I.            Monday 2002:A CR WITHOUT A CS-UCS PAIRING?

1)Derivative of Pavlovian Preconditioning (SPC) & Conditioning: Sensory Higher Order Conditioning (HOC)

1) SPC: SENSORY PRE-CONDITIONING

Two completely unrelated stimuli may be presented to a dog together, for example a tone (buzzer) and a light may be repeatedly presented together. This pairing will not evoke much of a response from the dog, as neither stimulus produces significant responsiveness. However, if one of the stimuli (e.g. light) is repeatedly shown to the dog paired with the presentation of food, eventually that stimulus presented alone will evoke a response, Pavlovian conditioning having occurred. The other stimulus (e.g tone) has not been conditioned with the presentation of food, but because of its previous association with the first stimulus (light), the dog will salivate when the tone alone is presented, showing sensory preconditioning        Sensory Preconditioning
    Pair CS2  with CS1; then pair CS1 with US; Test whether CS2 elicits CR;  Note: CS2 has never been paired with US    Sensory preconditioning can demonstrate distinction between learning (about the two CS's) vs. performance; the learned association between two CSs is revealed only by subsequent first-order conditioning of one of the two stimuli

Rizley & Rescorla (1972)
Rats were presented with several trials in which a light was followed by a tone.
Subsequently the tone was used as a signal for shock. What do you think occurred?

 

 

 Control Group                                  Experimental Group

1)   Phase SPC Phase

1.       CS1(light) > CS2 (tone)                CS1(light) > CS2 (tone)

2)  Conditioning Phase                                                  

2.       CS2 (tone) > no UCS                      CS2 (tone) > UCS (shock)           

3.       Testing Phase                  CS1 alone

Hope for no CR to CS1      Hope for CR too CS1

 

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Every day examples: Buffalo and TV  Rod and Mike.

Think of one event and reminds of another. Events always occur together and when you hear or see or

Smell the other, the first one comes to mind. Twins. 

Sensory Preconditioning. We oftentimes associate stimuli long before we know anything about them. Then, once we learn something about one of them, we will have a tendency to respond to the other in a similar way. For example, in the laboratory, a tone and light may be repeatedly presented together to a hungry dog. However, neither stimulus is one that will evoke much of a response from the dog, so the pairing produces little responsiveness. Then, though, lets say we repeatedly pair the light with the presentation of food. Eventually, the dog will salivate to the presentation of the light alone, showing Pavlovian conditioning. What will happen if we now present the tone to the dog? Tone has been paired with light, but at a time when light was trivial to the dog. The tone has never been paired with food, yet the dog will salivate when the tone is presented, showing sensory preconditioning

 

 

 

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2). Higher Order Conditioning

HIGHER ORDER CONDITIONING

Higher-order conditioning occurs when a new stimulus is paired with an existing conditional reflex.

When an existing conditional reflex acts as the basis for producing another reflex, higher-order

conditioning is said to occur.

               Control Group                                     Experimental

1) Conditioning CS1(Light) > No UCS                 CS1 (light) > UCS (shock)

2) HOC           CS2 (tone) > CS1 (light)         CS2 (tone)>CS1 (light)

3) Test             CS2 alone/pray for no  CR     CS2 alone/hope for CR

                 tone #no fear                                  tone>fear

 

 

CS (Dining room) +US Food

==>

UR desire to eat

CS (Dining room)+room smell

Room smell   >>> hunger

 

 

 

 

 

 

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==>

CR desire to

Higher-order conditioning. Not all Pavlovian conditioning involves the presence of an inborn reflex. Much of our conditioning occurs when a new stimulus is paired with an existing conditional reflex, thereby producing another reflex. When an existing conditional reflex acts as the basis for yet another reflex, higher-order conditioning is said to occur An exercise that illustrates this principle repeats one of the Staats’ earlier studies. The instructor presents a list of nonsense syllables paired with positive words such as “baby” or negative words such as “slime.” Later, students evaluate the nonsense syllables on a good-bad dimension. Those syllables paired with negative words are apt to get more negative evaluations than those paired with positive words.

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For example, if I showed you a film of a dentist drilling away on a computer. With headphones. , you may feel uncomfortable next time you see the computer where you were working when you heard the drill. You may particularly focus on the headphones that you were wearing when the drilling sound started. That would be Higher Order conditioning, since the computer/headphones and actual drillingproducespain have never been associated, only the conditioned stimulus of the sound of drilling and the computer/headphones. 

• How might certain groups become paired with positive or negative descriptions?

• Where in the community might this occur?

 

Pavlovian Conditioning Paper and Presentation

 

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http://www-psy.ucsd.edu/~mbell/psy103outline3.html