01:830:311 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Operant Conditioning Chamber, Run Rate, Classical Conditioning
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Chapter 4
• Rescorla-Wagner Model
o R-W Model: a mathematical model of classical conditioning, in which learning is
conceptualized in terms of associations between conditioned and unconditioned
stimuli
▪ ΔV = k ( λ - V)
• Δ= change
• V= associative strength of the stimuli that precede US
• K= salience off CS and US
• ( λ - V)= surprisingness of the US; amount of learning that can
happen to a particular US
o 6 rules:
▪ If the strength of the US is greater than the strength of the subject’s
expectation, all CSs paired with the US will receive excitatory conditioning
▪ If the strength of the US is less than the strength of the subject’s
expectation, all CSs paired with the US will receive inhibitory conditioning
▪ If the strength of the US is equal to the strength of the subject’s
expectation, there will be no conditioning
▪ The larger the discrepancy between the strength of the expectation and
the strength of the US, the greater the conditioning
▪ More salient CSs will condition faster than less salient CSs
▪ If two or more CSs are presented together, the subject’s expectation will
be equal to their total strength
o Background:
▪ Acquisition
• The initial stage of information processing, in which something is
learned for the first time
• Standard conditioning curves are negatively accelerated, and
changes in conditioning strength are very substantial in early
training
• As training proceeds, a leveling-off point (asymptote) is
approached
• How much one profits depends on how much one already knows
▪ Blocking
• Interference with the conditioning of a novel stimulus because of
the presence of a previously conditioned stimulus
• USs are only effective when they were surprising or unpredicted
by CSs
▪ Competition
• Explains conditioning with compound stimuli comprising two or
more elements
• Associative strength of a compound stimulus is assumed to equal
the sum of associative strength of elements
• How can this account for overshadowing?
o If a CS is a compound of two or more stimuli and one is
more salient than the other, then nearly all the condition
occurs to the more salient stimulus
• Competitive learning
o The total learning available (λ) must be shared by each
stimulus in a compound; the total amount of learning to
each stimulus is less in a compound than if that stimulus is
alone
▪ Contingency
• Can animals detect different degrees of contingency between CS
and US?
o R-M suggests no
• Makes use of background or contextual stimuli as Pavlovian
predictors
• Use of random CS and US presentations
o Blocking occurs
▪ Inhibition
• Requires a V that is less than zero
o No variables in the equation can ever be negative
• Negative contingency
▪ Overexpectation effect
• Leads to inhibitory conditioning
Chapter 5
o Classical vs. Operant Conditioning
Classical
Operant
o Uses term “response”
o Uses term “behavior”
o Acquisition
o Acquisition
o Spontaneous recovery
o Spontaneous recovery
o Stimulus generalization
o Stimulus generalization
o Based on involuntary reflexive
behavior
o Based on voluntary behavior
o Response is biologically based
(fear or anxiety)
o Behavior is not biologically
based
o Main components: stimulus
and its response
o Main components: behavior
and consequence
o Cannot be used to shape
behavior
o Can be used to shape behavior
o The stimulus causes the
response
o The consequence influences
the behavior