Probability of shock in the presence and absence of CS in fear conditioning.
01 Aug 1968-Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology (J Comp Physiol Psychol)-Vol. 66, Iss: 1, pp 1-5
TL;DR: 2 experiments indicate that CS-US contingency is an important determinant of fear conditioning and that presentation of US in the absence of CS interferes with fear conditioning.
Abstract: 2 experiments indicate that CS-US contingency is an important determinant of fear conditioning and that presentation of US in the absence of CS interferes with fear conditioning. In Experiment 1, equal probability of a shock US in the presence and absence of a tone CS produced no CER suppression to CS; the same probability of US given only during CS produced substantial conditioning. In Experiment 2, which explored 4 different probabilities of US in the presence and absence of CS, amount of conditioning was higher the greater the probability of US during CS and was lower the greater the probability of US in the absence of CS; when the 2 probabilities were equal, no conditioning resulted. Two conceptions of Pavlovian conditioning have been distinguished by Rescorla (1967). The first, and more traditional, notion emphasizes the role of the number of pairings of CS and US in the formation of a CR. The second notion suggests that it is the contingency between CS and US which is important. The notion of contingency differs from that of pairing in that it includes not only what events are paired but also what events are not paired. As used here, contingency refers to the relative probability of occurrence of US in the presence of CS as contrasted with its probability in the absence of CS. The contingency notion suggests that, in fact, conditioning only occurs when these probabilities differ; when the probability of US is higher during CS than at other times, excitatory conditioning occurs; when the probability is lower, inhibitory conditioning results. Notice that the probability of a US can be the same in the absence and presence of CS and yet there can be a fair number of CS-US pairings. It is this that makes it possible to assess the relative importance of pairing and contingency in the development of a CR. Several experiments have pointed to the usefulness of the contingency notion. Rescorla (1966) reported a Pavlovian 1This research was supported by Grants MH13415-01 from the National Institute of Mental Health and GB-6493 from the National Science Foundation, as well as by funds from Yale University.
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TL;DR: This study examined the examination of ‘mental construction’ in paradise fish by interactive learning, which is suggested as an alternative hypothesis for backward or second-order conditioning, and found that this avoidance depended on context pre-exposure.
Abstract: This study was aimed at the examination of ‘mental construction’ in paradise fish by interactive learning, which is suggested as an alternative hypothesis for backward or second-order conditioning. Avoidance of goldfish was established in paradise fish by presenting a harmless goldfish (a novel stimulus) after an aversive event (mild electric shocks) in the dark compartment of a shuttle tank. It was found that this avoidance depended on context pre-exposure. Experiment 1 was designed to study the effect of mild shocks on shuttling activity in a familiar context. Experiment 2 aimed at establishing fear-conditioning to the goldfish in a higher-order conditioning paradigm. In the course of training, unpaired stimuli were presented in the dark compartment of the shuttle tank in such a manner that the presentation of mild shocks (20 mA) preceded the encounter with a harmless fish (goldfish). Experiment 3 demonstrated the role of context pre-exposure in interactive learning. Results indicate that (1) while 60 mA shocks resulted in avoidance of the dark compartment, the 20 mA mild shocks affected exploratory behaviour; (2) after pre-exposure to the training environment, paradise fish avoided the dark compartment containing goldfish provided that subjects had previously encountered mild, explorative shocks there; (3) this conditioned fear, a ‘mental construction’ of a potential danger, was proved to be transferable to another context and was consequently aimed specifically at the goldfish, a living being, rather than the training context; (4) the pre-exposure to the shuttle tank was an important part of this training procedure, that is, only subjects habituated to the shuttle tank avoided the goldfish. Results are discussed in the framework of the Interactive Learning Hypothesis, which has been developed as an ethological approach to a higher-order conditioning paradigm.
17 citations
Cites background from "Probability of shock in the presenc..."
...an attacking predator) decrease exploratory activity and result in active avoidance ( Csanyi 1985 )....
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...Generally, this ‘mental’ analysis of events and decision making is based simply on the correlation of events ( Rescorla 1968 ), the causal relevance of events (preparedness: Seligman 1970) and temporal contiguity (e.g....
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...It seems plausible that paradise fish are able to construct the representation of a ‘dangerous predator’ not only on the basis of the paired presentation of mild shocks and a harmless goldfish (as found by Csanyi 1985 ), but also from the unpaired presentation of these stimuli....
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...Since without any previous habituation in the shuttle tank the average step-through latency of paradise fish is about 12 min (see Csanyi 1985 ), subjects which did not cross within 5 min were gently pushed into the dark compartment with a net during the first trial ( n = 6 and n = 7, respectively)....
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TL;DR: "junk-food" consumption selectively enhances incentive motivational responses to previously established food CSs, without altering cue potentiated feeding induced by these sameCSs, and in the absence of enhanced motivation for food itself.
17 citations
TL;DR: Three studies provide no support for the hypothesis that contextual cues regulate HPA axis response habituation, and confirmed that rats could distinguish between the contexts used and indicated that context preexposures reduce acute Hpa axis responses to loud noise.
Abstract: Exposure to stress reliably activates the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis response in rodents, which is significantly reduced (habituated) following repeated exposures. In the current study, it was first established that HPA axis response habituation to repeated loud noise lasted for at least 4 weeks in rats. In the next experiment, a contextual extinction procedure following repeated loud noise exposures failed to restore the habituated HPA axis response. Although an additional study indicated some recovery of responses when the context was modified on a test day following habituation, this effect could be mostly attributed to the familiarity with the contextual cues. A final study confirmed that rats could distinguish between the contexts used and further indicated that context preexposures reduce acute HPA axis responses to loud noise. These studies therefore provide no support for the hypothesis that contextual cues regulate HPA axis response habituation.
17 citations
TL;DR: It is shown that the basic principle of error-driven learning allows language users to detect relevant patterns of any degree of systematicity and constrains the authors' inferences about the types of structures that should be targeted on a cognitively realistic account of allomorphic representation.
Abstract: How language users become able to process forms they have never encountered in input is central to our understanding of language cognition. A range of models, including rule-based models, stochasti...
16 citations
Cites background from "Probability of shock in the presenc..."
...A constant background is informative about the relative frequency of an outcome as well as about the number trials on which cue and outcome are not coupled (see background rate: Rescorla, 1968)....
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TL;DR: Previous results indicating that, prior to the appearance of the first CR, the UR on US-alone trials progressively decreases in amplitude in relation to UR amplitude on paired trials are elaborated, supporting Papsdorf's consolidation theory over Rescorla’s contingency hypothesis.
Abstract: Thirty-two rabbits were run in an experiment that showed interference of nictitating membrane conditioning with presentation of one US alone between each paired trial. This conclusion is based on comparisons with yoked control Ss with the same number of paired trials, but no US-alone trials. Differences between experimental and control Ss were most pronounced at a comparatively short ITI, supporting Papsdorf’s consolidation theory over Rescorla’s contingency hypothesis. This study also elaborated previous results indicating that, prior to the appearance of the first CR, the UR on US-alone trials progressively decreases in amplitude in relation to UR amplitude on paired trials.
16 citations
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TL;DR: This "truly random" control procedure leads to a new conception of Pavlovian conditioning postulating that the contingency between CS and US, rather than the pairing of CS andUS, is the important event in conditioning.
Abstract: The traditional control procedures for Pavlovian conditioning are examined and each is found wanting. Some procedures introduce nonassociative factors not present in the experimental procedure while others transform the excitatory, experimental CS-US contingency into an inhibitory contingency. An alternative control procedure is suggested in which there is no contingency whatsoever between CS and US. This \"truly random\" control procedure leads to a new conception of Pavlovian conditioning postulating that the contingency between CS and US, rather than the pairing of CS and US, is the important event in conditioning. The fruitfulness of this new conception of Pavlovian conditioning is illustrated by 2 experimental results.
1,328 citations
301 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, three groups of dogs were trained with different kinds of Pavlovian fear conditioning for three different types of dogs: randomly and independently; for a second group, CSs predicted the occurrence of USs; and for a third group, S predicted the absence of the USs.
Abstract: Three groups of dogs were Sidman avoidance trained They then received different kinds of Pavlovian fear conditioning For one group CSs and USs occurred randomly and independently; for a second group, CSs predicted the occurrence of USs; for a third group, CSs predicted the absence of the USs The CSs were subsequently presented while S performed the avoidance response CSs which had predicted the occurrence or the absence of USs produced, respectively, increases and decreases in avoidance rate For the group with random CSs and USs in conditioning, the CS had no effect upon avoidance
160 citations
64 citations
TL;DR: Rats in an experimental group were given 30 trials of differential CER and then the CS+ and CS− were combined during CER extinction, resulting in less suppression for the experimental group than shown by a control group, interpreted as a demonstration of the active inhibitory properties of CS−.
Abstract: Rats in an experimental group were given 30 trials of differential CER and then the CS+ and CS− were combined during CER extinction. The combination resulted in less suppression for the experimental group than shown by a control group which had a CS+ and a formerly random stimulus combined during extinction. This was interpreted as a demonstration of the active inhibitory properties of CS−.
44 citations
"Probability of shock in the presenc..." refers background in this paper
...Although such an account is plausible for the present data, it fails to explain the active inhibition of fear found by Rescorla and LoLordo (1965), Rescorla (1966), and Hammond (1967)....
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