Behavior Analysis and Learning

What are the CS- and US- pre-exposure effects? Be able to provide an example of each and the possible role of blocking. pg 69

Compared with animals given pairings with a novel US, those familiar with the US (pre-exposed) show weaker and slower conditioning on the acquisition test. The result is called the US-pre-exposure effect. In blocking the participant does not pick up on the contextual cues.

Distinguish between a fixed action pattern (FAP) a modal action pattern (MAP) and a reaction chain. ch 3 pg 56

FAP are behaviors that are built in and immutable. MAP denotes the numerous idiosyncratic differences in behavior e.g., how a Robin builds a nest. Reaction Chain similar to FAP but requires the specific stimulus to elicit each link in a patterned sequence of behavior.

summarize what is known about generalization gradients based on respondent conditioning and how such generalization is an adaptive feature of behavior. ch 3 pg 67

Generalization gradients plot stimulus value against magnitude of response. It is an adaptive process that allows the organism to respond similarly even when conditions do not remain the same from trial to trial.

What is the difference between ontogeny and phylogeny ch.3

Phylogenetic behavior is based on our evolutionary history, acquired on the basis of species history. Ontogenetic behavior is behavior relations based on environmental history and is acquired on the basis of individual history.

Define respondent generalization and be able to discuss how one could show generalization in an experiment ch 3 pg 6 7

Respondent Generalization occurs when an organism shows a conditioned response to values of the CS that were not trained during acquisition. To show generalization the researcher various some property of the CS.

Describe Respondent Conditioning ch 3 pg 61

Respondent conditioning involves the transfer of the control of the behavior from one stimulus to another by S-S pairing. An arbitrary stimulus such as a light (CS) is presented just before food (US) is placed in a dogs mouth. After several parings of the light with the food, the light is presented alone. If the light now elicits salivation is is called a (CS) and the salivation is called the (CR). Because the CR is a response elicited by the CS, it is often called respondent.

Describe respondent discrimination and a procedure to produce it ( be able to discuss how this is also an adaptive feature of behavior)

Respondent conditioning occurs when an organism shows a conditioned response to to one stimulus but not to other similar events. To produce it one would present a CS+ 60dB tone and associate it with food. Then present a 40dB tone with no food. The 40dB is a CS-. It is an adaptive process . If everything generalized an animal would spend its entire time running away from sounds and sights. With discrimination the animal budgets its time better, responding to some events and no to others which allows time for eating, drinking and procreating.

Define respondent extinction as a procedure and as a process

Respondent extinction: repeatedly presenting the CS and not presenting the US. The procedure involves presenting the CS but not the US after conditioning has occurred. As a process: extinction refers to the decline in the strength of the conditioned response when an extinction procedure is in effect.

How is the US-UR relation not the same as the CS-CR relation ( refer to the primary laws of the reflex) ch 3 pg 64

The CS-CR and the US-UR are not the same. The law of intensity of magnitude does not hold for CS-CR as an increase in the magnitude of the CS does not increase the magnitude of the CR. and the CS-CR relations does not follow the law of latency. An increase in the intensity of the CS should decrease the latency between the CS onset and the CR. Research has shown that these and other laws of reflex typically do not hold for the CS-CR relationship.

Identify the three primary laws of the reflex ch 3 pr 58

The Law of the Threshold states that there is a point below which no response is elicited and above which a response always occurs. The law of intensity-magnitude: As the intensity of the US increases so does the magnitude of the elicited UR. The law of latency: The amount of time that passes between the onset of the eliciting stimulus and the appearance of the reflexive response.

Explain how drug tolerance might be explained by the effects of conditional stimuli. What behavioral processes may account for cravings and withdrawals? Be able to discuss conditioned immunosuppression. pg 75

Tolerance takes place not only with the drug but also the context in which the drug is taken. Heroin addicts that take a drug in a usual context can take more because the CR's that counteract the drug allow for a large dose. When the situation in which the drug is taken is changed the CS is not present the opposing conditioned response does not occur and the drug is sufficient to kill the user. When the drug-related CS is presented without the drug US, in this case the elicited response is called a "craving" and the process is known as conditioned withdrawl. Conditioned Immunosuppression: when a CS (novel flavor) is paired with a US drug that suppresses immune system. Then the drug is not given just the CS. The immune system reacts.

Define Respondent Conditioning

involves establishing a conditional probability between the CS and US ( the occurrence of the US is conditional on the presence of the CS)

Define Habituation and provide and example ch 3 pg 59

occurs when an US repeatedly elicits an UR and the response gradually declines.

Be able to describe the procedures and behavioral effects of overshadowing, blocking and sensory preconditioning

overshadowing: the most salient element of the compound stimulus regulates exclusively the CR even though the lesser salient element could function as a cs. Blocking: a CS is paired with a US until the conditioned response reaches max strength. Following this conditioning a 2nd stimulus is presented at the same time as the original CS and both are paired with the US. The original CS evokes the CR but the 2nd stimulus does not. Sensory preconditioning: ?? sensory preconditioning.