Question

To determine the contingency of the US given the CS, you would need to know the probability of the US given the CS and

	a.	the probability of the CS alone
	b.	no other information is necessary
	c.	the probability of the US with no CS
	d.	number of trials that have happened

Negative reinforcement is the ____________ of a stimuli contingent on a response, while positive punishment is the ___________of a stimuli contingent on a response.

	a.	removal; removal
	b.	removal; presentation
	c.	presentation; removal
	d.	presentation; presentation

Suppose that two groups receive extensive conditioning trials with a shock. For Group 1, the shock is preceded by stimulus A by itself, while for Group 2, the shock is preceded by a compound of stimulus A with stimulus B. According to the Rescorla-Wagner model, the asymptotic level of fear conditioning to A in Group 1 will be _____________ in Group 2.

	a.	more variable than
	b.	lower than
	c.	the same as
	d.	higher than

Answer 1

1) To determine the contingency of the US given the CS, you would need to know the probability of the US given the CS and the probability of the US with no CS. [Answer: option (c)]

Explanation:

According to the Rescorla and Wagner model, there are two things that determine the amount of learning that occurs in pavlovian conditioning:

i. Learning will happen if what is given in the trial does not match with the expectation of the respondent i.e., the US should be a surprise for the organism to learn.

ii. The expectation of any given trial is determined by the predictive value of all of the stimuli present.

The equation is: ∆V=αβ(λ−ΣV)

∆V is the change in the predictive value of a stimulus

α - the salience of the CS for a given US

β - the speed of learning for a given US

λ - what actually happens

ΣV – what you expect

2) Negative reinforcement is the removal of a stimuli contingent on a response, while positive punishment is the presentation of a stimuli contingent on a response. [Answer: option (b)]

Explanation:

“Reinforcement” is an action done in order to strengthen a behavior while “punishment” is an action done in order to weaken a behavior.

Positive reinforcement – Is the presentation of a stimulus in order to strengthen a behavior.

Negative reinforcement – Is the removal of a stimulus in order to strengthen a behavior.

Positive punishment – Is the presentation of a stimulus in order to weaken a behavior.

Negative punishment – Is the removal of a stimulus in order to weaken a behavior.

3) According to the Rescorla-Wagner model, the asymptomatic level of fear conditioning to A in Group 1 will be higher than in Group 2.

Explanation: As already explained above, in group 1 the surprise value of stimulus A is high compared to group 2.