Anna Kirwan

Exam 2
Unconscious Associative Learning (Penny Trick) - We pick up unconsciously on cues that
signal certain responses. In the moodle reading they showed an X on the screen in a pattern and
then again in true random fashion and subjects responded faster when it was a pattern however
could not explain the pattern.
Blocking- A cue thats pre-conditioned to predict something is joined by a 2nd cue to predict the
same thing, the 2nd isnt acknowledged. (Ralph is always sick, Joe starts hanging out with ralph,
Joe gets sick and gets you sick, you do not blame joe because you assume it was ralph).
Group
Pre-Cond
Cond.
Test
Super Conditioning- A cue that signals
nothing is joined by a 2nd cue that signals
Control
T+LL=Fear
a shock. The 2nd cue becomes the feared
Shock
cue.
Blocking
T-Shock
T+LL=No
Shock
Fear
Sensory Preconditioning- A CS can gain
SuperT-No
T+LL=High
value without ever being paired directly
Conditionin
Shock
Shock
Fear
with a Us by association. (Ex: If ralph
g
gets good grades and Joe hangs out with
Ralph, Ralph prob did well too.)
Second Order Conditioning- a secondary stimulus
eventually becomes an inhibitor. (There used to be a great
pizza restaurant in the green building on the corner. One
day they erected a big red and white awning; but,
unfortunately, thats because the pizza place had closed and
the building now houses an insurance company.
Nevertheless, whenever I see a big red and white awning
anywhere I get a happy feeling and think about pizza.)

Garcias study was sweet water, light flashes, and

click sounds. The rats either were shocked when they
drank, or zapped with x-rays so that they later became
sick. Results showed, the shock was only associated
with the light and click; the illness was only associated
with the taste. This shows that animals are biologically
predisposed to associate some stimuli and not others,
illness and foods for example.
Garcia said that it is unlikely any learning will take place if there is a delay of seconds or more
whether its positive or negative reinforcements. Also, he said that anything can be turned into a
CS, whether its visual, odor, sound etc.
Equipotentiality- The belief that if CSa is better than CSb at becoming associated with USx.
then CSa will be better than CSb at becoming associated with anything. (Not true, all animals
and species are differentQuail rejects blue while rat rejects sour.)

Flavor Preference- When the rat is hungry and drinks water with calorie associated flavors, they
drink the most. When the water is saccharin associated, the hungry rat and sated rat drink the
same. It is always more than the plain flavor however.
Flavor Preference with Caffeine- Rats drank the most of the caffeinated drink when the
concentration is low, it has gone through conditioning deprived, and it has gone through test
deprived. Rats drank the least when it was medium concentration and they were sated during
conditioning and testing. In the rat lab on the wall, for 4 consecutive days after extinction rats
still showed a strong preference for the caffine-associated flavor.
Extra Credit: Cartoon shows a man who loves snakes. He jumps and freaks out when he sees a
spider.