Psych 282 - Chapter 8 - Respondent Conditioning PDF

Preview

Summary

Chapter 8 – Respondent Conditioning Introduction  Operant Behavior: Behavior that acts on the environment to produce an immediate consequence and, in turn, is strengthened by that consequence  Operant Conditioning: Occurs when a behavior in a particular situation is followed by a reinforcing conse...

Description

Chapter 8 – Respondent Conditioning Introduction  Operant Behavior: Behavior that acts on the environment to produce an immediate consequence and, in turn, is strengthened by that consequence  Operant Conditioning: Occurs when a behavior in a particular situation is followed by a reinforcing consequence, thus making the behavior more likely to occur in similar circumstances in the future  Respondent Behavior: Behavior that is elicited by a prior stimulus; an unconditioned response (UR) and a conditioned response (CR) are respondent behaviors because they are elicited by unconditioned stimuli (US) and conditioned stimuli (CS) respectively  Respondent Conditioning: A process in which a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US); the US elicits an unconditioned response (UR); as a result of the pairing the neutral stimulus with the US, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) that will elicit a response similar to the UR, called a conditioned response (CR) Examples of Respondent Conditioning  Carla worked in a factory that made children’s toys; she operated a machine that molded plastic parts for the toys  As each piece entered the machine, it would make a clicking noise before a metal punch in the machine came down to stamp the plastic  When the machine stamped the plastic, a short burst of air occurred and hit Carla in the face  This blast of air made Carla blink; she began to blink after each clicking noise, before the blast of air would even occur  When the machine has fixed, this blast of air no longer occurred, but the blinking sill occurred for a few days  Because the blinking sound immediately proceeded the blast of air each time, Carla’s blinking was conditioned to occur at the clicking sound – this is an example of respondent conditioning Defining Respondent Conditioning  Unconditioned Response (UR): The response that is elicited by an unconditioned stimulus (US) o A natural, reflexive action of the body that occurs when a US is present o URs are common to all people  Unconditioned Stimulus (US): A stimulus that naturally elicits an unconditioned response (UR) because the UR has survival value; no prior conditioning is needed for the US to elicit a UR  Respondent conditioning occurs when a previously neutral stimulus (NS) is paired with a US (the NS and the US are presented together) o As a result of this pairing, the NS becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) and elicits a conditioned response (CR) similar to the UR o Conditioned Stimulus: A previously natural stimulus that has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus; once established in this way, the CS elicits a conditioned response similar to the unconditioned response elicited by the unconditioned stimulus o Conditioned Response: In respondent conditioning, a CR is elicited by a conditioned stimulus; the conditioned stimulus acquires the power to elicit the CR by its repeated pairing with an unconditioned stimulus or another conditioned stimulus  A UR or CR is called a respondent behavior

Unconditioned Stimulus Object touches an infant’s lip Food in mouth Foreign object in throat Stimulation in the throat Puff of air in the eye Bright light in the eye Painful stimulation to the body

Sudden, intense stimulation (loud noise) Sexual simulation

Blow to the patella tendon

Examples of Unconditioned Responses in Humans Unconditioned Response Survival Value Sucking reflex The natural tendency to suck slows an infant to eat when a nipple is placed in the mouth Salivation Salivation contributes to chewing and digesting food Gag reflex Gagging when a foreign object is in the throat can keep a person from choking Coughing Coughing clears the throat of foreign objects Eyeblink Prevents foreign objects from getting into the eyes and prevent loss of sight Pupil constriction Helps protect the eyes, and thus prevent loss of sight Can help a prevent getting hurt Rapid withdrawal (i.e. of hand from hot stove) and autonomic arousal (fight or flight response) Startle reflex (increased heart Includes components of autonomic arousal that prepare the body rate, respiration, muscle tension) for action in a possibly dangerous situation Erection or vaginal lubrication Sexual arousal do not have survival value for the individual, but they do facilitate sexual behavior, which is necessary for the survival of the human species Knee jerk The reflex itself doesn’t have direct survival value itself, it is a component of a larger group of reflexes involved in postural control and muscle coordination that contribute to normal motor function

Timing of the Neutral Stimulus and Unconditioned Stimulus  The timing of the NS and US is important if respondent conditioning is to occur o Ideally, the US should occur immediately after the onset of the NS

   

 

Trace Conditioning: The NS precedes the US, but the NS ends before the US is presented o i.e. You present the clicking sound, and after the clicking sound has stopped, you present the puff of air Delay Conditioning: The NS is presented and then the US is presented before the NS ends o i.e. You present the clicking sound and the puff of air is presented before the clicking sound has terminated Simultaneous Conditioning: The NS and US are presented at the same time o i.e. The clicking sound and the puff of air occur simultaneously Backward Conditioning: The US is presented before the NS o i.e. The puff of air is directed at the eye and the clicking sound is presented; unlikely that the clicking sound will elicit an eyeblink response Trace and delay conditioning, in which the NS is presented first, generally are the most effective Backward conditioning is least likely to be effective

Higher-Order Conditioning  Higher-Order Conditioning: When a NS is paired with an already established CS and the NS comes a CS Conditioned Emotional Responses  Conditioned Emotional Response: A type of conditioned response in which an emotional response such as fear, anger, or happiness is elicited by a conditioned stimulus in the process of respondent conditioning Extinction of Conditioned Responses  Respondent Extinction: The process by which, when a conditioned stimulus (CS) is no longer paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US), the CS gradually ceases to elicit the conditioned response (CR) o If the CS continues to occur in the absence of the US, the CR eventually decreases in intensity and stops o i.e. If Pavlov continued to present the sound of the metronome (CS) but never paired the metronome with the delivery of meat power (US), the dog would salivate less and less to the sound of the metronome; finally, the dog would not salivate at all when it heard the metronome Spontaneous Recovery  After a period of respondent extinction, in which the CS is repeatedly presented in the absence of the US, the CS does not elicit the CR o However, if the CS is presented at a later time, the CR might occur again  Spontaneous Recovery: The process in which, when a conditioned response (CR) has been extinguished, the CR may occur at a later time when the conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented again o The magnitude of the CR usually is smaller during spontaneous recovery, and the CR should again disappear if the US is not presented with the CS during spontaneous recovery Discrimination and Generalization of Respondent Behavior  Discrimination in respondent conditioning is the situation in which the CR is elicited by a single CS or a narrow range of CSs  Generalisation has occurred when a number of similar CSs or broader range of CSs elicit the same CR o i.e. If a person is afraid of any type of dog, generalization has occurred o Can be enhanced if a number of similar stimuli are paired intermittently with the US during respondent conditioning Factors that Influence Respondent Conditioning  The strength of respondent conditioning depends on a variety of factors, including the following: o The nature of the US and CS o The temporal relationship between the Cs and US o Contingency between the CS and the US o The number of pairings o Previous Exposure to the CS Nature of the Unconditioned Stimulus and Conditioned Stimulus  The intensity of a stimulus influences the effectiveness of the stimulus as a CS or a US  In general, a more intense stimulus is more effective as a US  Salient: A stimulus is salient when it is intense or easily detected by the individual The Temporal Relationship Between the Neutral Stimulus and Unconditioned Stimulus  For conditioning to be most effective, the NS should precede the US o Therefore, delay conditioning and trace conditioning are most effective  It is impossible to say what time interval between the NS and the US is optimal, but shorter is better o The exception is taste aversion; the nausea and vomiting (UR) elicited by tainted food (US) may occur many minutes after the occurrence of the CS (the taste of the food) in taste aversion conditioning

The Number of Pairings  Although one pairing between a NS and a US often is sufficient to establish the NS as a CS, more pairing of the NS and US produce stronger conditioning in general

Previous Exposure to the Conditioned Stimulus  A stimulus is less likely to become a CS when paired with a US if the person has been exposed to that stimulus in the past without the US Distinguishing Between Operant and Respondent Conditioning  Respondent conditioning and operant conditioning are distinct process and that respondent and operant behaviors include different types of responses  A respondent behavior is a UR or CR elicited by an antecedent stimulus  Respondent behaviors are bodily responses that have a biological basis  Operant behavior is controlled by its consequence  Although it may be under the stimulus control of a discriminative stimulus (SD), an operant response is emitted by the individual in specific antecedent situations because it has been reinforced in the same or similar situations  Respondent conditioning occurs when an NS acquires the power to elicit a CR because the NS has been paired with a US o Respondent conditioning simple involves pairing two stimuli: the NS and US o The outcome of respondent conditioning is the development of a CS from a previously neutral stimulus  Operant conditioning occurs when a specific response in a particular stimulus situation is followed reliably by a reinforcing consequence o Operant conditioning involves a contingency between a response and a reinforcer in specific circumstances o The result is that behavior is more likely to occur in the future in circumstances similar to those in which the behavior was reinforced o To describe this, we say that the circumstances in which the behavior was reinforced develop stimulus control over the behavior or evoke the behavior  Respondent extinction occurs when the CS is no longer paired with the US o As a result, the CS no longer elicits the CR o Extinction of an operant behavior occurs when the behavior no longer results in a reinforcing consequence and, as a result, the behavior stops occurring in the future  Operant and respondent behaviors can occur together in the same situation On Terms: The Difference Between Elicit and Evoke  We say that respondent behavior is elicited by an antecedent stimulus o A US elicits a UR as an unconditioned reflex o A CS elicits a CR because the CS was paired with a US  We say that operant behavior is evoked by an antecedent stimulus or event o An SD evokes a behavior because the behavior has been reinforced in its presence o An EO evokes a behavior because it increases the value of the reinforcer produced by the behavior Respondent Conditioning and Behavior Modification  Most behavior modification procedures are designed to change operant behaviors because operant behaviors make up the majority of behaviors that people target for change o However, some types of respondent behaviors are also troublesome to people and thus targeted for change Chapter Summary  In respondent conditioning, a previously neutral stimulus (NS) become a conditioned stimulus (CS) when it is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US) o The CS elicits a conditioned response (CR) similar to the unconditioned response (UR) elicited by the US o Respondent conditioning is most effective when the NS immediately precedes the US o Higher-order conditioning can occur when a NS is paired with an already-established CS o Respondent behaviors involve bodily responses that have survival value  One type of respondent behavior is a conditioned emotional response (CER) o CERs may be negative (such as fear and anxiety) or positive (such as happiness)  Respondent extinction occurs when the CS is presented numerous times in the absence o the US o As a result, the CS no longer elicits a CR  Factors that influence respondent conditioning include the intensity of the Us or the NS, the temporal relationship between the NS and the US, the contingency between the NS and the US, the number of pairings, and the person’s previous exposure to the NS  Respondent conditioning occurs when a NS is paired with a US and the NS becomes a CS that can elicit a CR o Operant conditioning occurs when a behavior is reinforced in the presence of a SD and the behavior is then more likely to occur in the future when the SD is present Key Terms  Backward Conditioning: A respondent-conditioning procedure in which the unconditioned stimulus (US) is presented before the conditioned stimulus (CS); this is the least effective type of respondent-conditioning procedure  Conditioned Emotional Response: A type of conditioned response in which an emotional response such as fear, anger, or happiness is elicited by a conditioned stimulus in the process of respondent conditioning  Conditioned Response: In respondent conditioning, a CR is elicited by a conditioned stimulus; the conditioned stimulus acquires the power to elicit the CR by its repeated pairing with an unconditioned stimulus or another conditioned stimulus  Conditioned Stimulus: A previously natural stimulus that has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus; once established in this way, the CS elicits a conditioned response similar to the unconditioned response elicited by the unconditioned stimulus

           



Delay Conditioning: A type of respondent conditioning in which the conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented and the unconditioned stimulus (US) is then presented before the termination of the CS Higher-Order Conditioning: The process by which, when a neutral stimulus is paired with a conditioned stimulus (CS) a number of times, the neutral stimulus becomes a CS that will then elicit the same conditioned response (CR) Operant Behavior: Behavior that acts on the environment to produce an immediate consequence and, in turn, is strengthened by that consequence Operant Conditioning: Occurs when a behavior in a particular situation is followed by a reinforcing consequence, thus making the behavior more likely to occur in similar circumstances in the future Respondent Behavior: Behavior that is elicited by a prior stimulus; an unconditioned response (UR) and a conditioned response (CR) are respondent behaviors because they are elicited by unconditioned stimuli (US) and conditioned stimuli (CS) respectively Respondent Conditioning: A process in which a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US); the US elicits an unconditioned response (UR); as a result of the pairing the neutral stimulus with the US, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) that will elicit a response similar to the UR, called a conditioned response (CR) Respondent Extinction: The process by which, when a conditioned stimulus (CS) is no longer paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US), the CS gradually ceases to elicit the conditioned response (CR) Salient: A stimulus is salient when it is intense or easily detected by the individual Simultaneous Conditioning: The process in which the unconditioned stimulus (US) and conditioned stimulus (CS) are presented at the same time in respondent conditioning trials Spontaneous Recovery: The process in which, when a conditioned response (CR) has been extinguished, the CR may occur at a later time when the conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented again Trace Conditioning: A type of respondent conditioning in which the conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented and then the unconditioned stimulus (US) is presented after the termination of the CS Unconditioned Response (UR): The response that is elicited by an unconditioned stimulus (US) Unconditioned Stimulus (US): A stimulus that naturally elicits an unconditioned response (UR) because the UR has survival value; no prior conditioning is needed for the US to elicit a UR...