CLASSICAL CONDITIONING II: THEORY & APPLICATION

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts and terminology from Classical Conditioning II: Theory and Application.

US

Unconditioned Stimulus: a stimulus that naturally elicits an unlearned response without prior conditioning (e.g., food).

UR

Unconditioned Response: the automatic reflex to the US (e.g., salivation to food).

CS

Conditioned Stimulus: a previously neutral stimulus that, after pairing with the US, elicits a CR.

CR

Conditioned Response: the learned response to the CS after conditioning.

Acquisition

Process of forming an association between CS and US; strength of CR increases with CS–US pairings.

Extinction

Decrease of the CR when the CS is presented without the US.

Habituation

Non-associative learning: reduced response to a repeated stimulus.

Inhibitory conditioning

Learning that a CS predicts the absence of the US; can lead to an inhibitor.

Inhibitor

A CS that signals 'no US' and reduces responding when paired with an excitatory CS.

Excitatory stimulus

A stimulus that facilitates learning about a CS by predicting the US (CS+).

Blocking

Slower learning about a new CS when it is paired with a US that is already predicted by another CS.

Kamin

Ground-breaking 1968 experiments demonstrating blocking in rats (by Kamin).

Superconditioning

Faster learning about a CS when it is paired with a US in the presence of an inhibitory CS (opposite of blocking).

Surprise

Mismatch between expected and actual US; essential for learning in some theories.

Rescorla–Wagner model

A formal model where learning depends on surprise: ΔV = αβ(λ − V).

ΔV = αβ(λ − V)

Change in associative strength equals CS salience times US strength times (λ minus V).

λ

Maximum possible associative strength (magnitude of the US).

V

Current associative value of the CS (expected US strength).

α

Salience of the CS; how noticeable the CS is.

β

Strength of the US in promoting conditioning (learning rate).

CS pre-exposure / Latent inhibition

Pre-exposure to a CS slows later conditioning; latent inhibition reduces learning about that CS.

Retardation test

Test to determine if a pre-exposed CS is inhibitory by seeing if learning is slowed when it is paired with a US.

Summation test

Test to determine if a pre-exposed CS is inhibitory by measuring its effect when combined with an excitatory CS.

Generalisation

CR is elicited by stimuli similar to the original CS; strength decreases as similarity decreases.

Discrimination

Learning to respond to CS+ but not to other similar stimuli (CS−); reduces generalisation.

Taste aversion

Rapid association of a taste with illness; can occur after a single pairing and with long CS–US delays.

Garcia effect (Preparedness)

Not all CS–US associations are equally learnable; some (e.g., taste-illness) are learned more readily.

Trace conditioning

CS ends before the US is presented; introduces a temporal gap and is often less effective than short-delay conditioning.

Systematic desensitisation

Clinical technique using gradual exposure to a feared object with relaxation training to reduce fear.

Context conditioning in addiction

Environmental contexts become associated with drug effects; tolerance can be context-specific and overdose risky in new contexts.

Heroin overdose study (Siegel 1982)

Context-specific tolerance: same dose in a new environment can produce overdose due to lack of conditioned cues.

Engram

Memory trace; the physical substrate of a memory in the brain.

Optogenetics

Techniques using light to control neurons that have been genetically modified to express light-sensitive proteins.

Channelrhodopsin

Light-activated protein used in optogenetics to stimulate neurons.

c-fos gene

Immediate-early gene used as a marker to identify neurons involved in memory formation.