Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Principles of Classical Conditioning01:23

Principles of Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning, as described by Ivan Pavlov, is a foundational concept in associative learning, where a neutral stimulus becomes capable of eliciting a conditioned response through association with an unconditioned stimulus. The process of acquisition, where this learning occurs, and the subsequent phenomena of contiguity, contingency, generalization, discrimination, extinction, and spontaneous recovery are crucial for a comprehensive understanding of classical conditioning.
During the...
Generalization, Discrimination, and Extinction01:24

Generalization, Discrimination, and Extinction

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...
Classical Conditioning01:18

Classical Conditioning

Associative learning, a core principle in behavioral psychology, involves forming connections between events and facilitating learned responses. This concept is vividly illustrated by classical conditioning, a process extensively studied by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov's pioneering research on dogs' digestive systems led to the discovery that behaviors can be learned through association, laying the groundwork for classical conditioning.
Ivan Pavlov observed that dogs salivated...
Classical Conditioning in Daily Life01:17

Classical Conditioning in Daily Life

Classical conditioning, a fundamental principle of associative learning, explains various phenomena observed in daily life, such as fear development, the placebo effect, taste aversion, and drug habituation. These applications demonstrate the profound impact of associative learning on human behavior and physiological responses.
John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner famously demonstrated the development of fear through classical conditioning in their experiment with Little Albert. They paired the...
Instinctive Drift01:05

Instinctive Drift

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...
Real-World Application of Classical Conditioning01:15

Real-World Application of Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning not only includes the initial pairing of stimuli but also extends to more complex forms, such as higher-order conditioning. Higher-order conditioning involves creating associations beyond the primary conditioned stimulus, resulting in a chain of conditioned responses.
Higher-order, or second-order, conditioning occurs when a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an already established conditioned stimulus through repeated pairings. For instance, if a dog has been...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Social instability alters the topography of adolescent and adult social behavior and amygdala function.

Physiology & behavior·2026
Same author

Differential impacts of advanced age and sex in age-related trace fear memory impairment in rats.

Learning & memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.)·2025
Same author

Context controls the ability of unconditional stimulus deflation to mitigate fear relapse.

Brain research·2025
Same author

The consequences of stress on the brain and fear.

eLife·2025
Same author

The interval between conditional stimulus onset and unconditional stimulus onset, not training-to-test interval, determines patterns of immediate early gene expression in the anterior retrosplenial cortex.

Neurobiology of learning and memory·2025
Same author

Stress-enhanced fear learning can be reduced with unconditional stimulus deflation with constraints.

Behavioural brain research·2025
Same journal

Correction: Quantifying nonmnemonic strategies in two-alternative forced-choice delayed matching and nonmatching-to-position tasks in mice (Mus musculus) using automated video tracking technologies.

Learning & behavior·2026
Same journal

What is possible and what is worth: Higher levers afford more work and enhance the value of leisure.

Learning & behavior·2026
Same journal

Behavioral impact of adolescent social isolation stress: A multidimensional assessment in male NMRI mice.

Learning & behavior·2026
Same journal

Behavioral characteristics of rapid visual categorization learning in domestic chicks.

Learning & behavior·2026
Same journal

Operant conditioning through positive reinforcement in the ghost crab (Ocypode quadrata).

Learning & behavior·2026
Same journal

Pigeons (Columbia livia) use local compared to global spatial information during a traveling salesperson task.

Learning & behavior·2026
See all related articles
  1. Home
  3. Unconditional Stimulus Deflation Is Stimulus Specific.
  1. Home
  3. Unconditional Stimulus Deflation Is Stimulus Specific.

Related Experiment Video

Extinction Training During the Reconsolidation Window Prevents Recovery of Fear
11:17

Extinction Training During the Reconsolidation Window Prevents Recovery of Fear

Published on: August 24, 2012

Unconditional stimulus deflation is stimulus specific.

Payton K Robinson1, Sydney Trask2

  • 1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 702 N. Walnut Grove St., Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA.

Learning & Behavior
|May 19, 2026

View abstract on PubMed

Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Weak shock exposure, similar to extinction, reduces conditioned fear responses but only to the specific stimulus presented. This fear reduction does not generalize to other stimuli or occur when the weak shock is presented alone.

Keywords:
ExtinctionFear conditioning

More Related Videos

A Novel Pavlovian Fear Conditioning Paradigm to Study Freezing and Flight Behavior
09:26

A Novel Pavlovian Fear Conditioning Paradigm to Study Freezing and Flight Behavior

Published on: January 5, 2021

Stress-Enhanced Fear Learning, a Robust Rodent Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
05:49

Stress-Enhanced Fear Learning, a Robust Rodent Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Published on: October 13, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Extinction Training During the Reconsolidation Window Prevents Recovery of Fear
11:17

Extinction Training During the Reconsolidation Window Prevents Recovery of Fear

Published on: August 24, 2012

A Novel Pavlovian Fear Conditioning Paradigm to Study Freezing and Flight Behavior
09:26

A Novel Pavlovian Fear Conditioning Paradigm to Study Freezing and Flight Behavior

Published on: January 5, 2021

Stress-Enhanced Fear Learning, a Robust Rodent Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
05:49

Stress-Enhanced Fear Learning, a Robust Rodent Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Published on: October 13, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Behavioral neuroscience
  • Learning and memory

Background:

  • Previous research shows that presenting a conditional stimulus (CS) with a weak shock after strong shock training can decrease conditioned responses.
  • This procedure resembles extinction but may offer advantages in persistently reducing fear behaviors by minimizing prediction error.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if weak shock presentations, similar to unconditional stimulus (US) habituation, can reduce conditioned responding when the CS is absent.
  • To determine if weak shock exposure reduces fear behavior in a stimulus-specific manner.

Main Methods:

  • Experiment 1: Within-subject design to assess if weak shock-induced reductions in CS-elicited behavior transfer to a different CS.
  • Experiments 2 & 3: Examined if weak shock presentations alone (in novel or acquisition contexts) attenuate subsequent CS-elicited freezing.

Main Results:

  • Weak shock-driven fear reduction was specific to the CS paired with the weak shock and did not transfer to a different CS.
  • Presenting weak shocks in the absence of the CS did not reduce later CS-elicited freezing.

Conclusions:

  • Weak shock exposure reduces fear behavior in a stimulus-specific manner, analogous to extinction.
  • The findings do not support the hypothesis that weak shock presentations alone can generalize to reduce fear responses to a previously learned CS.