THE EFFECTS OF CUED, RESPONSE-INDEPENDENT FOOD DELIVERY ON CARDIAC RATE (CLASSICAL PAVLOVIAN).
Item
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Title
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THE EFFECTS OF CUED, RESPONSE-INDEPENDENT FOOD DELIVERY ON CARDIAC RATE (CLASSICAL PAVLOVIAN).
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Identifier
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AAI8409410
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identifier
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8409410
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Creator
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MCCULLOUGH, MALCOLM RAY.
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Contributor
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Brett K. Cole
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Date
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1984
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Experimental
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Abstract
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When comparing the data of studies using "Pavlovian" procedures to condition cardiac rate responses with those of studies involving "operant" conditioning of lever presses, it appears that: (1) the response variability in the "Pavlovian" studies is relatively greater; and, (2) with only a few exceptions, "Pavlovian" studies have not found increases in CR strength with a lessening of p(US/CS) from 1.0; however, "operant" studies often report enhanced response strength accompanying a reduction in probability of reinforcement.;The present study drew on findings concerning both response variability and the effects of response-independent reinforcement and on an account of proposed effects of extinction on the distribution of response subclasses, in order to analyze the available "Pavlovian" findings. That analysis led to predictions regarding variation in the characteristics of the cardiac rate CR between subjects and the effects of within-subjects manipulation of probability of reinforcement with cued, response-independent conditioning procedures ("Pavlovian").;Those predictions were tested by examining changes in heart rates of ten hooded rats exposed to a cued, response-independent conditioning procedure. During the initial conditioning sessions, .08cc milk (US) followed every presentation of the 8-sec cue (CS). After that initial condition (p(US/CS) = 1.0), p(US/CS) was reduced to 0.50 and then to 0.25, 0.12, and 0.06, after which a recovery point (p(US/CS) = 1.0) was presented.;The major results were: (1) rats developed heart rate responses during the cue that differed in direction, despite being exposed to procedurally identical conditioning operations; and, (2) more than half of the rats displayed larger heart rate responses at p(US/CS) = 0.50 than at p(US/CS) = 1.0. Both these findings were consistent with the present predictions. It was suggested that the temporal relation between the reinforcer and the heart rate response was critical in determining which response (acceleratory or deceleratory) was eventually conditioned. Since this relation was largely uncontrolled in the present response-independent procedure, such between-subjects variability would not be unexpected. It was also suggested that the introduction of unreinforced trials, with the move from p(US/CS) = 1.0 to p(US/CS) = 0.50, increased the variability of the conditioned heart rate response which allowed for a change in the prevailing response-reinforcer relations, which could result in either increased or decreased CR magnitudes at p(US/CS) = 0.50.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
