Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 16, 2025
09:00
Investigating Pain-Related Avoidance Behavior using a Robotic Arm-Reaching Paradigm
Published on: October 3, 2020
4.1K
Conditional Control of Instrumental Avoidance by Context Following Extinction.
Vincent D Campese1, Lauren A Brannigan2, Joseph E LeDoux2,3
1Department of Psychology, University of Evansville, Evansville, IN, United States.
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
|October 15, 2021
Summary
Context influences avoidance behavior after extinction. Rodents showed renewed avoidance when tested outside the extinction context, but reduced responding within it, demonstrating context-controlled extinction.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral neuroscience
- Learning and memory
- Animal behavior
Background:
- Pavlovian extinction is crucial for modifying learned behaviors.
- Understanding context's role in extinction is vital for treating fear and anxiety disorders.
- Instrumental avoidance responding is influenced by learned associations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if context controls the expression of avoidance behavior following extinction.
- To determine if extinction renewal is modulated by the testing environment.
- To examine the hierarchical control of behavior based on associative learning.
Main Methods:
- Rodents were used in three distinct training paradigms (ABB vs. ABA, AAA vs. AAB, ABB vs. ABC).
- Extinction learning was conducted in specific contexts.
- Retention testing involved presenting extinguished cues in both extinction and novel contexts.
Main Results:
- Avoidance responding (renewal) significantly increased when extinguished cues were tested in a context different from extinction.
- Response rates were significantly lower when cues were tested within the original extinction context.
- Findings indicate context-dependent control over extinguished avoidance behavior.
Conclusions:
- Context plays a critical role in the expression of extinguished avoidance responses.
- Extinction learning is context-specific, influencing behavioral renewal.
- Results support a hierarchical model of associative learning and behavioral control.
Related Concept Videos
01:14Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness
1.9K
Avoidance learning and learned helplessness are critical concepts in understanding behavioral responses to negative stimuli.
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...
1.9K
01:24Operant Conditioning Intervention
162
Operant conditioning serves as a foundational principle in therapeutic interventions aimed at modifying maladaptive behaviors. Central to this approach is the notion that behaviors, both adaptive and maladaptive, are learned through reinforcement. By analyzing the environmental factors that reinforce problematic behaviors, clinicians can design interventions to weaken these reinforcements and replace maladaptive behaviors with healthier alternatives.
In operant conditioning, behaviors that are...
In operant conditioning, behaviors that are...
162
01:24Generalization, Discrimination, and Extinction
905
Generalization, discrimination, and extinction are key concepts in operant conditioning that influence how behaviors are learned and maintained.
Generalization occurs when a behavior reinforced in one context is performed in similar situations. For instance, a student who studies diligently for calculus and receives excellent grades might apply the same study habits to psychology and history, expecting similar results. Generalization shows how learning in one setting can influence behavior in...
Generalization occurs when a behavior reinforced in one context is performed in similar situations. For instance, a student who studies diligently for calculus and receives excellent grades might apply the same study habits to psychology and history, expecting similar results. Generalization shows how learning in one setting can influence behavior in...
905
01:14Conditioned Taste Aversion
263
Conditioned taste aversion, also known as sauce béarnaise syndrome, is a phenomenon in which an individual develops an aversion to a certain food taste following a negative experience, typically illness. This form of aversion is a type of classical conditioning in which the taste of the food (conditioned stimulus, CS) is associated with the experience of illness (unconditioned stimulus, UCS).
A notable characteristic of conditioned taste aversion is that it often requires only a single...
A notable characteristic of conditioned taste aversion is that it often requires only a single...
263
01:21Operant Conditioning
1.8K
Operant conditioning, a key concept in behavioral psychology, involves using reinforcement and punishment to alter the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. B.F. introduced this type of conditioning. Skinner focused on voluntary behaviors and the consequences that follow them, influencing whether these behaviors will be strengthened or diminished.
Reinforcement in operant conditioning can be positive or negative, both of which serve to increase the likelihood of a behavior. Positive...
Reinforcement in operant conditioning can be positive or negative, both of which serve to increase the likelihood of a behavior. Positive...
1.8K
01:05Instinctive Drift
371
Instinctive drift refers to the tendency of animals to revert to their innate behaviors despite repeated reinforcement. Breland and Breland demonstrated this concept in an experiment with a raccoon. The raccoon was trained to pick up two coins and place them in a container in exchange for food. Initially, the raccoon learned to associate the coins with food, making them a conditioned stimulus or a substitute for food. However, over time, the raccoon became less willing to put the coins into the...
371