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A model of pavlovian conditioning: Variations in representations of the unconditional stimulus

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Abstract

We present a model of Pavlovian excitatory conditioning in which associative strength and malleable central representations of unconditional stimuli determine the strength of conditional responding. Presentation of a conditioned stimulus acts through an experientially determined associative bond to activate a representation of the unconditional stimulus. The activation of the representation produces a conditioned response. A striking feature of the model is its ability to describe changes in conditioned response magnitude in terms of alterations of representations of the unconditional stimulus. Another is its acknowledgement of the capacity of associative bonds to survive behavioral extinction. The model describes much of the data reported from excitatory conditioning experiments and predicts counterintuitive phenomena.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Seeley G. Mudd, #501, University of Southern California, 90089-1061, Los Angeles, CA

    W. Jake Jacobs & James R. Blackburn

  2. Department of Psychology, McMaster University, L8S 4K1, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    W. Jake Jacobs & James R. Blackburn

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  1. W. Jake Jacobs
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  2. James R. Blackburn
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Correspondence to W. Jake Jacobs or James R. Blackburn.

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This work was supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council grant #U0262 awarded to the first author.

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Jacobs, W.J., Blackburn, J.R. A model of pavlovian conditioning: Variations in representations of the unconditional stimulus. Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science 30, 12–33 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02691387

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