Eyeblink conditioning is a well-established model for studying the developmental neurobiology of associative learning and memory. However, age differences in extinction and subsequent reacquisition have yet to be studied using this model. The present study examined extinction and reacquisition of eyeblink conditioning in developing rats. In…

This study examines the role of stimulus duration in learning and memory formation of honeybees ("Apis mellifera"). In classical appetitive conditioning honeybees learn the association between an initially neutral, conditioned stimulus (CS) and the occurrence of a meaningful stimulus, the unconditioned stimulus (US). Thereby the CS…

Despite the central status of avoidance in explaining the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders, surprisingly little behavioral research has been conducted on human avoidance. In the present paper, first we provide a brief review of the empirical literature on avoidance. Next, we describe the implications of research on derived relational…

Five experiments assessed associative symmetry in pigeons. In Experiments 1A, 1B and 2, pigeons learned two-alternative symbolic matching with identical sample- and comparison-response requirements and with matching stimuli appearing in all possible locations. Despite controlling for the nature of the functional stimuli and insuring all requisite…

We present a domain-general framework called "constrained attentional associative learning" to provide a developmental account for how and when infants form concepts for animates and inanimates that encapsulate not only their surface appearance but also their movement characteristics. Six simulations with the same general-purpose architecture…

Despite its avowed goal of understanding individual behavior, the field of behavior analysis has largely ignored the determinants of consistent differences in level of performance among individuals. The present article discusses major findings in the study of individual differences in intelligence from the conceptual framework of a functional…

This study measured responsiveness to the immediate environment on the basis of the social (vs. neutral) content of a person's free associations, in an effort to relate this responsiveness to field-dependence. The results lend support to the view that field-dependence is associated with social responsiveness in word association. Two aspects of…

Through associative learning, cues for biologically significant reinforcers such as food may gain access to mental representations of those reinforcers. Here, we used devaluation procedures, behavioral assessment of hedonic taste-reactivity responses, and measurement of immediate-early gene (IEG) expression to show that a cue for food engages…

Authors conclude that reinforcers provided by the behavioral approach provide immediate, short-range motivation for the child to acquire needed skills and information, while fostering the intrinsic desire to learn. (Author)

TWO EXPERIMENTS WERE CONDUCTED TO CLASSIFY AND TO CONDITION REWARD RESPONSIVENESS IN KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN. IN THE FIRST EXPERIMENT, 207 CHILDREN WITH A MEDIAN AGE OF 6.0 WERE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THEIR RESPONSIVENESS TO A HIERARCHY OF REWARDS. AFTER TWO SESSIONS INVOLVING TWO-CHOICE INSTRUMENTAL CONDITIONING TASKS, 60 PERCENT OF THE CHILDREN…

Suggests that susceptibility to hypnosis and creativity are significantly related and utilizes data to support a regression theory of creativity and hypnosis. Bibliography, tables, and graph. (RW)

The study paired-associate (PA) learning via the anticipation (ANT) and study-test (ST) procedures across second, third, fourth and fifth grades. Specifically, age differences in the rate of learning and examining PA learning according to the stage analyses were examined. Retention was also of interest: however, a ceiling effect negated the…