

Observation: In category learning, subjects often show better performance (higher accuracy) when categorizing previously seen training exemplars compared to novel exemplars of the same categories.

Question 43

Perceptual Concepts

Answer 43

Definition: Categories defined by shared physical features among their members (e.g., cars have wheels, doors, windshields).

Question 44

Functional Concepts

Answer 44

Definition: Categories defined by the function or use of their members, rather than shared physical characteristics (e.g., tools).

Question 45

Relational Concepts

Answer 45

Definition: Categories defined by the relationship between objects, rather than the features of the objects themselves (e.g., "to the left of," "same as"). Generally more difficult for animals to learn.

Question 46

Same/Different Concept

Answer 46

Definition: A relational concept where animals learn to discriminate between arrays of identical items and arrays containing a different item. Pigeons and ducks have shown the ability to learn this.

Question 47

Entropy (in Same/Different Discrimination)

Answer 47

Possible Mechanism: Animals might discriminate same/different by representing the visual variability (entropy) within a stimulus group. Low entropy = same, high entropy = different.

Question 48

: Imprinting and Same/Different Concept in Ducklings (Martinho & Kacelnik, 2016)

Answer 48

Finding: Ducklings imprinted on either "same" or "different" object pairs during their sensitive period later preferred novel object pairs that matched the imprinted relationship.

Question 49

Equivalence Class

Answer 49

A category of stimuli that are treated as equivalent because they share common consequences or outcomes, even if they do not share physical features. Learning about one member of the class can generalize to other members.

Question 50

Feature Theory of Category Learning

Answer 50

Core Idea: Animals learn to associate individual features of stimuli with particular responses or outcomes. Categorization of novel stimuli is based on the sum of the associative strengths of their constituent features. Explains exemplar effects and transfer.

Question 51

Exemplar Theory of Category Learning

Answer 51

Core Idea: Animals store memories of individual exemplars encountered during training and generalize their responses to novel stimuli based on their similarity to these stored exemplars. Requires a strong memory capacity and predicts exemplar effects.

Question 52

Prototype Theory of Category Learning

Answer 52

Core Idea: Animals form a prototype, an averaged representation of all the exemplars they have encountered within a category. Novel stimuli are categorized based on their similarity to this prototype. Explains generalization and can account for exemplar effects.

Question 53

Jimmy has found an old broken vending machine. This machine only dispenses two things: Coke cans and Mars bars. There are 6 buttons on the machine, labelled A-F, and Jimmy has found that three of them – A, B, and C – cause Coke to happen, and the other three – D, E, and F – cause Mars bars to happen. One day, Jimmy approaches the vending machine, presses the A button, and receives an electric shock. Jimmy will now: Be afraid to press button D, because it is in the same equivalence class as button A Be afraid to press button D, because it is not in the same equivalence class as button A Be afraid to press button B, because it is in the same equivalence class as button A Be afraid to press button B, because it is not in the same equivalence class as button A

Answer 53

Be afraid to press button B, because it is in the same equivalence class as button A

Question 54

Jimmy likes to go out for Indian food. The restaurant he goes to serves dishes at different levels of spiciness, indicated on the menu by icons of hot peppers. The mildest version has one pepper, the spiciest has 4. Jimmy has only ever tried the one-pepper version and the 3-pepper version, and has found that the 3-pepper one is tastier. If he is now given the opportunity to try all the spiciness levels, according to the peak-shift effect, what will be his favorite? 1-pepper 2-pepper 3-pepper 4-pepper

Answer 54

4-pepper

Question 55

generalization

Answer 55

The tendency of an animal to respond to stimuli that are similar, but not identical, to a trained conditioned stimulus (CS) in the same way that it responds to the CS.

Question 56

Generalization Gradient

Answer 56

A graphical representation showing the strength of an animal's response to stimuli that vary along a dimension relative to the trained CS. Response strength typically decreases as the stimulus becomes less similar to the CS.

Question 57

S+ (SD)

Answer 57

The rewarded stimulus in a discrimination training procedure; the stimulus that signals the availability of reinforcement for a particular response.

Question 58

S- (SΔ)

Answer 58

The unrewarded stimulus in a discrimination training procedure; the stimulus that signals the absence of reinforcement for a particular response.

Question 59

Transposition Test (in Generalization)

Answer 59

Testing an animal's response to stimuli that vary along a dimension on which it was trained, including stimuli not used during training. Used to assess the generalization gradient. Essentially a variant of the transfer test.

Question 60

Peak Shift Phenomenon

Answer 60

Observation: After training with an S+ and an S- along a stimulus dimension, the peak of the generalization gradient (the stimulus eliciting the strongest response) is often shifted away from the S+ in the direction opposite to the S-. The strongest response occurs to a novel stimulus that was never presented during training.

Question 61

Explaining Peak Shift with Generalization Gradients

Answer 61

Hypothesis: Peak shift arises from the interaction of two generalization gradients: Excitatory Gradient: Centered around the S+, showing increased responding to stimuli similar to the S+. Inhibitory Gradient: Centered around the S-, representing learned inhibition of responding to stimuli similar to the S-. The resulting response strength to any stimulus is the difference between the excitatory and inhibitory strengths at that point. Subtracting the inhibitory gradient from the excitatory gradient can result in a peak response that is shifted away from the S+ and in the opposite direction of the S-.

Question 62

Before he leaves the house in the morning, Jimmy’s mother tells him: “don’t forget your jacket, wallet, phone, and backpack”. Jimmy takes his phone and backpack, but forgets the jacket and wallet. This is an example of A primacy effect A recency effect Proactive interference A transfer test

Answer 62

A recency effect

Question 63

The ability to recognize something as a phone – based on past experiences with other kinds of phones – requires what sort of concept? Perceptual Relational Functional Featural

Answer 63

Perceptual

Question 64

Saying “Shaq is taller than Kevin Hart like a skyscraper is taller than a bungalow” requires what sort of concept? Perceptual Relational Functional Vertical

Answer 64

relational

Question 65

Jimmy is going to the bathroom on campus, and has to choose which stall to use. The stalls are numbered from 1 to 5. Jimmy has used this bathroom twice before. Once, he went into stall #2 and it was gross (I won’t describe it – insert your own gross public bathroom experience here); the other time, he tried stall 4 and it was pristine and smelled of roses. This time, when he enters, he finds both stalls 2 and 4 are out of order. Based on the principle of peak shift, which stall will Jimmy choose? Stall 1 Stall 3 Stall 5 Jimmy actually just came in to check his hair in the mirror.

Answer 65

Stall 5