PSY 3320 Ch. 3 - Elicited Behaviors and Classical Conditioning

Elicited behavior

• A behavior that is drawn out by a preceding stimulus (respondant behavior)

• Many are involuntary

Reflex

• Simple, automatic response to a stimulus/the relationship between such a response and the stimulus that elicits it

• The msot basic form of elicited behavior

Startle response

A defensive reaction to a sudden, unexpected stimulus

Orienting response

Automatic positioning of oneself to facilitate attending to a stimulus

Orienting response

The automatic positioning of oneself to facilitate attending to a stimulus

Reflex arc

A neutral structure that underlies some reflexes and consists of a sensory neuron, an interneuron, and a motor neuron

Fixed action patterns

• A fixed sequence of responses that elicited by a specific stimulus (or releaser)

• Tend to be unique to certain species (species-specific behavior)

• Adaptive responses that have evolved to help animals cope with consistent aspects of their environment (instincts?)

• Issue: sudden, large-scale change in environment may render pattern useless or harmful

Sign stimulus/releaser

The specific stimulus that elicits a fixed action pattern

Habituation

• A decrease in the strength of the elicited response following repeated presentations of the stimulus that naturally (unlearned) elicits a response

• Currently irrelevant, low intensity

• Effects disappear when the stimulus is not presented for a period of time

Sensitization

• An increase in the strength of an elicited response following the repeated presentations of the stimulus that nautrally (unlearned) elicits that response

• Currently relevant, high intensity

• Effects disappear when the stimulus is not presented for a period of time

Short-term habituation

Quick decrease, then quick recovery

Long-term habituation

• Slow decrease, slow recovery

• Occurs when presentations of stimuli are widely spaced

• Repeated sessions of short-term habituation, spread out over time, can eventually lead to long-term habituation

Dishabituation

Habituated responses to a stimulus can reappear following the presentation of another, seemingly irrelevant novel stimulus

Low-intensity stimulus

Results in habituation

High-intensity stimulus

Results in sensitization

Stimulus of moderate intensity

Results in initial period of sensitization, followed by habituation

Opponent-Process Theory of Emotion

Theory that an emotional event elicits two competing processes: (1) an a-process/primary process that is directly elicited by the event, and (2) a b-process/opponent process that is elicited by the a-process and serves to counteract the a-process (usually meant to maintain homeostasis)

Important characteristics of the Opponent-Process Theory of Emotion

1. The a-process correlates closely with the presence of the emotional event (quick increase and quick decrease)

2. The b-process is slow to increase and slow to decreases

3. With repeated presentations of the emotional event, the b-process increases in both strength and duration (with each removal, it takes longer to return to normal)

4. The a-process and the b-process tend to be hedonically opposite from each other (hedonic = extent to which something is experienced as pleasant vs. unpleasant)

5. B-process slowly moderates a-process

Classical conditioning

• Mechanism of learning

• A stimulus comes to elicit a response because it has been paired/associated with another stimulus

• a.k.a Pavlovian conditioning/respondant

• Our survival depends on learning

• Can transform a normally aversive stimulus into an appetitive stimulus

Pavlov’s Experiment

• Dog’s automatically salivated in response to taste of food

  • Unconditioned response/occurs naturally

  • Unconditioned stimulus is the food

  • Neutral stimulus: a metronome (does not elicit salivation) → NS becomes conditioned stimulus, salivation becomes conditioned response

    • Need repetition, each pairing is a conditioning trial

Measuring level of conditioning

Intersperse conditioning trials with occasional test trial where NS is presented by itself

Unconditioned stimulus

A stimulus that naturally elicits an unlearned/innate response

Unconditioned response

Unlearned reponse that is naturally elicited by the US

Conditioned stimulus

Stimulus that is initially neutral them comes to elicit a learned response after it is associated/paired with a US

Conditioned response

The learned response that is elicited by the CS (often similar to the UR)

Appetitive conditioning

The US is an appetititve/pleasant event

Aversive conditioning

The US is an aversive/unpleasant event (occurs easily because we quickly learn to dislike these events)

Conditioned suppression/Conditioned Emotional Response (CER) program

• Developed by Estes and Skinner

• Level of fear assessed by extent to which behaviors stop when fear-invoking stimuli is present and resumes when it is not

• Ex: Rat trained to press lever for food → once steady rate of lever pressing is established, fear-conditioning procedure is introduced → rat becomes fearful, stops pressing lever when it hears the tone

• Measured with suppression ratio

Suppression ratio

• Number of responses emitted during CS period (while tone is on) divided by total number of responses during CS period and pre-CS period

• Suppression ratio = # of CS responses/(# of CS responses + # of pre-CS responses)

• Lower ratio = greater supression and more effective conditioning

  • Lower # = less responding (greater supression) of behavior

Excitatory conditioning

Conditioning in which a neutral stimulus is associated with the presentation of a US and therefore (as a CS) comes to elicit a certain response

Inhibitory conditioning

• Conditioning in which a neutral stimulus is associated with the absence or removal of a US and therefore (as a CS) inhibits a certain response

• Result: a certain response is less likely to occur when the CS is present

Temporal conditioning

The NS(CS) is not an external stimulus but is itself the passage of time

1. Delayed Conditioning

• Temporal NS-US arrangement

• The onset of the NS precedes the onset of hte US, and the two stimuli overlap

  • Time between onset of NS and US is interstimulus interval (ISI)

• Best arrangement for conditioning

• Good for when time between onset of NS and onset of US is brief

2. Trace Conditioning

• Temporal NS-US arrangement

• The onset and offset of the NS precede the onset of the US (the NS occurs before the US, and the two stimuli do not overlap)

• Time between offset of NS and onset of US is called trace interval

• Short trace interval is the most efficient (organism has to remember the occurrence of the NS)

3. Simultaneous Conditioning

• Temporal NS-US arrangement

• The onset of the NS and the onset of the US occur simultaneously

• Usually poor conditioning (NS is not a good predictor of the US when they happen simultaenously)

4. Backward Conditioning

• Temporal NS-US arrangement

• The onset of the NS follows the onset of teh US

• Least effective, can create inhibitory response

• Backward excitatory can occur when NS is biologically relevant stimulus for fear

Pseudoconditioning

• An elicited response that appears to be a CR is actually the result of sensitization rather than conditioning (stimulus generalization)

• Fix: assess the extent to which a response is the result of pseudoconditioning rather than real conditioning

  • Employ a control condition in which the NS and US are presented seperately

  • Level of responding shown by control group = the amount of sensitization/pseudoconditioning resulting from the use of an upsetting stimulus as the US