scholarly journals Second-Order Conditioning and Conditioned Inhibition in Different Moments of the Same Training: The Effect of A+ and AX− Trial Number

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara Muñiz-Diez ◽  
Judit Muñiz-Moreno ◽  
Ignacio Loy
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Inhibition ◽  
Important Variable ◽  
Magazine Training ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Trial Number ◽  
Order Conditioning ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Feature Negative ◽  
Associative Models

The feature negative discrimination (A+/AX−) can result in X gaining excitatory properties (second-order conditioning, SOC) or in X gaining inhibitory properties (conditioned inhibition, CI), a challenging finding for most current associative learning theories. Research on the variables that modulate which of these phenomena would occur is scarce but has clearly identified the trial number as an important variable. In the set of experiments presented here, the effect of trial number was assessed in a magazine training task with rats as a function of both the conditioning sessions and the number of A+ and AX− trials per session, holding constant the total number of trials per session. The results indicated that SOC is most likely to be found at the beginning of training when there are many A+ and few AX− trials, and CI (as assessed by a retardation test) is most likely to be found at the end of training when there are few A+ and many AX− trials. Both phenomena were also found at different moments of training when the number of A+ trials was equal to the number of AX− trials. These results cannot be predicted by acquisition-focused associative models but can be predicted by theories that distinguish between learning and performance.

scholarly journals Second-Order Conditioning in Humans

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica C. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Inhibition ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Critical Parameters ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Order Conditioning ◽  
Potential Interactions

In contrast to the large body of work demonstrating second-order conditioning (SOC) in non-human animals, the evidence for SOC in humans is scant. In this review, I examine the existing literature and suggest theoretical and procedural explanations for why SOC has been so elusive in humans. In particular, I discuss potential interactions with conditioned inhibition, whether SOC is rational, and propose critical parameters needed to obtain the effect. I conclude that SOC is a real but difficult phenomenon to obtain in humans, and suggest directions for future research.

Individual differences in causal structures inferred during feature negative learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-165
Author(s):  
Jessica C Lee ◽  
Peter F Lovibond
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Conditioned Inhibition ◽  
Causal Structure ◽  
Causal Learning ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Occasion Setting ◽  
Feature Negative ◽  
Negative Training

Traditional associative learning theories predict that training with feature negative (A+/AB-) contingencies leads to the feature B acquiring negative associative strength and becoming a conditioned inhibitor (i.e., prevention learning). However, feature negative training can sometimes result in negative occasion setting, where B modulates the effect of A. Other studies suggest that participants learn about configurations of cues rather than their individual elements. In this study, we administered simultaneous feature negative training to participants in an allergist causal learning task and tested whether evidence for these three types of learning (prevention, modulation, configural) could be captured via self-report in the absence of any procedural manipulation. Across two experiments, we show that only a small subset of participants endorse the prevention option, suggesting that traditional associative models that predict conditioned inhibition do not completely capture how humans learn about negative contingencies. We also show that the degree of transfer in a summation test corresponds to the implied causal structure underlying conditioned inhibition, occasion-setting, and configural learning, and that participants are only partially sensitive to explicit hints about causal structure. We conclude that feature negative training is an ambiguous causal scenario that reveals individual differences in the representation of inhibitory associations, potentially explaining the modest group-level inhibitory effects often found in humans.

Constructing the stereotype: Indexes and performance of a stigmatised local dialect in Egypt

Multilingua ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-253
Author(s):  
Reem Bassiouney
Keyword(s):  
Arab World ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Soap Operas ◽  
Semantic Features ◽  
The South ◽  
Public Figures ◽  
Local Dialect ◽  
The Media ◽  
And Performance

Abstract ‘Saʿidi dialect’ is a general phrase used by Egyptians to refer to a group of dialects spoken in an area that stretches from the south of Cairo to the border of the Sudan. Of all the dialects found throughout Egypt and the Arab world, Saʿidi Arabic is one of the most ridiculed, stigmatised and stereotyped in the media. Salient phonological and semantic features of Saʿidi are associated with undesirable attributes such as ignorance, stupidity and a lack of sophistication. These negative indexes are often emphasised by the media. However, some Saʿidi intellectuals and public figures employ these very features to perform their identity, thus creating a positive stance and highlighting the favourable traits of Saʿidis. This article examines data from the media, including soap operas, poetry – both written and performed – postcards and songs. It utilises the concepts of indexicality and stance-taking to explore the metalinguistic discourse of Saʿidis and non-Saʿidis in the media. In addition, the article examines indexes of Saʿidi features that are considered second order indexes, but that are used by performers who employ a Saʿidi dialect to create a stance that is remarkably distinct from the rest of Egypt.

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