The Legacy of Guttman and Kalish (1956): 25 Years of Research on Stimulus Generalization

Honig, Werner K.; Urcuioli, Peter J.

doi:10.1901/jeab.1981.36-405

Cited by 265 publications

(216 citation statements)

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“…This response decrement is visualized as a logarithmic curve and is now widely known as a generalization gradient. The generalization response gradient is generally centered at the reinforced stimulus (CS+) and diminishes as a function of perceptual similarity to the CS+ along the sensory dimension (Ghirlanda & Enquist, 2003;Honig & Urcuioli, 1981). Hovland (1937, p. 136) first noted that the form of the gradient is an important indicator of learning and generalization, with a broad gradient taken to reflect widespread generalization or poor stimulus control, whereas a sharp gradient centered on the CS+ can be taken to reflect discrimination or strong stimulus control.…”

Section: Perceptual Fear Generalizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Instead, a range of related objects, situations, and events that resemble the aversive learning experience come to elicit fear as well. This generalization of conditioned fear shows that CRs are often elicited by stimuli not associated with the aversive event but which resemble the CS along a formal, perceptual dimension (Honig & Urcuioli, 1981). The study of stimulus generalization processes like this has a long history of research in both Pavlovian and instrumental/operant conditioning (e.g., Hull, 1943;McLaren & Mackintosh, 2002;Pavlov, 1927), but has only recently been extended to fear generalization in humans (Dunsmoor, Mitroff, & LaBar, 2009;Lissek et al, 2008Lissek et al, , 2010Vervliet, Vansteenwegen, Baeyens, Hermans, & Eelen, 2005;Vervliet, Vansteenwegen, & Eelen, 2004).…”

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confidence: 91%

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Fear Generalization in Humans: Systematic Review and Implications for Anxiety Disorder Research

et al. 2015

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Fear generalization, in which conditioned fear responses generalize or spread to related stimuli, is a defining feature of anxiety disorders. The behavioral consequences of maladaptive fear generalization are that aversive experiences with one stimulus or event may lead one to regard other cues or situations as potential threats that should be avoided, despite variations in physical form. Theoretical and empirical interest in the generalization of conditioned learning dates to the earliest research on classical conditioning in nonhumans. Recently, there has been renewed focus on fear generalization in humans due in part to its explanatory power in characterizing disorders of fear and anxiety. Here, we review existing behavioral and neuroimaging empirical research on the perceptual and non-perceptual (conceptual and symbolic) generalization of fear and avoidance in healthy humans and patients with anxiety disorders. The clinical implications of this research for understanding the etiology and treatment of anxiety is considered and directions for future research described.

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Section: Perceptual Fear Generalizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 91%

Fear Generalization in Humans: Systematic Review and Implications for Anxiety Disorder Research

et al. 2015

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“…For stimuli that fell to the left of the stimulus of peak responding, the value were calculated to be positive (e.g., the slope of the line between peak responding and the stimulus 30° to the left = (# pecks to stimulus with peak responding -# pecks to the stimulus 30° to the left)/ 30) while for stimuli that fell to the right of the stimulus of peak responding the stimuli were calculated to be negative (e.g., the slope of the line between peak responding and the stimulus 30° to the left = (# pecks to the stimulus 30° to the left-# pecks to stimulus with peak responding)/ 30. Slope is considered to be the most sensitive measure of stimulus control (Honig and Urcuioli, 1981). If the absolute value of the slope is large, then the animal is discriminating more expertly between two stimuli than when the slope is smaller, or close to zero.…”

Section: Operant Taskmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fast- and slow-exploring pigeons differ in how they use previously learned rules

Guillette

Baron

Sturdy

2017

Behavioural Processes

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Please cite this article as: Guillette, L.M., Baron, D.M., Sturdy, C.B., Spetch, M.L., Fastand slow-exploring pigeons differ in how they use previously learned rules.Behavioural Processes http://dx.doi.org/10. 1016/j.beproc.2016.07.006 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. AbstractSeveral studies report a correlation between exploratory behaviour and performance on tests of cognitive ability. Exploration may influence learning because less exploratory animals are less likely to come in contact with to-be-learned stimuli. Alternatively, the way information available in the environment is processed could influence the rate of exploration. Pigeons are one of the most-studied species used to examine the mechanisms underlying cognitive abilities, but have not been used to examine the relationship between these abilities and animal personality. Here, twelve pigeons were first tested in a novel environment to assess repeatability in exploratory behaviour. Pigeons were then trained to discriminate between two visual stimuli: lines oriented at 90° (vertical, the S+) and 135° (the S-). After training pigeons underwent generalization testing with ten additional visual line orientation stimuli. We found exploratory behaviour was related to generalization performance: fast-explorers had steeper generalization gradients compared to slow-explorers. This effect was only seen in the direction towards the S-. These results suggest that birds with different exploratory styles differ in how they use previously learned information. Further testing is needed to confirm which cue(s) (S+ or S-) control the behaviour of fast-explorers.

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“…The majority of these experimental paradigms (as reviewed by Honig & Urcuioli, 1981;Kalish, 1969;Mackintosh, 1974) involve conditioning the animal first to a CS+. Conditioned fear responses are then examined to both the presentation of the CS+ as well as a range of generalization stimuli (GS) that vary systematically in perceptual similarity to the CS+ (Lissek et al, 2008).…”

Section: Fear Generalizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gradients of Fear Potentiated Startle During Generalization, Extinction, and Extinction Recall—and Their Relations With Worry

Dunning

Hajcak

2015

Behavior Therapy

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S S S t t t o o o n n n y y y B B B r r r o o o o o o k k k U U U n n n i i i v v v e e e r r r s s s i i i t t t y y yThe official electronic file of this thesis or dissertation is maintained by the University Libraries on behalf of The Graduate School at Stony Brook University. May 2012ii Stony Brook UniversityThe Graduate School Jonathan Paul DunningWe, the dissertation committee for the above candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, hereby recommend acceptance of this dissertation. 2012It is well established that fear conditioning plays a role in the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders. Moreover, abnormalities in fear generalization, extinction learning, and extinction recall have also been associated with anxiety. However, no study to date has examined extinction learning or extinction recall using a generalization task. Hence, in the present study, participants were shocked following a CS+ and were also presented with stimuli that ranged in perceptual similarity to the CS+ (i.e., 20, 40, or 60% smaller or larger than the CS+) during a fear generalization phase. Participants were also presented with the same stimuli during an extinction learning phase and an extinction recall phase one week later; no shocks were presented during extinction learning or recall. Lastly, participants completed self-report measures of anxiety and worry. Results indicated that fear potentiated startle (FPS) to the CS+ and CS±20% shapes was present in generalization and extinction learning, suggesting that fear generalization persisted into extinction. FPS to the CS+ was also evident one week later during iv extinction recall. Hence, fear may be more resistant to extinction in generalization paradigms, where there is ambiguity regarding the CS+. In addition, higher levels of worry were associated with greater FPS to the CS+ during generalization and extinction learning phases. Moreover, individuals high in worry had fear response gradients that were steeper during both generalization and extinction learning. This suggests that high levels of worry (characteristic of generalized anxiety disorder) are associated with greater discriminative fear conditioning to threatening compared to safe stimuli but less fear generalization to perceptually similar stimuli. Dedication PageThis work is dedicated to my wife Crystal. For countless years, she has given me abundant and unwavering support, not only in my academic and career endeavors, but also in life. Her love and encouragement has revealed to me the many wonders of life, and I look forward to an amazing future with her and our family.

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The Legacy of Guttman and Kalish (1956): 25 Years of Research on Stimulus Generalization

Cited by 265 publications

References 113 publications

Fear Generalization in Humans: Systematic Review and Implications for Anxiety Disorder Research

Fear Generalization in Humans: Systematic Review and Implications for Anxiety Disorder Research

Fast- and slow-exploring pigeons differ in how they use previously learned rules

Gradients of Fear Potentiated Startle During Generalization, Extinction, and Extinction Recall—and Their Relations With Worry

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