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The role of expectancy in Pavlovian conditioning
Peter F Lovibond1, R Frederick Westbrook1
1School of Psychology, University of New South Wales.
Psychological Review
|December 12, 2024
Summary
Pavlovian conditioning involves learning associations between stimuli. This review suggests conditioned responses stem from expectancy states, not just stimulus links, offering a unified view across species.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Pavlovian conditioning traditionally explains conditioned responses (CRs) via direct stimulus-stimulus links.
- This model struggles with CR variability and human instructed learning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review Pavlovian conditioning mechanisms in animals and humans.
- To propose an alternative framework emphasizing expectancy states.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of Pavlovian conditioning research.
- Analysis of findings in both animal and human studies.
Main Results:
- Expectancy plays a crucial role in learning and expressing conditioned associations.
- Conditioned responses appear to be anticipatory, driven by expectancy of the unconditioned stimulus (US).
- Human learning can elicit similar responses through instruction, not just experience.
Conclusions:
- Conditioned responses are better explained as anticipatory responses to expectancy states.
- Core mechanisms of learning and performance in Pavlovian conditioning are continuous across species.
- Future research should focus on contingency knowledge, expectancy, and response generation.
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