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US HABITUATION DOES NOT CAUSE RETROACTIVE REVALUATION OF A CONDITIONED FEAR RESPONSE. Stephanie Damas, Cheryl Novak, & Dr. Brian L. Thomas Baldwin-Wallace College. Introduction. NS No particular response bee NS + US UR bee sting pain
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US HABITUATION DOES NOT CAUSE RETROACTIVE REVALUATION OF A CONDITIONED FEAR RESPONSE. Stephanie Damas, Cheryl Novak, & Dr. Brian L. Thomas Baldwin-Wallace College
Introduction • NS No particular response bee • NS + US UR bee sting pain • CS CR bee anticipatory fear/avoidance (Pavlov, 1927). • Fear conditioning (Estes & Skinner, 1941).
Introduction • EU: CS not predict US / US not predict CS, (Rauhut, Thomas, & Ayres, 2001). • Fear for a CS is weakened by presenting US until habituation develops, (Rescorla, 1973). • Retroactive revaluation- informational value of CS is changed without actually experiencing it.
Purpose • Is relapse prevented in the EU procedure because the rats become habituated to the US? • Does the intensity of the shock effect habituation directly and revaluation indirectly? • What, if any, importance does shock intensity have in the EU paradigm?
Results: Renewal • Conditioning was stronger with a more intense shock. • Extinction was slower in Group EU .60 than other groups.
Results: Savings Test • EU groups combined greater savings than E groups combined. • E Groups combined greater savings than U groups combined.
Results: Revaluation/Habituation • Conditioning was faster in E groups combined than other groups. • Conditioning was faster in .60 mA groups combined than than .40 mA groups.
Conclusions • The EU procedure is not dependant on US habituation. • US habituation was greater with a .40 mA shock than .60 mA shock, but savings did not depend on shock intensity. • US habituation did not cause retroactive revaluation.
References • Estes, W.K. & Skinner, B.F. (1941). Some quantitative properties of anxiety. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 29, 390-400. • Pavlov, I.P. (1927). Conditioned Reflexes (G. V. Anrep, Trans.). London: Oxford University Press. • Rauhut, A.S., Thomas, B.L., & Ayres, J.J.B. (2001). Treatments that weaken Pavlovian conditioned fear and thwart its renewal in rats: Implications for treating human phobias. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Process, 27(2), 99-114. • Rescorla, R.A. (1973). Effect of US habituation following conditioning. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 82, 137-143.