Search research articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Pavlovian conditioning: the CS-UR relation.

John W Donahoe¹, Rocio Vegas

¹Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst, MA 01002, USA. jdonahoe@psych.umass.edu

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes

|January 8, 2004

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Acquired reinforcement: Implications for autism.

The American psychologist·2022

Same author

Behavior analysis and neuroscience: Complementary disciplines.

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior·2017

Same author

Theory and Behavior Analysis.

The Behavior analyst·2016

Same author

Unified principle of reinforcement in a neural-network model: Reply to N. T. Calvin and J. J. McDowell.

Behavioural processes·2016

Same author

Pavlovian conditioning: pigeon nictitating membrane.

Behavioural processes·2010

Same author

Matching: its acquisition and generalization.

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior·2004

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

This study reveals that the conditioned stimulus-unconditioned response (CS-UR) relation, not the CS-US relation, is crucial for Pavlovian conditioning. This finding reinterprets conditioning phenomena by focusing on the response rather than just the stimulus.

Area of Science:

Behavioral Psychology
Animal Learning
Neuroscience

Background:

Pavlovian conditioning is a fundamental learning process.
Traditional models emphasize the temporal relationship between conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US).
The unconditioned response (UR) is often conflated with the US in standard conditioning procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the critical temporal relation for Pavlovian conditioning.
To differentiate the roles of the unconditioned stimulus (US) and unconditioned response (UR) in conditioning.
To re-evaluate established conditioning phenomena based on new experimental findings.

Main Methods:

Developed a novel Pavlovian conditioning procedure using fluid-elicited throat movements in pigeons (N=66).

Related Experiment Videos

Utilized the substantial latency and duration of the throat-movement response to independently assess CS-US and CS-UR temporal relations.

Conducted four experiments to analyze conditioning effects.

Main Results:

Conditioning was critically dependent on the temporal relation between the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned response (UR).
The temporal relation between the CS and the unconditioned stimulus (US) was found to be less critical.
This suggests a shift in focus from CS-US to CS-UR associations in this preparation.

Conclusions:

The unconditioned response (UR), not the unconditioned stimulus (US), is operationally critical for conditioning in this pigeon model.
Existing conditioning theories may need revision to account for the significance of CS-UR temporal dynamics.
This research offers a new framework for understanding various conditioning phenomena.