Learning - Psychology 53.1
Dr. Delamater
Study Questions - Final Exam

Instrumental Conditioning:  Schedules of Reinforcement & Choice
1. How does the cumulative recorder measure instrumental conditioning?
2. How is reinforcement earned on an interval schedule?  on a ratio schedule? and whats the difference between fixed and variable schedules?
3. What patterns of responding are produced by each of the basic schedules of reinforcement?
4. What is a concurrent  schedule of reinforcement?  How would you use it to study choice?
5.  What is Herrnstein's Matching Law?  Also, describe an experimental situation in which this law was discovered.
6.  Explain the Matching Law using momentary maximizing and melioration theories.

Instrumental Conditioning:  Determining Conditions
1. Name 4 different determining conditions for instrumental learning.
2. Describe the study by Dickinson, Watt, & Griffiths (1992).  What is its importance?
3. Describe Skinner's "superstition" experiment.  What was his major claim about the factors that influence instrumental learning?  How does the idea of Pavlovian temporal conditioning pose a problem for this interpretation?
4. What did Hammond (1980) try to demonstrate in his instrumental contingency experiment?  What is the problem with his interpretation?  How did Colwill and Rescorla (1986) control for this problem?
5. What was the point of the Pearce and Hall (1978) study?  Explain what they observed and what conclusions were reached.
6. Explain what Shettleworth (1975) was after in her experiment with hamsters.  Discuss how her experiment addresses the major issue.  Can you think of any alternative explanations of her results, or alternative experiments that might more convincingly support her cause?
7. Descibe Melgren's (1972) incentive contrast study.  What important point does it illustrate?
8. Describe either the Balleine (1992) study or the Dickinson, Balleine, Watt, Gonzalez, & Boakes (1995) study (discussed in your book)?  What do the results from these studies mean?  How can one explain the difference between these results and the earlier findings of Clark (1958)?

Instrumental Conditioning:  Associative structures
1. Distinguish between Thorndike's and Tolman's views on what is learned during instrumental conditioning.
2. What  are the major conclusions to be derived from the Colwill and Rescorla (1985) reinforcer devaluation study?
3. What interesting conclusion stems from the Adams (1982) study?  Explain.
4. What is the importance of the Dickinson, Nicholas, and Adams (1983) experiment?  Explain.
5. How does Dickinson's idea about the experienced response-reward correlation (ie., the molar feedback function) help us understand the results from these studies?
6. Generally speaking, what did Killcross & Coutureau (2003) add to the story about S-R and R-O associations?

Stimulus Control
1. When do we know that instrumental behavior has come under stimulus control?
2. Explain how the generalization test can be used to assess stimulus control.
3. What three factors discussed in class  have been shown to be important determiners for stimulus control?
4. Understand the Jenkins & Harrison (1960) study, the Wagner, Logan, Haberlandt, & Price (1968) study, and the Foree & LoLordo (1973) studies.
5. Explain the difference between the absolute coding and the relational coding views of stimulus control.
6. What was Kohler's transposition experiment, and how did he interpret the results?
7. What was Spence's view of stimulus control?  How did he explain transposition?  How did Hanson (1959) support Spence's view?  What is peak shift and why should it come about according to Spence?
8. Describe three types of associative structures that may account for stimulus control in instrumental conditioning?
9. How did Trapold & Overmier (1972) embellish S-R theory?  Use this idea to explain the differential outcomes effect.
10. Describe the Colwill and Rescorla (1990) reinforcer devaluation experiment on stimulus control.  What is its chief implication for understanding the associative structures underlying stimulus control?

Pavlovian and Instrumental Learning Compared
1.  Do you think Pavlovian and instrumental learning have a common underlying mechanism or are their multiple learning mechanisms?  Explain.
2.  How would you go about determining if associative learning was a truly general learning process?
3.  Discuss one good example of a kind of learning process that appears highly specialized.  Describe the song learning study by Marler and colleagues.