Ch 9 - Escape, Avoidance, Punishment

Escape

A behavioral response that results in the removal or avoidance of an aversive stimulus, thus providing relief from discomfort

• behavior rewarded via negative reinforcement

Avoidance

A behavioral response that prevents the occurrence of an aversive stimulus, allows an indiv to evade discomfort before it happens

• hard to understand what’s fully going on

• X objectively measure aversive stim, only see what it evokes

• ex → starting & ending situation were nonaversive, X appetitive, there was a predictive element present

2 Process Theory of Avoidance

avoidance made of 2 processes

1. stim classically conditioned to elicit fear (light = fear)

2. same stim evokes a behavior to avoid fear (light = run/jump away)

2 Process Theory of Avoidance & Phobias

matches the behavior observed in phobias

• people become scared of soemthing, then take action to avoid encountering it in the future

Issues w/ 2 Process Theory of Avoidance

Concerns about the simplicity of the theory, as it may not account for all aspects of avoidance behavior and the complexities of fear responses

• ex → ainmals will perform hundreds of trials, even if shock never occurs once more after initial training (evolutionary fitness, & cheap/X spending much time & energy to do)

• fear responses seemed to declince to ntothing, animals completed avoidance response very casually

Why might animals perform hundreds of trials, even if the shock never occurs one more after initial training?

Animals may continue performing avoidance responses due to evolutionary fitness, as the behavior may have been adaptive for survival. Additionally, the cost of engaging in the behavior may be low compared to the potential risk of encountering a threat.

• also → maybe CS isn’t presented long enough for extinction to occur

Why may fear responses seem to decline to nothing?

animals completed the avoidance response very casually

• if fear is fully extinguished the avoidance behavior also stops

• little bit of fear might still be present in animals performing the escape

One-Process Theory

avoidance behavior is maintained only through negative reinforcement

• X need for a separate fear response process

• remove aversive stim = reinforce behavior, continued occurrence

• S^R is simply removal of shock

• side effect = removing internal-state conditions like anxiety and fear that contribute to the avoidance behavior

Avoidance & Analogs to Human Behavior

Avoidance behaviors in animals can be analogized to human behaviors such as phobias or anxiety, where individuals engage in actions to prevent aversive experiences. These behaviors are often reinforced by the relief gained from escaping perceived threats.

Lifetime Prevalence of Anxiety Disorders

31.1%

• 19.1% in a year, 23.4% in women, 14.3% in men

• generalized anxiety, phobic disorder, OCD, PTSD

Avoidance, Phobias, Translational Research

are concepts studied to understand how avoidance behaviors in animals can inform treatment approaches for anxiety disorders in humans, highlighting similarities in coping mechanisms and reinforcement pathways.

• drug studies begin in animals, rodents are a good model for humans

Issues w/ Research in Avoidance

• animal avoidance takes several pairings to establish

• human phobias condition much faster, often in 1 pairing

Why do human phobias condition faster than animals?

Human phobias condition faster than animals due to cognitive processes and previous experiences that can amplify fear responses, allowing single pairings to lead to strong associative learning.

When do human begin avoidance behaviors?

avoidance behavior in phobias starts early

• planning ahead to prevent encounter w/ the stim

• moderate exposure to CS will impact

• make it so you never have to deal w/ it, escape before it happens

The Stampfl Experiment

A study demonstrating that humans can develop phobias through a single pairing of an aversive stimulus with a neutral stimulus, highlighting cognitive factors in avoidance behavior.

• rat went to dark compartment, but got shocked, treadmill moving towards it, only stopped when rat backed up past a limit.

OCD

anxiety disorder

• obsessions → intrusive thoughts/fears, source of anxiety (S^D)

• compulsions → ritualized behaviors (R)

• pts know obsession is excessive but compulsion provides anxiety relief (S^R)

How can OCD be treated?

exposure therapy, imagining what they would do w/o R

• and gradually facing their fears, combined with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to address distorted thinking patterns.

• using ERP

Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP)

common therapy, pts exposed to CS

• prevented from engaging in operant beh

• extended CS exposure (90+min(