Basic Properties
Discriminative stimuli (SD)
Introduces opportunity for additional forms of learning
Setting the occasion to respond
Pavlovian conditioning
Two Factor Theory
The underlying mechanisms
Pavlovian conditioning of a drive/motivational system
Instrumental reinforcement by a change in a cond. drive state
Examples of conditioned emotional states
Phobic behavior
Evidence conditioning can occur without awareness
Application to avoidance behavior
What reinforces the response?
A potential paradox
Two factor theory of avoidance learning
Conditioning of fear to the signal
Subject learns to escape from the fear-eliciting stimulus
Evidence each factor can be independently established (acquired drive experiment)
A novel test (Kamin)Subjects should learn to terminate signal even if the R does not avoid the US
Problems
Signal termination alone did not produce equal performance
Shock avoidance (without signal termination) led to better than expected performance
Other problems: behavior extinguishes less rapidly than expected
A more detailed Pavlovian analysis
Stim. associated with making the R may act as a cond. inhibitor
How this helps us to deal with the problematic results
Suggests a way to extinguish the signal
Clinical implications
Flooding
Extinction of conditioned fear w/ and w/out medication (Barlow)