
Respondent eliciting functions
◦ US
◦ CS

Operant evocative functions
◦ SD
◦ S
Unit 4
The Biological Influence on Conditioning & Antecedent Stimulus Control

Operant consequential functions
◦ Reinforcing SR+ and SR‐
◦ Punishing SP+ and SP‐
1
2


A
A.
B.
C.
D.
follow precede
follow
precede
are simultaneous with select
select are simultaneous with
precede follow


The physical structure of the organism limits what they can learn (you can’t teach a pig to fly).
The sensory systems of the organism determines what stimuli will effect behavior (and which stimuli will be more or less salient).
The biological make‐up of the organism determines what can function as reinforcement and how quickly new responses can be learned.
The biological context also determines the general limits and sensitivity of behavior/environmental relationships.
3
4
The biological context influences which types of responses are best maintained by avoidance or escape conditioning. 
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
◦
5
The escape or avoidance response must be “biologically g
y
relevant” in the sense that it is what the organism is likely to do in nature to avoid or escape danger.
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1


A.
B.
C.
C
D.
E.
What the organism can sense
What the organism is capable of physically
The degree and type of conditioning possible
The degree and type of conditioning possible
All of the above
None of the above

Respondent Control Effecting Operant Contingencies
Operant Contingencies Effecting Respondent Control
Taste Aversion Learning
◦ Between species differences ◦ Within species differences 
Adjunctive Behavior
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



Instinctive drift
Sign Tracking
Autoshaping of pigeon key pecks for food.
Negative Automaintenance of responses that prevent i f
( i i
d )
reinforcement (omission procedure)
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
When species‐specific behavior patterns intrude upon trained operant behavior
◦ Raccoons trained to place tokens in a “piggy bank” for food reinforcement began to “wash” the tokens instead.
◦ Raccoons instinctively “wash” their food before eating. US y
g
(food)UR (wash)
◦ CS (token) CR (wash)
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
Approaching or orienting toward a stimulus that signals the onset of food (or some other biologically relevant event)
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

◦ Dogs will “beg” towards a buzzer if that buzzer frequently p
p
precedes the presentation of food
◦ SD (buzzer)R (approach)  S+ (food)
◦ US (food)  UR (food related responses)
◦ CS (buzzer)  CR (begging)

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Presenting a localized stimulus (lighted response key) and then delivering food 10 seconds later to pigeons.
Pigeons come to peck the lighted response key when it is presented (which is the “autoshaped” response).
When the lighted key is pecked food is presented f
immediately (reinforcing the keypeck response).
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2




Use the autoshaping procedure of presenting a lighted key and then giving food 10 seconds later.
If the pigeon pecks the lighted key, food is not given (omission procedure)
To receive food in 10 seconds, the lighted key must
To receive food in 10 seconds, the lighted key must NOT be pecked.
Most pigeons peck the lighted key when it is associated with food presentation and therefore miss several food presentations.
A. autoshaping
B. ontogenetic behavior
C. species‐specific behavior becoming invasive during training
D. operant responses that interfere with species‐
specific behavior
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A.
B.
C.
D.
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
operant conditioning
respondent conditioning
ontogenetic control mechanisms
g
p
there are no good explanations
In each of these cases a biologically relevant stimulus (such as food) follows a stimulus involved in an operant contingency. ◦ This temporal relationship meets the criteria for a CS‐US pairing that produces respondent conditioning
pairing that produces respondent conditioning. ◦ The responses that result (conditioned responses) are outside the operant relationship and thus cannot be explained with operant principles alone.
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
◦ Between species differences in the respondent conditioning of stimuli (rats vs. quail). The Miller experiments attempted to demonstrate that autonomic responses (like heart rate, GSR, intestinal contractions, etc.) could be operantly conditioned directly.
 Wilcoxon, Dragoin, and Kral (1971) compounded taste (salty) and a visual stimulus (blue) in water and paired this with nausea.  They found that rats responded to the taste properties of the stimulus as the CS . The quail responded to the visual properties of the stimulus as the CS.  Species differences produced opposite overshadowing effects
◦ In most cases these autonomic responses are associated with nonautonomic responses (such as voluntary muscle responses).
◦ The nonautonomic responses “mediate” the “conditioning” which makes it appear that the autonomic responses are being operantly conditioned.

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The Miller experiments were convincing in demonstrating operant conditioning of reflexive responses.
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3
◦ Within species differences between stimulus modality and respondent conditioning (taste to illness and sight/sound to pain). 
Taste Aversion is interpreted as respondent conditioning with 3 unusual characteristics.
◦ Respondent conditioning occurred even after long delays between the CS and US ◦ Conditioning occurred after one pairing only
◦ Not any neutral stimulus can be conditioned with any unconditioned stimulus.  Garcia and Koelling (1966) used bright/noisy water and flavored water paired with shock or poison.
 They found that the rats drank less water when  taste stimuli and poison were paired
 visual/auditory stimuli and pain were paired  They found no conditioning with taste and pain or visual/auditory and poison.
 They concluded that biological influences limit which stimuli can be conditioned to an unconditioned stimulus.
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
20

“An excessive and persistent behavior pattern that occurs as a side‐effect of reinforcement delivery”.

◦ Examples are schedule‐induced‐polydipsia in rats (excessive drinking when given small, frequent meals) and some drug related behaviors in humans (smoking and drinking alcohol).
Refers to the effects of antecedent stimuli on behavior.
Is the result of discrimination training.
◦ Reinforce a response in the presence of a stimulus (SD) and do not reinforce the response in the absence of the stimulus or in the presence of another stimulus (S)
stimulus or in the presence of another stimulus (S


When the SD is presented, the associated response is evoked. When the S is presented the associated response is inhibited.
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


22

A Multiple Schedule is a compound schedule where two or more simple schedules alternate. Each schedule is associated with a distinctive stimulus.
The simple schedules alternate on a variable time basis to reduce temporal control over responding.
b i t
d
t
l
t l
di
In time, each distinctive stimulus evokes response patterns characteristic of the simple schedule associated with it.
Behavioral Contrast refers to the change in response rate in one component when the rate of reinforcement (or rate of response) changes in the other component of a multiple schedule.
◦ Positive Contrast refers to the Increase in response rate in the unchanged component when rate of reinforcement is the unchanged component when rate of reinforcement is
reduced in the changed component.
◦ Negative Contrast refers to the Decrease in response rate in the unchanged component when rate of reinforcement is increased in the changed component.

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Behavioral contrast demonstrates the influence of “context” (or schedule sequence) on responding. (Williams,1981)
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4
Negative Contrast
(in an ABA research design)
A
B
A
Both component
schedules are equal
Decrease reinforcement in one
component and leave the other
component unchanged. Positive
contrast occurs if response rate in the
unchanged component goes up (see
dashed line).
W hen both component
schedules are again equal,
response rates should also be
nearly equal.
50
40
30
Unchanged component rate
goes up if Positive Contrast
occurs
Decreased response rate due to
the decreased reinforcement rate
in the changed component.
20
10
0
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
B
A
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50
increase in reinforcement rate in
the changed component.
40
30
Unchanged component rate
goes down if Negative
Contrast occurs
20
10
0
0
Sessions
A
Increase reinforcement in one
W hen both component schedules are
component and leave the other
again equal, response rates should also
component unchanged. Negative
be nearly equal.
contrast occurs if response rate in
the unchanged component goes down
(see dashed line).
Increased rate because of
Both component
schedules are equal
60
Responses peer Minute
Responses pe
er Minute
60
Positive Contrast
(in an ABA research design)
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
Sessions
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


Responding differently to different stimuli (also referred to as “stimulus control”).
Multiple schedules illustrate stimulus discrimination (when different stimuli evoke different response tt
h h d l )
patterns on each schedule). Behavioral contrast illustrates the complexity of the discriminative control by stimuli.
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


Stimulus generalization refers to responding trained in the presence of one SD occurring to other (usually similar) stimuli.
Generalization is the opposite of discrimination.
A
li ti
di t f t th di t ib ti
f
A generalization gradient refers to the distribution of responding around the SD and similar stimuli.
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28

A.
B.
C.
D.
With “SD only” training (Guttman & Kalish 1956)
◦ The response pattern (generalization gradient) is generally symmetrical around the SD value.
◦ The greatest responding (the peak) is at the SD.
Reinforcement; Generalization
Discrimination; Extinction
Discrimination; Generalization
Discrimination; Generalization
Generalization; Discrimination

With “SD ‐ S” training (Hanson 1959)
◦ The “peak” is shifted off the SD in the opposite direction from the S
◦ The overall level of responding is higher (higher peak) than with SD only training.
◦ The slope of the gradient is steeper than with SD only training.
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30
5
Comparison of Generalization Gradients
140
Comparison of Generalization Gradients
140
120
Bar Presses During
g Generalization Tests
B a r P re s s e s D u rin g G e n e raliz a tio n T es ts
120
S+
100
A.
80
S+
B.
B
SS+/S-
60
S+
C.
Red
Green
Blue
S+
100
80
60
S+
40
20
S-
40
S0
1.00
20
1.25
1.50
1.75
2.00
2.25
2.50
2.75
3.00
Frequency of Test Tones (kHz)
SS-
0
1.00
1.25
1.50
1.75
2.00
2.25
2.50
2.75
3.00
Frequency of Test T ones (kHz)
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2
0
Comparison of Generalization Gradients
B
B.
C.
Red
Green
Blue
120
S+
100
80
60
S+
40
20
Comparison of Generalization Gradients
140
Bar Presses During Gene
eralization Tests
A.
Bar Presses During Genera
alization Tests
140
S-
120
S+
100
80
60
S+
40
20
S-
S0
S-
0
1.00
1.25
1.50
1.75
2.00
2.25
2.50
2.75
3.00
1.00
Frequency of Test Tones (kHz)
Absolute stimulus control means that more responding occurs in the presence of the stimulus associated with reinforcement than to other stimuli.

Relative stimulus control means that more R l ti
ti l
t l
th t
responding occurs to a stimulus that represents the relationship present when reinforcement occurred.
1.50
1.75
2.00
2.25
2.50
2.75
3.00
Frequency of Test Tones (kHz)
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
1.25
34

◦ Red evokes more responding than blue.


◦ The smaller of two circles evokes more responding.
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In typical SD – Straining, responses occur to both stimuli. Responding to the S is considered an error and goes unreinforced.
To reduce S responses the SD is present at full strength while the S
h l h  is introduced slowly at weak intensity.
d d l l
k
The S is gradually “Faded in” to reduce the probability that responses will occur in its presence.
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6

A.
B.
C.
D.
early introduction of the extinction stimulus
gradual transfer of stimulus control
infrequent reinforcement
both (a) and (b) are correct


“Fading” refers to the gradual shift in stimulus control from one stimulus to another.
Fading reduces “errors” and the side‐effects associated with the extinction of “error responding”.
Fading is a very useful applied strategy for
Fading is a very useful applied strategy for developing appropriate stimulus control of responding.
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

38
Delaying the SD but introduce the new stimulus immediately.
Fading out the original SD gradually and fading in the new SD gradually at the same time.
A
A.
Students use a fading technique when they study with flash cards. Answering a question by reading the answer from the flash card means the answer is under the complete control of the flash card SD. The SD is gradually faded out (by covering the answer or delaying the time between asking the question and “reading” the answer).
B.
C.
D.
Stimulus Control
Stimulus
Control
Fading
Shaping
Conditional Discrimination
39


40
Conditional Discrimination: When the discriminative function of a stimulus (as either an SD or S) is dependent on another stimulus.
The general procedure for demonstrating conditional stimulus control is ◦ first present a sample stimulus and require some response to this stimulus so that we know they “see it”
◦ next present two or more comparison stimuli. ◦ the correct comparison stimulus is selected for reinforcement. 5 Pecks
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42
7
2 Pecks
Peck= Food
Peck= No
Food
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44


Peck= No
Food
The sample stimulus determines which comparison stimulus is correct, thus we say the correct comparison is “conditional” upon the sample stimulus.
The reinforced response evoked by the comparison stimulus is conditional upon which sample stimulus is
stimulus is conditional upon which sample stimulus is presented.
Peck= Food
45



46

Matching‐to‐Sample (pick the comparison stimulus that is the same as the sample stimulus).
Oddity Matching (pick the comparison stimulus that does not match the sample stimulus).
Symbolic Matching (pick the comparison stimulus (
that represents the sample stimulus)


47
The delayed matching‐to‐sample (DMTS) procedure inserts a delay between the OFFSET of the sample stimulus and the ONSET of the comparison stimuli.
The percent of correct comparison choices decreases as the delay is increased.
“Remembering” is studied with this procedure.
48
8
5 Pecks
10 seconds pass
49
50
A.
B.
Peck= Food
C.
Peck= No
Food
D.
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onset; the bird’s recognition
onset; offset
offset; the bird’s recognition
offset; onset
52
9