Topic 8: Respondent Conditioning

Question 1

Operant Behavior

Answer 1

behavior that acts on the environment to produce an immediate consequence and, in turn, is strengthened by that consequence

Question 2

Operant Conditioning

Answer 2

occurs when a behavior in a particular situation is followed by a reinforcing consequence, thus making the behavior more likely to occur in similar circumstances in the future

Question 3

Respondent Behaviors

Answer 3

behavior that is elicited by a prior stimulus

an unconditioned response (UR) and a conditioned response (CR) are respondent behaviors because they are elicited by unconditional stimuli (US) and conditioned stimuli (CS), respectively

Question 4

Respondent Conditioning

Answer 4

a process in which a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US)

the US elicits an unconditioned response (UR)

as a result of pairing the neutral stimulus with the US, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) that will elicit a response similar to the UR, called a conditioned response (CR)

Question 5

Unconditioned Responses (URs)

Answer 5

the response that is elicited by an unconditioned stimulus (US)

Question 6

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

Answer 6

a stimulus that naturally elicits an unconditioned response (UR) because the UR has survival value

no prior conditioning is needed for the US to elicit a UR

Question 7

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Answer 7

a previously neutral stimulus that has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus

once established in this way, the CS elicits a conditioned response similar to the unconditioned response elicited by the unconditioned stimulus

Question 8

Conditioned Response (CR)

Answer 8

in respondent conditioning, a CR is elicited by a conditioned stimulus, the conditioned stimulus acquires the power to elicit the CR by its repeated pairing with an unconditioned stimulus or another conditioned stimulus

Question 9

Trace Conditioning

Answer 9

a type of respondent conditioning stimulus (CS) is presented and then the unconditioned stimulus (US) is presented after the termination of the CS

Question 10

Delay Conditioning

Answer 10

a type of respondent conditioning in which the conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented and the unconditioned stimulus (US) is then presented before the termination of the CS

Question 11

Simultaneous Conditioning

Answer 11

the process in which the unconditioned stimulus (US) and conditioned stimulus (CS) are presented at the same time in respondent conditioning trails

Question 12

Backward Conditioning

Answer 12

a respondent-conditioning procedure in which the unconditioned stimulus (US) is presented before the conditioned stimulus (CS)

this is the least effective type of respondent conditioning procedure

Question 13

Higher-Order Conditioning

Answer 13

the process by which, when a neutral stimulus is paired with a conditioned stimulus (CS) a number of times

the neutral stimulus becomes a CS that will elicit the same conditioned response (CR)

Question 14

Conditioned Emotional Responses (CERs)

Answer 14

a type of conditioned response in which an emotional response such as fear, anger, or happiness is elicited by a conditioned stimulus in the process of respondent conditioning

Question 15

Respondent Extinction

Answer 15

extinction of a conditioned response (CR)

Question 16

Spontaneous Recovery

Answer 16

the process in which, when an operant behavior has been extinguished, the behavior may occur again in the future in circumstances in which it was previously reinforced

Question 17

What are some factors that influence respondent conditioning?

Answer 17

the nature of the US and CS

the temporal relationship between the CS and US

contingency between the CS and US

the number of pairings

previous exposure to the CS

Question 18

Salient

Answer 18

a stimulus is salient when it is intense or easily detected by the individual

Question 19

What are respondent behaviors?

Answer 19

respondent behaviors are elicited or controlled by stimuli

typically, biologically significant stimuli elicit reflexive responses that have survival value

Question 20

What are some examples of reflexive responses?

Answer 20

object in esophagus –> vomiting

loud noise –> increased heart rate & GSR

nasal irritation –> sneeze

light in eye –> pupil constriction

air puff to eye –> eyeblink

stroking cheek of infant –> head turning

Question 21

What was Pavlov’s experiment?

Answer 21

performed research on the physiology of digestion

measured a dog’s salivation to meat powder

however, the dogs became “psychic”: salivated when he entered the room, or when they heard his footsteps

Pavlov wanted to use a more consistent stimulus, so he took the metronome from his wife’s piano

dogs salivated to the sound of the metronome

Question 22

What is an unconditioned stimulus (US)?

Answer 22

stimulus that naturally elicits a reflexive response, without any learning or conditioning

e.g. meat powder

Question 23

What is an unconditioned response (UR)?

Answer 23

reflexive response naturally elicited by an unconditioned stimulus

e.g. salivation

Question 24

What is a neutral stimulus (NS)?

Answer 24

stimulus that has no effect on reflexive responses

e.g. sound of metronome

Question 25

What is a conditioned stimulus (CS)?

Answer 25

initially neutral stimulus that is paired with an unconditioned stimulus e.g. sound of a metronome

Question 26

What is a conditioned response (CR)?

Answer 26

response elicited by a conditioned stimulus e.g. salivation

Question 27

What is respondent (or classical, or Pavlovian) conditioning?

Answer 27

entails manipulating stimuli that elicit reflexive responses the process of associating an NS with a US to form a CS is called "conditioning" "conditional" = dependent on learning "unconditional" = reflexive; not dependent on learning

Question 28

What is trace conditioning?

Answer 28

NS presented before US; they do not overlap in time

Question 29

What is delay conditioning?

Answer 29

onset of NS occurs before onset of US; both overlap in time

Question 30

What is simultaneous conditioning?

Answer 30

NS and US are presented at the same time

Question 31

What is backward conditioning?

Answer 31

US presented before NS

Question 32

What is highest-order conditioning?

Answer 32

if an NS is paired with an established CS a number of times, the NS becomes a CS that will then elicit the same CR

Question 33

What was Watson's "Little Albert" experiment?

Answer 33

baby showed no fear response to a monkey, a burning newspaper, or a white rat then, when Albert reached for the white rat, they struck a metal bar with a hammer, making a loud noise; Albert was startled but did not cry when he tried to touch the rat with his other hand, they struck the bar again, this time he cried in repeated sessions, he was presented with the rat and the loud sound simultaneously when the rat was presented alone, Albert cried and crawled away (operant escape response) when presented with a rabbit, a dog, a seal fur coat, or a Santa Claus mask, Albert cried (operant stimulus) generalization: avoidance response evoked by furry objects (respondent stimulus) discrimination: Albert played with blocks normally

Question 34

What is respondent extinction?

Answer 34

repeated presentation of CS without he US causes weakening of CR

Question 35

What is spontaneous recovery?

Answer 35

presenting CS after extinction elicits a CR

Question 36

How does the nature of the US and the CS influence the effectiveness of respondent conditioning?

Answer 36

high intensity US, high salience of CS are more effective e.g. loud thunder (US), bright lightning (CS)

Question 37

How does the temporal relationship between the NS and the US influence the effectiveness of respondent conditioning?

Answer 37

NS should precede US; shorter interval is better (optimal at 0.5 s) exception is conditioned taste aversion taste of food (NS) + toxins (US) --> nausea/vomiting (UR) conditioning may occur long after presentation of taste (CS)

Question 38

How does the contingency between the NS and the US influence the effectiveness of respondent conditioning?

Answer 38

should occur together on every trial

Question 39

How does the number of pairing NS and US influence the effectiveness of respondent conditioning?

Answer 39

more pairings create stronger conditioning

Question 40

What are the differences between respondent and operant conditioning?

Answer 40

respondent behaviors are elicited (automatic, reflexive, involuntary) by a CS or US vs. operant behaviors are evoked (voluntary) by an S^D respondent conditioning involves pairing an NS with a US before a response vs. operant conditioning involves consequences after a response respondent extinction occurs when a CS is presented without the US vs. operant extinction occurs when reinforcement no longer occurs after a behavior

Question 41

How do respondent and operant conditioning work together?

Answer 41

respondent conditioning in Little Albert: white rat (NS) paired with loud sound (US) elicited CER to white rat operant conditioning: white rat is antecedent stimulus (S^D) that evoked avoidance behavior (R) which produced feeling of relief as a consequence (S^R-) or negative reinforcement