Abstract

Pavlovian conditioning results in individual variation in the vigor and form of acquired behaviors. Here, we describe a general-process model of associative learning (HeiDI; How excitation and inhibition determine ideo-motion) that provides an analysis for such variation together with a range of other important group-level phenomena. The model takes as its starting point the idea that pairings of a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an unconditioned stimulus (US) result in the formation of reciprocal associations between their central representations. The asymptotic values of these associations and the rate at which these are reached are held to be influenced by the perceived salience of the CS (αCS) and US (βUS). Importantly, whether this associative knowledge is exhibited in behavior that reflects the properties of the CS (e.g., sign-tracking) or US (e.g., goal-tracking) is also influenced by the relative values of αCS and βUS. In this way, HeiDI provides an analysis for both quantitative and qualitative individual differences generated by Pavlovian conditioning procedures.

Highlights

  • Pavlovian conditioning results in individual variation in the vigor and form of acquired beha­ viors

  • Watson’s central thesis might seem less controversial than it did almost a century ago: An appropriately conducive en­ vironment – where different forms of training can be arranged – affords the development of selected paths in infants taken randomly from the normal population. His central thesis did not deny the existence of individual differences that have different origins, but it did suggest that training might free an individual from them

  • Such individual variation is beyond the scope of general-process theories of associative learning (e.g., Rescorla & Wagner, 1972; Mackintosh, 1975; Pearce & Hall, 1980; Wagner, 1981) in which the relationship between the strength of an association and performance is held to be monotonic: How could a single acquired property be manifest in distinct ways across a set of rats? We have recently presented a model, HeiDI, which offers a potential answer to this question (Honey et al, 2020a, 2020b)

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Summary

Introduction

Pavlovian conditioning results in individual variation in the vigor and form of acquired beha­ viors. Group-level differences in such associations enable HeiDI to explain some of the phenomena that were beyond the scope of the model proposed by Rescorla and Wagner (1972); see Honey et al (2020a, 2020b).

Results
Conclusion

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