Elicited Behavior
A researcher wants to study impulsivity in humans but decides to use rats instead. Describe the three criteria a good animal model must meet. Then explain specifically how a rat model of impulsive choice (e.g., delayed discounting) could satisfy each criterion.
(1) Relevant feature/function: rats show measurable impulsive choice on delay-discounting tasks, just as humans do. (2) Construct validity (similar causal mechanisms): the same brain regions (prefrontal cortex, dopamine system) govern delay discounting in both species. (3) Criterion validity: the rat model predicts outcomes.
Distinguish between appetitive and consummatory behaviors using an original example. Which type is more variable across individuals and more modifiable by learning, and why does this make biological sense?
Appetitive behaviors are the early, flexible components of a behavioral sequence aimed at making contact with a goal object Consummatory behaviors are the stereotyped end-components that complete the sequence.
Appetitive behaviors show more individual variability and are more shaped by learning because the environment presents many different paths to a goal; flexibility is advantageous. Consummatory behaviors are fixed because the goal has been reached and the correct motor sequence must be executed precisely
Explain Opponent Process Theory (Solomon & Corbit, 1974). Apply it to drug addiction: (a) why does repeated drug use require higher doses to produce the same effect (tolerance)? (b) why does withdrawal feel worse than simply ‘the absence of the high’? Use the a-process and b-process in your answer.
Opponent Process Theory proposes that any strong emotional stimulus triggers: (a) an a-process: the primary emotional reaction (e.g., euphoria from a drug), and (b) a b-process: an opposing, compensatory reaction (e.g., dysphoria) that opposes the a-process to restore homeostasis. The manifest emotional response = a – b. With repeated use: the a-process stays roughly constant, but the b-process grows stronger (faster onset, greater magnitude, longer duration). Thus a – b becomes smaller — tolerance. To achieve the original peak (large a-b), the user must increase the dose to boost the a-process beyond the now-stronger b-process. Withdrawal: when the drug (a-process trigger) is removed, the b-process — now large and well-established — runs without opposition. The manifest response is the full b-process alone: dysphoria, craving, pain. This is why withdrawal is not merely ‘absence of pleasure’ but active suffering.
Explain the difference between pseudoconditioning and sensitization, and explain why both are problems for interpreting classical conditioning experiments. How does the CS+/CS– design solve these problems?
Pseudoconditioning: the animal shows increased responding to the CS because US presentations elevated general responding to any stimulus, not because of a learned CS-US association.
Sensitization: the US (or CS) is arousing enough to cause heightened responding to everything. Both mimic genuine learning.
The CS+/CS– within-subject design solves this by showing discrimination: the animal responds more to the CS+ (predicts US) than to CS– (does not predict US) on the same trials, ruling out general arousal as an explanation.
Money is not food, water, or safety, yet it powerfully controls human behavior. Using higher-order conditioning, explain how money could acquire its motivational and behavioral properties. Identify what would be the first-order CS and what serves as the US.
Primary rewards (food, safety, social comfort) are the USs. Activities and objects that reliably produce these (restaurants, shelter) become CS1s through direct conditioning. Money, consistently paired with access to CS1s, becomes CS2
A conditioned inhibitor (CS–) is a stimulus that predicts the absence of the US. Describe the differential conditioning procedure used to create a CS–.
Then explain two ways how you would test whether a stimulus has truly become a conditioned inhibitor.
Differential procedure: present CS+ (followed by US) and CS– (not followed by US) in alternation.
Over trials, the organism learns to discriminate.
Summation test: present CS– together with an established CS+. A genuine conditioned inhibitor will reduce the CR normally produced by the CS+ alone.
Retardation test: attempt to condition the CS– as a new CS+. A genuine inhibitor conditions more slowly than a novel stimulus because its inhibitory associative strength must first be overcome.
Both tests are needed since passing only one is insufficient to confirm inhibitory status.
Your friend argues: ‘We should study human addiction directly — why bother with rats?’ Using the concept of confounding variables and the practical advantages of animal research discussed in class, construct a two- to three-sentence rebuttal. Be specific.
Animal subjects allow researchers to control prior experience, genetic background, and environmental history in ways impossible with humans. Humans also attempt to ‘figure out’ the experiment, introducing demand characteristics. Additionally, ethical constraints prevent the invasive procedures (e.g., direct drug infusion, brain lesions) that are essential for establishing causal mechanisms
Tinbergen and Perdeck (1950) studied what made herring gull chicks peck at the parent’s bill. Describe the experimental logic used to identify a sign stimulus (releasing stimulus). What is a supernormal stimulus, and what does the existence of supernormal stimuli tell us about how sign stimuli work? Give a human-relevant example of a supernormal stimulus.
To identify the sign stimulus, Tinbergen and Perdeck systematically varied components of a model bill (color, contrast, shape, size) and measured pecking rate. By isolating which feature, when present or absent, reliably altered the response, they identified the key eliciting feature
A supernormal stimulus is an artificially exaggerated version of a sign stimulus that elicits a stronger response than the natural stimulus
Human examples: exaggerated facial features in cartoon characters (large eyes, small nose) that elicit caregiving feelings; ultra-processed foods engineered to exceed natural sweetness or saltiness thresholds.
Using Opponent Process Theory, explain why a person who has been in a long relationship may show little obvious affection day-to-day but is devastated when the partner dies or leaves. Identify the a-process, b-process, and the manifest emotional response at different stages of the relationship.
Early in the relationship: the a-process (joy, love) is strong and the b-process (mild longing or unease when apart) is weak. The manifest response is intense positive emotion. Over time with repeated exposure to the partner: the a-process remains but the b-process (attachment, need for the partner) strengthens. The manifest a – b is smaller — the couple shows less overt excitement and affection because the a-process is largely cancelled by the habituated b-process. When the partner dies: the a-process (triggered by presence of partner) is permanently removed. The b-process — now large and entrenched — runs unopposed. The manifest emotional state is intense grief, longing, and loss. The grandmother’s ‘devastation’ is the unopposed b-process: what appeared as emotional flatness was actually a large positive emotional state being masked by an equally large opposing process.
Sign-tracking (autoshaping) seems counterproductive — why would an animal approach and interact with a lever rather than the food tray where food actually arrives? Using the concepts of predictive value and incentive salience, explain why sign-tracking occurs and what it reveals about the nature of Pavlovian CSs.
Pavlovian CSs acquire two distinct properties: (1) predictive value meaning they signal when reinforcement is coming, and (2) incentive salience meaning the CS itself become motivationally attractive.
Sign-trackers approach the lever because it has acquired incentive salience and it is wanted in its own right.
Goal-trackers approach the food tray because they use the CS informationally without being attracted to it.
This dissociation shows that the CS can ‘steal’ the motivational properties of the US.
This matters for addiction: drug-paired cues may trigger craving and drug-seeking behavior in the same way.
Using the Rescorla-Wagner model (ΔV = k(λ – V)), explain in plain language what happens to the amount of new learning across trials as a CS becomes a better predictor of the US. Why does learning slow down and eventually stop? Do not simply restate the equation, explain the logic.
Early in training, V (current expectation) is near 0 while λ (actual outcome) is high large prediction error; As training continues, V grows toward λ; the US is less surprising;When V = λ, prediction error = 0 and no new learning occurs
A friend tells you they are struggling with alcohol cravings whenever they pass the bar where they used to drink. Using at least three specific classical conditioning concepts from this course, analyze this situation. Then propose one behaviorally-grounded intervention for each concept you identify.
(1) Excitatory conditioning: the bar (CS) has been paired with alcohol’s effects (US), producing craving (CR). Intervention: extinction; repeated exposure to the bar without drinking.
(2) Incentive salience / sign-tracking: the bar may have acquired motivational value beyond its predictive function, triggering automatic approach.
Intervention: identify and modify approach behaviors triggered by the CS.
(3) Stimulus generalization: craving may extend to stimuli similar to the bar (same lighting, music). Intervention: broaden extinction training to multiple related contexts. (not covered yet, but students may state this)
(4) Opponent process/conditioned tolerance: the bar CS may also trigger a compensatory b-process. If drinking stops, the b-process runs unopposed in that context, producing craving and discomfort. This increases relapse risk in the familiar environment.
Distinguish between implicit (procedural) and explicit (declarative) knowledge. Then provide one example of each from everyday student life. Why is procedural learning the primary focus of PSYC 302?
Explicit (declarative) knowledge is consciously accessible,Procedural knowledge is automatic and does not require conscious awareness. most behaviorally relevant learning (habits, conditioned responses, addiction) operates outside conscious awareness and follows discoverable general laws.
Explain Dual Process Theory (Groves & Thompson, 1970). In the Davis (1974) startle experiment, rats were exposed to a 110 dB tone against either a 60 dB or 80 dB background noise. Using the S-R system and State system, explain why the louder background noise increased startle magnitude to the tone, even though the tone itself did not change
Dual Process Theory --that the observed behavioral response is the summation of two independent neural processes:the state system (other neural circuits that set the organism’s general arousal/readiness to respond), site of sensitization and stimulus-response system (the shortest neural pathway linking the eliciting stimulus to the response (the reflex arc), which is the site of habituation
the 110 dB tone activates the S-R system (sensory neuron → motor neuron → startle). The 80 dB background noise (louder, more arousing) activates the State system, raising the organism’s general readiness to respond. The observed startle = S-R output + State system output. Because the State system output is higher with the 80 dB background, the combined response is larger, even though the tone itself is identical. The S-R system is stimulus-specific; the State system is diffuse.
Explain conditioned drug tolerance using both Opponent Process Theory and classical conditioning. Why would a person who normally uses drugs in the same location be at elevated risk of overdose if they use the same dose in a new environment? Be specific about what CS, US, UR, and CR are in this scenario.
CS = environmental cues (the usual using location, paraphernalia, social context). US = the drug (pharmacological effect). UR = the drug’s direct effect (euphoria, stimulation). CR = the body’s compensatory opponent response (the b-process) triggered by the CS in anticipation of the drug — this is tolerance.
In the familiar environment, the CS triggers the CR (compensatory b-process) before or alongside the drug’s effect, reducing the manifest response. This is conditioned tolerance. In a new environment: the CS is absent, so the CR (compensatory response) is not triggered. The a-process (drug effect) occurs without the opposing b-process pre-activated. The same dose now has a much larger effect
A person who experienced food poisoning after eating at a sushi restaurant now feels sick every time they smell raw fish, even though they intellectually know the restaurant was not the cause. Using conditioned taste aversion, explain (a) why this association formed despite being a ‘one-trial’ event, (b) why the long delay between eating and illness still allowed conditioning, and (c) why this is a special case compared to other forms of conditioning.
a) Conditioned taste aversion can occur in a single trial because illness is a biologically powerful US that rapidly establishes associations even with minimal exposure.
(b) Belongingness: the CS (flavor/smell) and US (nausea) are biologically relevant to each other, allowing conditioning across unusually long delays that would prevent conditioning in most other paradigms.
(c) Most classical conditioning requires short CS-US intervals and multiple trials. Taste aversion is special because of evolved biological preparedness: organisms that quickly learn ‘this food made me sick’ survive. The Garcia effect explains why smell/taste readily associates with illness but not with shock.
Explain the Kamin blocking effect using the Rescorla-Wagner model. A rat first learns that a tone (A) perfectly predicts food. Then a compound stimulus (AB) is presented with food. Why does B fail to acquire associative strength? Show the logic using prediction error.
After training with A, V_A = λ. When compound AB is introduced, V_AB = V_A + V_B = λ + 0 = λ. The prediction error (λ – V_AB) = 0, so ΔV = 0 for both A and B. B fails to learn because the US is not surprising . A has already fully ‘explained’ the food. Blocking demonstrates that learning is competitive: when one CS already perfectly predicts the US, it blocks other CSs from acquiring predictive power
The general process approach argues that general laws of learning discovered in any species apply broadly. However, the Garcia effect (conditioned taste aversion with long delays, biological preparedness) seems to challenge this universality.
Is the Garcia effect evidence against the general process approach? Construct an argument for both sides and take a position.
Against: The Garcia effect shows that some CS-US pairs condition far more readily than others with equivalent parameters, suggesting biology constrains learning in species- and association-specific ways that undermine a completely universal law.
For:The principle that biological preparedness (belongingness) shapes associability is itself a general law
Adds the principle that ecological relevance modulates universal conditioning parameters. Learning is general in its mechanisms but calibrated by evolutionary history.
Define elicited behavior and distinguish it from a reflex and a modal action pattern (MAP). Give one original example of each. Why are reflexes considered evolutionarily advantageous even though they are inflexible?
Elicited behavior is any behavior (innate or learned) that is drawn out of an organism by a stimulus. A reflex is the simplest form of an elicited behavior, a rapid, automatic, stimulus-response connection. A MAP is a more complex, species-typical response sequence that most members of a species display in the same way
A student moves into a new apartment near a train track. At first the train noise wakes them every hour. After two weeks, they sleep through it. Then one night the train is unusually loud and they startle awake. (a) Identify which process accounts for each change in behavior. (b) Explain how you would determine whether the initial decrease in response was due to habituation, sensory adaptation, or fatigue. Be specific about what evidence would rule out each alternative.
(a) The gradual reduction in waking to repeated train noise is habituation. The unusually loud train triggering a startle is sensitization (dishabituation via a strong stimulus). (b) To rule out sensory adaptation: demonstrate the student’s auditory sense organs are still functional — if they stop waking to the train but still orient to other sounds (e.g., a smoke alarm), the response decrease is response-specific, not sensory. This rules out adaptation, which would reduce all hearing. To rule out fatigue: present a different stimulus (e.g., a car backfiring) and show the student still startles normally.
A dog is first trained so that picking up his leash (US) causes him to wag his tail (UR). You want to train the word ‘walk’ as a CS. Identify which conditioning procedure (short-delayed, long-delayed, trace, simultaneous, or backward) would produce the fastest and strongest conditioning, and explain why using the principles of CS-US timing.
Short-delayed conditioning (CS onset slightly before US onset, ISI < 1 min) would produce the fastest and strongest learning
Watson and Rayner conditioned ‘Little Albert’ to fear a white rat by pairing the rat with a loud noise. Albert later showed fear toward a white rabbit, a fur coat, and Santa Claus’s beard. (a) What principle does this demonstrate? (b) After being bitten by a large Alsatian dog, Hugo fears other large dogs but not small Chihuahuas. What principle does Hugo’s pattern demonstrate, and how does it contrast with Albert’s?
a) Albert demonstrates stimulus generalization: fear spreads to physically similar stimuli sharing features with the original CS.
(b) Hugo demonstrates discrimination: he has learned to differentiate between stimuli and responds only to those resembling the original threat.
Generalization and discrimination are opposing tendencies on a continuum — the more similar a new stimulus is to the CS, the stronger the generalized response. Training multiple CS+/CS– comparisons sharpens discrimination. (we will talk more about this later in the semester)
The Rescorla-Wagner model uses extinction as a case of negative prediction error. Walk through the logic: what is λ during extinction, what is V at the start of extinction, and why does this produce a gradual (not immediate) reduction in the conditioned response?
During extinction, the CS is presented without the US, so λ = 0. V is high at the start. Prediction error = (0 – V) = −V, so ΔV is negative and associative strength decreases. However, as V decreases, the prediction error also shrinks (V approaches 0), so the reduction per trial decreases. This produces a gradual extinction curve. The model also predicts extinction does not erase the original association, which explains spontaneous recovery.
Your friend is developing a dog toy and wants to reduce the process of habituation. They propose adding a treat that comes out at varying intervals. You explain that while that's a great idea, it's not actually affecting the habituation process. Explain why.
Habituation needs varying stimuli. Adding a treat is instrumental conditioning and may lead to sensitization but is not affecting the habituation response.
Define latent learning and give an original example (not from slides). How does the devaluation paradigm demonstrate latent learning, and why does it matter for our understanding of what organisms learn during classical conditioning?
Latent learning is learning that occurs but is not immediately expressed in behavior until there is motivation to reveal it. In the devaluation paradigm, after conditioning an animal to approach a CS paired with food, the food is made aversive. If the animal then reduces CS-approach, this shows it had learned the specific identity of the US, not just a motor response (in considering motivation and what exactly has been learned)
Describe the characteristics that distinguish habituation from sensitization in terms of stimulus specificity and response generalization. Then explain why stimulus intensity matters: under what conditions do you expect habituation versus sensitization, and why does this make evolutionary sense?
Habituation is highly stimulus-specific, tends to occur with low intensity stimuli; Sensitization generalizes broadly results from high intensity stimuli
Describe the three measures used to assess conditioned responses (probability, latency, magnitude). Then explain a scenario where these three measures might give conflicting information about how well conditioning has occurred, and what conclusions you would draw from that conflict.
Probability = percentage of trials on which the CR appears. Latency = how quickly after CS onset the CR occurs. Magnitude = size, vigor, or duration of the CR. Conflict scenario: early in learning, probability might be low (CR appears on only 40% of trials) but when it does occur, magnitude is large (long freezing). This suggests the association is strong but not yet reliably triggered. Researchers should use all three measures rather than relying on any single one.
You work at a coffee shop. You have been making espresso with the same machine every day for two years. A new machine arrives. You now get a burn from hot steam, which you associate more readily with the new machine than the old one. Explain why this occurs mentioning attention and state the phenomena this refers to
Latent inhibitioon (CS-preexposure effect). The new machine is novel, drawing more attentional resources. Since conditioning depends on the CS being attended to and informative, highly familiar stimuli condition poorly even when paired with a US
Distinguish between excitatory and inhibitory conditioning. Then explain why the statement ‘excitatory conditioning always produces excited behavior’ is incorrect, and give a specific example
Excitatory conditioning: the CS activates a representation of the US, producing a CR in its direction (approach, salivation, freezing). Inhibitory conditioning: the CS signals the absence of the US, inhibiting the behavior the US would produce. The statement is incorrect because the type of conditioning refers to what the CS predicts and not the nature of the behavior
A researcher is studying two participants in a conditioning experiment. Both are pre-exposed to a tone repeatedly with no consequence. Later, both participants undergo conditioning where the tone is paired with a mild shock.
Participant A is neurotypical. Participant B has been diagnosed with acute schizophrenia.
Based on what research shows about latent inhibition in schizophrenia, predict how the two participants will differ in their conditioning, and explain the mechanism behind the difference.
latent inhibition is normally protective and useful — it stops us from wasting associative resources on genuinely irrelevant stimuli. Its absence in schizophrenia helps explain why patients sometimes find meaning and connection in stimuli others completely ignore, which maps onto symptoms like ideas of reference (intense personal meaning attached to neutral stimuli)