A. Redish et al. (2007) proposed a reinforcement learning model of context-dependent learning and extinction in conditioning experiments, using the idea of "state classification" to categorize new observations into states. In the current article, the authors propose an interpretation of this idea in terms of normative statistical inference. They…

The basal ganglia play a central role in cognition and are involved in such general functions as action selection and reinforcement learning. Here, we present a model exploring the hypothesis that the basal ganglia implement a conditional information-routing system. The system directs the transmission of cortical signals between pairs of regions…

Null hypotheses are simple, precise, and theoretically important. Conventional statistical analysis cannot support them; Bayesian analysis can. The challenge in a Bayesian analysis is to formulate a suitably vague alternative, because the vaguer the alternative is (the more it spreads out the unit mass of prior probability), the more the null is…

Research has shown that animals and humans habituate on a variety of behavioral and physiological responses to repeated presentations of food cues, and habituation is related to amount of food consumed and cessation of eating. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of experimental paradigms used to study habituation, integrate a…

The participation of attentional and associative mechanisms in extinction, spontaneous recovery, external disinhibition, renewal, reinstatement, and reacquisition was evaluated through computer simulations with an extant computational model of classical conditioning (N. A. Schmajuk, Y. Lam, & J. A. Gray, 1996; N. A. Schmajuk & J. A. Larrauri,…

Cue competition is one of the most studied phenomena in associative learning. However, a theoretical disagreement has long stood over whether it reflects a learning or performance deficit. The comparator hypothesis, a model of expression of Pavlovian associations, posits that learning is not subject to competition but that performance reflects a…

Article reviews evidence on the effects of contrast and matching, that these effects are related, and that both effects are reactions to the same independent variable. (Author/RK)

This article reviews evidence and theories concerning the nature of stimulus representations in Pavlovian conditioning. It focuses on the elemental approach developed in stimulus sampling theory (R. C. Atkinson & W. K. Estes, 1963; R. R. Bush & F. Mosteller, 1951b) and extended by I. P. L. McLaren and N. J. Mackintosh (2000, 2002) and contrasts…

Early experiments suggesting that classical conditioning depends on the contingency between conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (US) are reconsidered along with later evidence that shows conditioning of the CS and its context in random training. CS-US contingency is neither necessary nor sufficient for conditioning. (SLD)

A simple extension of a network model of conditioning developed by N. Schmajuk and J. Di Carlo (1992) is applied to descriptions of two different conditioned stimulus (CS) functions: (1) a simple CS eliciting conditioned responses by signaling the occurrence of an unconditioned stimulus; and (2) an occasion setter controlling the responses…

Proposes a minimal set of principles based on short-term and long-term memory mechanisms that can explain the major static and dynamic properties of operant behavior in both single-choice and multiresponse situations. The model predicts the major qualitative features of operant phenomena and suggests an experimental test of theoretical predictions…

Presents a model that borrows concepts of economic utility theory to describe the effects on behavior of a contingency among responses. If subjects allocate their time among responses to maximize the value of their behavior, contingency may be seen to restrict the set of available allocations. Describes the allocation of time to contingent,…

A theory of classical conditioning is presented, which is based on a parallel, rule-based performance system integrated with mechanisms for inductive learning. A major inferential heuristic incorporated into the theory involves "unusualness," which is focused on novel cues. The theory is implemented via computer simulation. (TJH)