Psychology 3130A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Rhaetian People, Tfo, Ypf
Week 10: Causal Reasoning
What is Causal Learning?
- Learning the form past (like induction)
- Making sense of surroundings
- Inferring cause & effect
Central Questions
- “What are the minimum requirements that we need to learn the facts of the world that are not
innate?”
oThe ability to make causal inferences.
- People try to link causes and effect with a mechanism that connects and explains.
Descriptions of Causality
- "The higher the correlation, the more certainly we can predict from one member what the value of the
associated member will be," he wrote in one of his major works. "This is the transition of correlation
into causation."
oCorrelation does not prove causation, but it is a necessary requirement
Models of Causality
-Cue contingency and temporal congruity
oCues predict because they are associated with outcomes.
oClose in time (temporal) matters
- Correlation --> causation
How do we learn about predictors?
- By learning co-occurring associations between stimuli and rewards (classical & operant conditioning)
-Blocking
oOne cause prevents another cause.
Train an organism that B causes O
Then introduce A|B and O
oOrganism will still behave as if B causes O, A is viewed as a redundant cue.
oA was blocked by B
-Backward Blocking
oFirst: AB -> outcome
oThen: B outcome
oSubjects retroactively Block A
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