Skip to Navigation
Auburn University Homepage
A-Z Index | Map | People Finder
Auburn University Logo
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Skip to Main Content
Main Navigation 
  • AUETD Home
  • Graduate School
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
View Item 
  •   AUETD Home
  • View Item
  •   AUETD Home
  • View Item

Acquisition and Performance Accounts of the Overexpectation Effect

View/Open
Extracted text (68.58Kb)
Thesis (344.8Kb)
Date
2010-12-13
Author
Kimble, Whitney
Type of Degree
thesis
Department
Psychology
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
Overexpectation occurs when a stimulus individually conditioned to become an excitor (conditioned stimulus, CS) elicits attenuated responding due to subsequent reinforcement in compound with another excitatory stimulus (Kamin & Gaioni, 1974; Kremer, 1978). In three experiments with albino rats we examined two theoretical accounts of the overexpectation effect. The Rescorla-Wagner (1972) model accounts for overexpectation using an acquisition-focused approach, in which the individual associations between the CSs and the unconditioned stimuli, US, combine and lead to an expectation of a US larger in magnitude than that predicted by each individual CS. Responding is reduced to match the actual US magnitude when the larger magnitude does not occur. An alternative approach is provided by the Comparator Hypothesis, a performance-based model that suggests overexpectation results from a comparison between associations that occurs at the moment of test. Conditioned responding to the test CS (T) is determined by the association between T and the US in comparison to the extent to which the other stimulus (comparator stimulus) predicts the US. Experiment 1 was an attempt to obtain overexpectation in our preparation. Experiment 2 assessed whether preexposure of the companion stimulus can attenuate overexpectation. Experiment 3 assessed whether compound preexposure attenuated the preexposure effect and whether attenuation of overexpectation occurs when one of stimuli that underwent compound preexposure is extinguished.
Files
Name:
Kimble, Whintey Thesis.pdf.txt  
Size:
68.58Kb
Name:
Kimble, Whintey Thesis.pdf  
Size:
344.8Kb
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10415/2451

Browse

All of AUETDBy Issue DateAuthor / AdvisorTitlesDepartments

My Account

Login

Auburn University Libraries | 231 Mell Street | Auburn, Alabama 36849 | (334) 844-4500 or (800) 446-0387 |

 

Auburn University |Auburn, Alabama 36849 |(334) 844-4000 |

Website Feedback |Privacy |Copyright ©