Unpredictability and Context Conditioning: Does the Nature of the US Matter?

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Meulders ◽  
Yannick Boddez ◽  
Debora Vansteenwegen ◽  
Frank Baeyens
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
Unconditioned Stimulus ◽  
Conditioned Suppression ◽  
The Other ◽  
Context Conditioning ◽  
The Us ◽  
Paired Condition

AbstractUsing a conditioned suppression task, we examined the minimal conditions to establish context conditioning as induced by unpredictability of an unconditioned stimulus (US). We investigated whether a biologically significant US is necessary to produce such context conditioning effects. In this between-subjects experiment, we manipulated the nature of the US and US-unpredictability. In the Paired condition, the conditioned stimulus (CS) was always followed by the US, whereas in the Unpaired condition, the CS and the US were presented explicitly unpaired, that is, the CS was never followed by the US. Half of the participants received an aversive, biologically significant human scream, and the other half received a more neutral, biologically non-significant sound as US. Results show more contextual suppression in the Unpaired condition than in the Paired condition. We conclude that in an expectancy-based conditioning task, US-unpredictability, but not a biologically potent US, is crucial to establish context conditioning.

Differential Acquisition, Extinction, and Reinstatement of Conditioned Suppression in Mice

2007 ◽  
Vol 60 (10) ◽  
pp. 1313-1320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trinette Dirikx ◽  
Tom Beckers ◽  
Clara Muyls ◽  
Paul Eelen ◽  
Debora Vansteenwegen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
Unconditioned Stimulus ◽  
Conditioned Suppression ◽  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
The Other ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Selective Suppression ◽  
Differential Acquisition ◽  
Group A ◽  
Conditioned Responding

In animals, the reappearance of conditioned fear responses after extinction has been primarily investigated using single-cue conditioning paradigms. However, a differential paradigm can overcome several of the disadvantages associated with a single-cue procedure. In the present study, the reinstatement phenomenon was assessed in mice using a differential conditioned suppression paradigm. In a first phase, one conditioned stimulus (CS +) was consistently paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US; footshock) while another CS (CS–) was not, resulting in selective suppression of previously trained instrumental behaviour during the CS +. After the extinction phase, half of the animals (reinstatement group) were presented with unsignalled USs, while the other half were not (control group). A differential return of conditioned responding was observed in the reinstatement group, but not in the control group. The implications of these findings for future conditioning research are discussed.

Locus of the Effect of a Surprising Reinforcer in the Attenuation of Blocking

1977 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. J. Mackintosh ◽  
D. J. Bygrave ◽  
B. M. B. Picton
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
Unconditioned Stimulus ◽  
Conditioned Suppression ◽  
The Other ◽  
Compound Trial ◽  
Redundant Stimulus ◽  
Compound Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
Effective Reinforcer

Previous experiments on conditioned suppression in rats have shown that prior conditioning to one element of a compound conditioned stimulus paired with shock may block or prevent conditioning to the other element. Reliable conditioning may, however, occur to the added element (blocking may be attenuated), if a surprising second shock is added shortly after each compound trial. Experiment I confirmed this finding, and further showed that blocking was attenuated only when the second shock occurred 10 s after the compound trial, not when it occurred 100 s later. Experiment II showed that the surprising omission of an expected second shock 10 s after each compound trial would also attenuate blocking, thus implying that the surprising event does not itself act to reinforce conditioning to the added element, but rather permits the unconditioned stimulus (the first shock) to play its normal role as an effective reinforcer. This conclusion was confirmed by Experiment III, which showed that a surprising second shock does not produce any increase in conditioning to the added element on the trial on which it occurs; rather it serves to ensure adequate conditioning to that element on a subsequent compound trial. The implication is that the surprising event acts proactively to prevent subjects learning to ignore an otherwise redundant stimulus.

scholarly journals No Evaluative Conditioning Effects with Briefly Presented Stimuli

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Heycke ◽  
Christoph Stahl
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
Unconditioned Stimulus ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Neutral Stimulus ◽  
Evaluative Conditioning ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Contingency Awareness ◽  
The Us

Evaluative Conditioning (EC) changes the preference towards a formerly neutral stimulus (Conditioned Stimulus; CS), by pairing it with a valent stimulus (Unconditioned Stimulus; US), in the direction of the valence of the US. When the CS is presented subliminally (i.e., too briefly to be consciously perceived), contingency awareness between CS and US can be ruled out. Hence, EC effects with subliminal CSs would support theories claiming that contingency awareness is not necessary for EC effects to occur. Recent studies reported the absence of EC with briefly presented CSs when both CS and US were presented in the visual modality, even though the CSs were identified at above-chance levels. Challenging this finding, Heycke and colleagues (2017) found some evidence for an EC effect with briefly presented visual stimuli in a cross-modal paradigm with auditory USs, but that study did not assess CS visibility. The present study attempted to replicate this EC effect with different stimuli and a CS visibility check. Overall EC for briefly presented stimuli was absent, and results from the visibility check show that an EC effect with briefly presented CSs was only found, when the CSs were identified at above-chance levels.

Effect of Low Body Temperature on Associative Interference in Conditioned Taste Aversion

2005 ◽  
Vol 100 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 913-919
Author(s):  
John P. Christianson ◽  
James R. Misanin ◽  
Mathew J. Anderson ◽  
Charles F. Hinderliter
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Unconditioned Stimulus ◽  
Taste Aversion ◽  
Conditioned Taste Aversion ◽  
The Other ◽  
Conditioned Stimuli ◽  
Associative Interference ◽  
Temporal Proximity ◽  
Timing Mechanisms ◽  
The Us

When two novel conditioned stimuli precede an unconditioned stimulus (US), the interval between the two conditioned stimuli (CS1 and CS2) influences the magnitude of the CS-US associability of each CS. As the interval between CS1 and CS2 increases, the associability of CS1 with the US decreases due to interference by CS2 and the associability of CS2 increases, given its temporal proximity to the US. Because hypothermia has been reported to increase the interval at which conditioned taste aversions can be formed, its influence was examined on the above relationship, i.e., how interference from CS2 affects the associability of CS1 with the US. Rats received a conditioned taste aversion procedure where CS1 and CS2 were presented either one after the other or separated by an 80-min. delay. For all subjects, the US or pseudo-US was presented immediately after CS2. When hypothermia was interpolated between the two flavor stimuli that were spaced 80 min. apart, CS2-interference with the CS1-US association was greatly attenuated. We propose that hypothermia modifies internal timing mechanisms such that the externally timed 80-min. CS1-CS2 interval was perceived as much shorter for rats made hypothermic. As a result of this perceived shortened inter-CS interval, CS2 produced less interference for the CS1-US association than would be expected for such a relatively long delay between CS1 and CS2.

Propositional Versus Dual-Process Accounts of Evaluative Conditioning

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoqing Hu ◽  
Bertram Gawronski ◽  
Robert Balas
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
Unconditioned Stimulus ◽  
Evaluative Conditioning ◽  
Dual Process ◽  
Relational Information ◽  
The Us

Evaluative conditioning (EC) is defined as the change in the evaluation of a conditioned stimulus (CS) due to its pairing with a valenced unconditioned stimulus (US). According to propositional accounts, EC effects should be qualified by the relation between the CS and the US. Dual-process accounts suggest that relational information should qualify EC effects on explicit evaluations, whereas implicit evaluations should reflect the frequency of CS–US co-occurrences. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that, when relational information was provided before the encoding of CS–US pairings, it moderated EC effects on explicit, but not implicit, evaluations. In Experiment 3, relational information moderated EC effects on both explicit and implicit evaluations when it was provided simultaneously with CS–US pairings. Frequency of CS–US pairings had no effect on implicit evaluations. Although the results can be reconciled with both propositional and dual-process accounts, they are more parsimoniously explained by propositional accounts.

scholarly journals Reactivation of hedonic but not sensory representations in human emotional learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mana R Ehlers ◽  
James H Kryklywy ◽  
Andre O Beukers ◽  
Sarah R Moore ◽  
Forys J Brandon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
Unconditioned Stimulus ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Fmri Data ◽  
Similarity Analysis ◽  
Appetitive Conditioning ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
The Us ◽  
Novel Variation

Learning which stimuli in our environment co-occur with painful or pleasurable events is critical for survival. Previous research has established the basic neural and behavioural mechanisms of aversive and appetitive conditioning; however, it is unclear what precisely is learned. Here we examined what aspects of the unconditioned stimulus (US), sensory and hedonic, are transferred to the conditioned stimulus (CS). To decode the content of brain activation patterns elicited during appetitive (soft touch) and aversive (painful touch) conditioning of faces, a novel variation of representational similarity analysis (RSA) based on theoretically driven representational patterns of interest (POIs) was applied to fMRI data. Once face associations were learned through conditioning, globally the CS reactivated US representational patterns showing conditioning dependent reactivation. More specifically, in higher order brain regions, the CS only reactivated hedonic but not sensory aspects of the US, suggesting that affective conditioning primarily carries forward the valence of the experience rather than its sensory origins.

Ring My Bell

2019 ◽  
pp. 303-315
Author(s):  
Patrik N. Juslin
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
Unconditioned Stimulus ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Special Form ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Evaluative Conditioning ◽  
The Us ◽  
Psychological Mechanism ◽  
Classic Conditioning

This chapter considers the psychological mechanism known as evaluative conditioning. Evaluative conditioning is defined as a process whereby an emotion is evoked by a piece of music just because this stimulus has been paired, repeatedly, with other positive or negative stimuli, which are not necessarily logically connected to the music in any way. It is a special form of classic conditioning that involves the pairing of an initially neutral conditioned stimulus (CS) with an affectively valenced, unconditioned stimulus (US). After the pairing, the CS acquires the ability to arouse the same affective state as the US in the perceiver. The remainder of the chapter discusses the characteristics of evaluative conditioning, the emotions that conditioning might arouse, and the role of conditioning in everyday life.

scholarly journals Higher-Order Conditioning: What Is Learnt and How it Is Expressed

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert C. Honey ◽  
Dominic M. Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
Unconditioned Stimulus ◽  
Pavlovian Conditioning ◽  
Formal Analysis ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Order Conditioning ◽  
The Us ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Conditioned Responses

Pairing a neutral conditioned stimulus (CS) with a motivationally significant unconditioned stimulus (US) results in the CS coming to elicit conditioned responses (CRs). The widespread significance and translational value of Pavlovian conditioning are increased by the fact that pairing two neutral CSs (A and X) enables conditioning with X to affect behavior to A. There are two traditional informal accounts of such higher-order conditioning, which build on more formal associative analyses of Pavlovian conditioning. But, higher-order conditioning and Pavlovian conditioning have characteristics that are beyond these accounts: Notably, the two are influenced in different ways by the same experimental manipulations, and both generate conditioned responses that do not reflect the US per se. Here, we present a formal analysis that sought to address these characteristics.

scholarly journals Simulation-based learning shapes real-life attitudes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp C. Paulus ◽  
Aroma Dabas ◽  
Annalena Felber ◽  
Roland Georg Benoit
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
Unconditioned Stimulus ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Life Attitudes ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
The Us ◽  
Familiar Person

Humans can vividly simulate hypothetical experiences. This ability draws on our memories (e.g., of familiar people and locations) to construct imaginings that resemble real-life events (e.g., of meeting a person at a location). Here, we examine the hypothesis that we also learn from such simulated episodes much like from actual experiences. Specifically, we show that the mere simulation of meeting a familiar person (unconditioned stimulus; US) at a known location (conditioned stimulus; CS) changes how people value the location. We provide key evidence that this simulation-based learning strengthens pre-existing CS-US associations and that it leads to a transfer of valence from the US to the CS. The data thus highlight a mechanism by which we learn from simulated experiences.

scholarly journals Extinction of Pavlovian Conditioning: The Influence of Trial Number and Reinforcement History

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. K. Jonas Chan ◽  
Justin Harris
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
Unconditioned Stimulus ◽  
Pavlovian Conditioning ◽  
Temporal Relationship ◽  
Partial Reinforcement ◽  
Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect ◽  
Reinforcement History ◽  
The Us ◽  
Cumulative Duration ◽  
Learning As A Process

Pavlovian conditioning is sensitive to the temporal relationship between conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US). This has motivated models that describe learning as a process that continuously updates associative strength during the trial or specifically encodes the CS-US interval. These models predict that extinction of responding is also continuous, such that response loss is proportional to the cumulative duration of exposure to the CS without the US. We review evidence showing that this prediction is incorrect, and that extinction is trial-based rather than time-based. We also present two experiments that test the importance of trials versus time on the Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect (PREE), in which responding extinguishes more slowly for a CS that was inconsistently reinforced with the US than for a consistently reinforced one. We show that increasing the number of extinction trials of the partially reinforced CS, relative to the consistently reinforced CS, overcomes the PREE. However, increasing the duration of extinction trials by the same amount does not overcome the PREE. We conclude that animals learn about the likelihood of the US per trial during conditioning, and learn trial-by-trial about the absence of the US during extinction. Moreover, what they learn about the likelihood of the US during conditioning affects how sensitive they are to the absence of the US during extinction.

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