Study Guide for Exam 2 2024
Gregory Kohn
• Who was Pavlov how did he contribute to our understanding of classical condi oning?
o Pavlov paired a neutral s mulus (like a bell) with food (an uncondi oned
s mulus, or US) that naturally caused saliva on (an uncondi oned response, or
UR)
o A er repeated pairings, the bell alone (CS) caused the dogs to salivate (a
condi oned response, or CR)
• What is the US, CS, CR, UR in classical condi oning?
o Uncondi oned S mulus (US or UCS): A s mulus that naturally and automa cally
triggers a response (cheese)
o Uncondi oned Response (UR or UCR): The automa c, unlearned response to the
uncondi oned s mulus (mouse salivates)
o Condi oned S mulus (CS): A previously neutral s mulus that becomes
associated with the US through repeated pairings (tone)
o Condi oned Response (CR): The learned response to the condi oned s mulus
(mouse salivates to the tone)
• What is the di erences between learning and performance?
o Learning: the acquisi on of knowledge or skills—a rela vely permanent change
in mental associa ons or poten al behavior due to experience. It can occur
without being immediately visible
o Performance: the observable behavior or demonstra on of what has been
learned right then
o This dis nc on is important because some mes an animal’s lack of responding
doesn’t mean it hasn’t learned — it may simply not be mo vated to perform
• What is habitua on and sensi za on, how are these learning mechanisms di erent
from associa ve learning?
o Habitua on: A decrease in response to a s mulus a er repeated exposure
o Sensi za on: An increase in response to a s mulus a er repeated exposure
▪ class example: animals became more nocturnal with more human
exposure
o Non-associa ve learning = changes in response to a single s mulus (no pairing)
o Associa ve learning = linking two or more s muli/events (e.g., bell + food) —>
classical and instrumental condi oning)
• What are the three core aspects that all associa ve learning shares?
o 3 components: short-term acquisi on, long-term storage, retrieval
• What is an internal representa on, how can classical condi oning be used to test
aspects of a birds internal representa on?
o It’s a mental image of your associa on
o Classical condi oning —> internal representa ons are needed (CS-US or CS-US-
UR) is an internal representa on and they expect something to happen)
▪ check with reinforcer-devalua on technique (make cheese taste awful)
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, • What is the reinforcer devalua on-technique, what happens to the animals’ response
to the CS when the US loses it potency?
o The reinforcer-devalua on technique: a method researchers use to test whether
an animal has formed an internal representa on of CS-US (give cheese paired
with light, put rat on spin wheel —> rat gets sick —> rat won’t respond to the
light to get that cheese cause it will end up sick
▪ If the animal reduces its response to the CS, it shows the CS is linked to an
internal representa on of the US (not just a habit) —> shows learning
occurred
▪ loses potency: there will be no CR
• What is second order condi oning? What does the book tell us about what second
order condi oning means for understand an animals internal representa ons?
o Second-order condi oning: A form of condi oning where a new CS (CS2) is
paired with a previously condi oned CS (CS1), rather than directly with the US
o Example:
▪ First: tone (CS1) → food (US)
▪ Then: light (CS2) → tone (CS1)
▪ Result: light (CS2) → saliva on (CR), even though light was never paired
with food
▪ It suggests that CS1 ac vates a representa on of the US in animals.
Because CS2 can now evoke the CR through CS1, it shows chaining of
representa ons—the animal has some cogni ve model of how s muli are
related
• What is con guity, how does the interval between the presenta on of the US and the
CS shape performance during a classical condi oning task?
o Con guity (temporal or spa al): The closeness in me between the condi oned
s mulus (CS) and the uncondi oned s mulus (US)
o Impact of ming on performance:
▪ Short delay (CS just before US): Produces the strongest condi oning
▪ Simultaneous (CS and US at the same me): Much weaker, because the
CS doesn’t predict the US
▪ Backward condi oning (US before CS): Generally poor learning, since the
CS doesn’t serve as a good predictor
• What is latent inhibi on?
o De ni on: The reduced ability to condi on a CS if the animal has been previously
exposed to that CS without the US
o Example: skinner box & rat: tone and food with rat in one box: rat next to it hears
tonne over and over with no food. That second rat will not associate food with
the tone later on bc he’s been exposed already
• What is forward condi oning?.
o Forward Condi oning: CS presented before the US (with a slight overlap or gap)
Tone sounds → then food is delivered ✅ Most e ec ve for learning
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Gregory Kohn
• Who was Pavlov how did he contribute to our understanding of classical condi oning?
o Pavlov paired a neutral s mulus (like a bell) with food (an uncondi oned
s mulus, or US) that naturally caused saliva on (an uncondi oned response, or
UR)
o A er repeated pairings, the bell alone (CS) caused the dogs to salivate (a
condi oned response, or CR)
• What is the US, CS, CR, UR in classical condi oning?
o Uncondi oned S mulus (US or UCS): A s mulus that naturally and automa cally
triggers a response (cheese)
o Uncondi oned Response (UR or UCR): The automa c, unlearned response to the
uncondi oned s mulus (mouse salivates)
o Condi oned S mulus (CS): A previously neutral s mulus that becomes
associated with the US through repeated pairings (tone)
o Condi oned Response (CR): The learned response to the condi oned s mulus
(mouse salivates to the tone)
• What is the di erences between learning and performance?
o Learning: the acquisi on of knowledge or skills—a rela vely permanent change
in mental associa ons or poten al behavior due to experience. It can occur
without being immediately visible
o Performance: the observable behavior or demonstra on of what has been
learned right then
o This dis nc on is important because some mes an animal’s lack of responding
doesn’t mean it hasn’t learned — it may simply not be mo vated to perform
• What is habitua on and sensi za on, how are these learning mechanisms di erent
from associa ve learning?
o Habitua on: A decrease in response to a s mulus a er repeated exposure
o Sensi za on: An increase in response to a s mulus a er repeated exposure
▪ class example: animals became more nocturnal with more human
exposure
o Non-associa ve learning = changes in response to a single s mulus (no pairing)
o Associa ve learning = linking two or more s muli/events (e.g., bell + food) —>
classical and instrumental condi oning)
• What are the three core aspects that all associa ve learning shares?
o 3 components: short-term acquisi on, long-term storage, retrieval
• What is an internal representa on, how can classical condi oning be used to test
aspects of a birds internal representa on?
o It’s a mental image of your associa on
o Classical condi oning —> internal representa ons are needed (CS-US or CS-US-
UR) is an internal representa on and they expect something to happen)
▪ check with reinforcer-devalua on technique (make cheese taste awful)
tift tititi titititi titititiff
ti tititi ti ti titititititi tititi ti ti tititititi titi tifttift ti tititi ti ti ti ti ffti
, • What is the reinforcer devalua on-technique, what happens to the animals’ response
to the CS when the US loses it potency?
o The reinforcer-devalua on technique: a method researchers use to test whether
an animal has formed an internal representa on of CS-US (give cheese paired
with light, put rat on spin wheel —> rat gets sick —> rat won’t respond to the
light to get that cheese cause it will end up sick
▪ If the animal reduces its response to the CS, it shows the CS is linked to an
internal representa on of the US (not just a habit) —> shows learning
occurred
▪ loses potency: there will be no CR
• What is second order condi oning? What does the book tell us about what second
order condi oning means for understand an animals internal representa ons?
o Second-order condi oning: A form of condi oning where a new CS (CS2) is
paired with a previously condi oned CS (CS1), rather than directly with the US
o Example:
▪ First: tone (CS1) → food (US)
▪ Then: light (CS2) → tone (CS1)
▪ Result: light (CS2) → saliva on (CR), even though light was never paired
with food
▪ It suggests that CS1 ac vates a representa on of the US in animals.
Because CS2 can now evoke the CR through CS1, it shows chaining of
representa ons—the animal has some cogni ve model of how s muli are
related
• What is con guity, how does the interval between the presenta on of the US and the
CS shape performance during a classical condi oning task?
o Con guity (temporal or spa al): The closeness in me between the condi oned
s mulus (CS) and the uncondi oned s mulus (US)
o Impact of ming on performance:
▪ Short delay (CS just before US): Produces the strongest condi oning
▪ Simultaneous (CS and US at the same me): Much weaker, because the
CS doesn’t predict the US
▪ Backward condi oning (US before CS): Generally poor learning, since the
CS doesn’t serve as a good predictor
• What is latent inhibi on?
o De ni on: The reduced ability to condi on a CS if the animal has been previously
exposed to that CS without the US
o Example: skinner box & rat: tone and food with rat in one box: rat next to it hears
tonne over and over with no food. That second rat will not associate food with
the tone later on bc he’s been exposed already
• What is forward condi oning?.
o Forward Condi oning: CS presented before the US (with a slight overlap or gap)
Tone sounds → then food is delivered ✅ Most e ec ve for learning
ti fiti ti
tititi titi tititititi tititi titi titi tititi ti ffti ti ti titi titi
