Learning - Chpt. 3 - Pavlovian

Elicited behavior

Reflexes

Unconditioned respondents

Biologically significant reflexes that occur without prior learning.

Laws of the reflex

Principles governing reflexive behavior.

Habituation

Decrease in a reflexive response with repetition of the stimulus.

Spontaneous recovery of UR

The re-emergence of an unconditioned response after a period of no stimulus.

Conditioned respondents

Learned responses that occur due to the pairing of neutral stimuli with unconditioned stimuli.

Acquisition

The process of developing a conditioned response.

Extinction

The reduction of a conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous recovery of CR

The re-emergence of a conditioned response after a period of extinction.

Respondent generalization

The tendency for a conditioned response to occur in response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus.

Respondent discrimination

The ability to differentiate between similar stimuli and respond only to the conditioned stimulus.

The Law of Threshold

For any reflex, there is a magnitude of the US which will elicit a UR of approximately 50% of the presentations.

The Law of Intensity/Magnitude

Intensity of elicited UR is directly related to intensity of the US.

The Law of Latency

Time between the onset of the US and the onset of the UR; increased intensity of the US results in decreased latency of UR.

Eyeblink conditioning

A common lab method used to study conditioned responses.

Conditioned suppression

Also called Conditioned Emotional Response, a method to measure the strength of a conditioned response.

Skin conductance response

Also called electrodermal response, a physiological measure of emotional arousal.

Taste aversion learning

A learned aversion to a taste associated with illness.

Reaction chains

Sequences of behaviors that are triggered by specific stimuli.

Fixed action patterns

Instinctive behavioral sequences that are triggered by specific stimuli, often seen in maternal behavior.

Unconditional stimulus (US)

A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response.

Unconditioned response (UR)

An unlearned response that occurs naturally in reaction to an unconditioned stimulus.

Ivan Pavlov

Russian physiologist studying digestive processes.

Pavlovian Conditioning

Salivation responses of dogs in response to the presence of food.

Respondent Acquisition

Repeated presentations of a NS with the US increase in the CR; NS becomes CS.

Respondent Extinction

Repeated presentation of a CS without the US → a decrease in the CR.

Spontaneous Recovery of a CR

Reappearance of the CR when the CS is presented at a time after respondent extinction has occurred.

Generalization Gradient

Graph plotting stimulus value versus magnitude of response.

Hypothetical Generalization Gradient

Training CS: 375 Hz tone; tones most similar to CS also produce CRs.

Compound Stimuli

Simultaneously presenting 2 or more CSs which elicit a single CR.

Rescorla-Wagner Model of Pavlovian Conditioning

Model that describes the change in 'associative strength' based on the salience and maximum associative strength.

Stimulus Substitution Theory

Pavlov's idea that a tone CS substitutes for the food US after conditioning.

Opponent Process Theory

Animals show a physiological response opposite of the drug effects when a CS is paired with a drug.

Conditioned Compensatory Response (CCR)

Neutral stimulus eventually elicits a physiological response opposite of the drug effects.

Drug-Injection in a New Environment

Experience with a low dose, then high dose in a DIFFERENT environment increases overdose risk.

DT

Experience with low dose, then high dose in a DIFFERENT environment.

ST

Experience with low dose, high dose in SAME environment.

Control

The high dose is the 1st exposure to that drug.

Systematic Desensitization

A behavioral therapy used to reduce anxiety responses.

Exposure Therapy

A technique in behavior therapy to treat phobias and anxiety disorders.

Aversion Therapy

A treatment that uses punishment to reduce the attractiveness of a desired behavior.

Second-order respondent conditioning

A process where a CS is paired with a US to create a CR.

Blocking

A phenomenon where a previously established CS blocks the conditioning of a new CS.

Overshadowing

When a more salient stimulus overshadows a less salient stimulus in conditioning.