The impact of emotional valence on generalization gradients

Generalization enables individuals to respond to novel stimuli based on previous experiences. The degree to which organisms respond is determined by their physical resemblance to the original conditioned stimulus (CS+), with a stronger response elicited by more similar stimuli, resulting in similarity-based generalization gradients. Recent research showed that cognitive or conceptual dimensions also result in gradients similar to those observed with manipulations of physical dimensions. Such findings suggest that attributes beyond physical similarity play a role in shaping generalization gradients. However, despite its adaptive relevance for survival, there is no study exploring the effectiveness of affective dimensions in shaping generalization gradients. In two experiments (135 Spanish and 150 English participants, respectively), we used an online predictive learning task, in which different stimuli (words and Gabor patches) were paired with the presence - or absence - of a fictitious shock. After training, we assessed whether valence (i.e., hedonic experience) conveyed by words shape generalization gradients. In Experiment 1, the outcome expectancy decreased monotonically with variations in valence of Spanish words, mirroring the gradient obtained with the physical dimension (line orientation). In Experiment 2, conducted with English words, a similar gradient was observed when non-trained (i.e., generalization) words varied along the valence dimension, but not when words were of neutral valence. The consistency of these findings across two different languages strengthens the reliability and validity of the affective dimension as a determinant of generalization gradients. Furthermore, our data highlight the importance of considering the role of affective features in generalization responses, advancing the interplay between emotion, language, and learning.

Social and non-social categorisation in investment decisions and learning

Categorical processes allow us to make sense of the environment effortlessly by grouping stimuli sharing relevant features. Although these processes occur in both social and non-social contexts, motivational, affective, and epistemic factors specific to the social world may motivate individuation over categorisation of social compared with non-social stimuli. In one experiment, we tested this hypothesis by analysing the reliance on categorical versus individuating information when making investment decisions about social and non-social targets. In an adaptation of the iterative trust game, participants from three experimental groups had to predict the economic outcomes associated with either humans (i.e., social stimuli), artificial races (i.e., social-like stimuli), or artworks (i.e., non-social stimuli) to earn economic rewards. We observed that investment decisions with humans were initially biased by categorical information in the form of gender stereotypes, but later improved through an individuating learning approach. In contrast, decisions made with non-social stimuli were initially unbiased by categorical information, but the category-outcomes associations learned through repeated interactions were quickly used to categorise new targets. These results are discussed along with motivational and perceptual mechanisms involved in investment decisions and learning about social and non-social agents.

Contiguity and overshadowing interactions in the rapid-streaming procedure

When multiple cues are associated with the same outcome, organisms tend to select between the cues, with one revealing greater behavioral control at the expense of the others (i.e., cue competition). However, non-human and human studies have not always observed this competition, creating a puzzling scenario in which the interaction between cues can result in competition, no interaction, or facilitation as a function of several learning parameters. In five experiments, we assessed whether temporal contiguity and overshadowing effects are reliably observed in the streamed-trial procedure, and whether there was an interaction between them. We anticipated that weakening temporal contiguity (ranging from 500 to 1,000 ms) should attenuate competition. Using within-subject designs, participants experienced independent series of rapid streams in which they had to learn the relationship between visual cues (presented either alone or with another cue) and an outcome, with the cue-outcome pairings being presented with either a delay or trace relationship. Across experiments, we observed overshadowing (Experiments 1, 2, 4, and 5) and temporal contiguity effects (Experiments 2, 3, and 4). Despite the frequent occurrence of both effects, we did not find that trace conditioning abolished competition between cues. Overall, these results suggest that the extent to which contiguity determines cue interactions depends on multiple variables, some of which we address in the General discussion.

Further evidence for the role of temporal contiguity as a determinant of overshadowing

Three experiments explored whether weakening temporal contiguity between auditory cues and an aversive outcome attenuated cue competition in an avoidance learning task with human participants. Overall, with strong temporal contiguity between auditory cues and the outcome during training (the offset of the predictive auditory signals concurred with the onset of the outcome), the target cue trained as part of a compound yielded less avoidance behaviour than the control cue trained alone, an instance of overshadowing. However, weakening temporal contiguity during training (inserting a 5-s trace) attenuated overshadowing, resulting in similar avoidance behaviour in response to the control and target cues. These results provide evidence that, as predicted by a recent modification of Pearce's configural theory, temporal contiguity is critical for determining cue competition.

Social overshadowing: Revisiting cue-competition in social interactions

In a large variety of contexts, it is essential to use the available information to extract patterns and behave accordingly. When it comes to social interactions for instance, the information gathered about interaction partners across multiple encounters (e.g., trustworthiness) is crucial in guiding one's own behavior (e.g., approach the trustworthy and avoid the untrustworthy), a process akin to trial-by-trial learning. Building on associative learning and social cognition literatures, the present research adopts a domain-general approach to learning and explores whether the principles underlying associative learning also govern learning in social contexts. In particular, we examined whether overshadowing, a well-established cue-competition phenomenon, impacts learning of the cooperative behaviors of unfamiliar interaction partners. Across three experiments using an adaptation of the iterated Trust Game, we consistently observed a 'social overshadowing' effect, that is, a better learning about the cooperative tendencies of partners presented alone compared to those presented in a pair. This robust effect was not modulated by gender stereotypes or beliefs about the internal communication dynamics within a pair of partners. Drawing on these results, we argue that examining domain-general learning processes in social contexts is a useful approach to understanding human social cognition.

Category relevance attenuates overshadowing in human predictive learning

In situations in which multiple predictors anticipate the presence or absence of an outcome, cues compete to anticipate the outcome, resulting in a loss of associative strength compared to control conditions without additional cues. Critically, there are multiple factors modulating the magnitude and direction of such competition, although in some scenarios the effect of these factors remains unexplored. We sought to assess whether the relative salience of the elements in a compound of cues modulates the magnitude of the overshadowing effect in human predictive learning. Two separable categories (i.e., colors and symbols) were used in a predictive learning task. In Experiment 1, different groups of participants were granted with different time of exposure to a compound of cues belonging to different categories (color and symbol) to evaluate potential differences in the magnitude of overshadowing. Furthermore, we used posttest questionnaires to assess whether participants used either only one or both categories during training, and assessed if this impacted the magnitude of overshadowing. In general, overshadowing was not modulated by the time of exposition, except in the case of very short time of exposition with prominent learning about the most salient category. In Experiment 2, the relative salience of a category was biased via prior experience either with a biconditional discrimination or attending only the relevant category (either color or symbol). The previously relevant category was less prone to overshadowing, but not the alternative one. Results are discussed in light of attentional and configural theories of associative learning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Conditioned Place Avoidance in the Planaria Schmidtea mediterranea: A Pre-clinical Invertebrate Model of Anxiety-Related Disorders

The objective of the present study was to develop a model of avoidance learning and its extinction in planarians (Schmidtea mediterranea). Based on previous experiments showing conditioned place preference, we developed a procedure to investigate conditioned place avoidance (CPA) using shock as an unconditioned stimulus (US) and an automated tracking system to record the animals' behaviour. In Experiment 1, we assessed the unconditioned properties of different shock intensities by measuring post shock activity. In two subsequent experiments we investigated CPA using different designs, surfaces as conditioned stimuli (CSs; rough and smooth), and different US intensities (5V and 10V). In general, we observed the successful development of CPA. However, CPA was stronger with higher shock intensities, and we found that, in our preparation, a rough surface is best at entering into an association with the shock than a smooth surface. Finally, we also observed extinction of CPA. The evidence of CPA and its extinction in flatworms validates the planaria as a pre-clinical model for the study of avoidance learning, a hallmark of anxiety disorders.

Relapse after incentivized choice treatment in humans: A laboratory model for studying behavior change

Behavior change interventions that incentivize desired behavior are highly effective for improving personal health, but difficult to maintain long term. Relapse is common and examining the mechanisms that contribute to relapse in experimental settings can identify processes relevant to substance abuse treatment. We developed a laboratory task that parallels a recent operant model of relapse after incentivized choice reported in the rodent laboratory. In two experiments, undergraduate participants first learned to make an operant response (keyboard button; R1) to earn a reinforcer consisting of an image of a preferred snack food (O1). In a second phase (Phase 2), R1 was still reinforced, but a new response (R2) was introduced and reinforced with a different reinforcer (a coin; O2). In a test phase, contingent incentives for R2 were removed (extinction) and relapse of R1 was assessed. Experiment 1 found that the O2 contingency suppressed R1 during Phase 2, and R1 relapsed rapidly in the test. Neither effect was consistently related to O2 value. Experiment 2 examined whether noncontingent presentations of O1 or O2 during the test could weaken relapse. Here, we found that noncontingent reinforcers did little to reduce or slow the increase in R1 responding. The present experiments highlight a laboratory approach to studying variables that may influence relapse after incentivized treatment. We identify and discuss areas for development to address differences between the present results and prior observations from animal and clinical studies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Temporal and spatial contiguity are necessary for competition between events

Over the last 50 years, cue competition phenomena have shaped theoretical developments in animal and human learning. However, recent failures to observe competition effects in standard conditioning procedures, as well as the lengthy and ongoing debate surrounding cue competition in the spatial learning literature, have cast doubts on the generality of these phenomena. In the present study, we manipulated temporal contiguity between simultaneously trained predictors and outcomes (Experiments 1-4), and spatial contiguity between landmarks and goals in spatial learning (Supplemental Experiments 1 and 2; Experiment 5). Across different parametric variations, we observed overshadowing when temporal and spatial contiguity were strong, but no overshadowing when contiguity was weak. Thus, across temporal and spatial domains, we observed that contiguity is necessary for competition to occur, and that competition between cues presented simultaneously during learning is absent when these cues were either spatially or temporally discontiguous from the outcome. Consequently, we advance a model in which the contiguity between events is accounted for and which explains these results and reconciles the previously contradictory findings observed in spatial learning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Reversing the relationship between a nontarget cue and the outcome facilitates subsequent human predictive learning

Two experiments were conducted to test the effect of experiencing associative interference on later learning. A predictive learning task was used in which human participants had to evaluate whether plants would grow or not (Outcome) after being watered with different fertilizers (Cues). Experiment 1 found that the increase in the prediction error produced by following a pre-exposed nontarget cue by the outcome, facilitated subsequent acquisition of the relationship between the pre-exposed target cue and the outcome. Experiment 2 compared whether learning about the target cue was differentially affected by experiencing two types of associative interference with the nontarget cue: Pairing the pre-exposed cue with the outcome and presenting the cue without outcome after being paired with it. The experience of associative interference with nontarget cues similarly facilitated subsequent learning about the target cue, regardless of the direction of the change in the nontarget cue-outcome relationship. It is suggested that the increase in prediction error produced by the experience of associative interference may lead to a general increase in attention that facilitates subsequent learning.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in severe mental illness: A timely diagnosis to advance the process of quitting smoking

Background

This study has two main objectives: to describe the prevalence of undetected chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a clinical sample of smokers with severe mental illness (SMI), and to assess the value of the Tobacco Intensive Motivational Estimated Risk tool, which informs smokers of their respiratory risk and uses brief text messages to reinforce intervention.

Method

A multicenter, randomized, open-label, and active-controlled clinical trial, with a 12-month follow-up. Outpatients with schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder were randomized either to the experimental group—studied by spirometry and informed of their calculated lung age and degree of obstruction (if any)—or to the active control group, who followed the 5 A’s intervention.

Results

The study sample consisted of 160 patients (71.9% SZ), 78.1% of whom completed the 12-month follow-up. Of the patients who completed the spirometry test, 23.9% showed evidence of COPD (77.8% in moderate or severe stages). TIMER was associated with a significant reduction in tobacco use at week 12 and in the long term, 21.9% of patients reduced consumption and 14.6% at least halved it. At week 48, six patients (7.3%) allocated to the experimental group achieved the seven-day smoking abstinence confirmed by CO (primary outcome in terms of efficacy), compared to three (3.8%) in the control group.

Conclusion

In this clinical pilot trial, one in four outpatients with an SMI who smoked had undiagnosed COPD. An intensive intervention tool favors the early detection of COPD and maintains its efficacy to quit smoking, compared with the standard 5 A’s intervention.

Prior extinction increases acquisition context specificity in human predictive learning

One experiment evaluated the effect of extinction on the context dependence of non-extinguished information in a situation in which physical (images), rather than predominantly verbal, contexts were used in human predictive learning. Participants received training in which different foods (Cues) were associated with the presence or the absence of gastric illness (outcome) in customers of different restaurants (contexts). One cue was associated with the gastric illness while a different cue was either extinguished or not between groups. A change in the context at test led to a general decrease in both predictive judgments and the speed of responding to the non-extinguished cue. However, these decreases were greater when training was conducted during extinction of the different cue demonstrating the extinction makes acquisition context-specific (EMACS) effect. Results are contrasted with failures to find the effect in other reports and discussed in terms of extinction leading to an allocation of attentional resources to the context, facilitating the context dependence of information.

Discrimination reversal facilitates subsequent acquisition of temporal discriminations in rats' appetitive conditioning

Three experiments with rats assessed the effects of introducing predictive ambiguity by reversing a Pavlovianly trained discrimination on subsequent context and temporal conditioning. The experience of discrimination reversal did not facilitate context conditioning when the food was presented on a variable time schedule (Experiment 1a). However, in Experiment 1b, discrimination reversal enhanced subsequent learning of a fixed temporal interval associated with unsignaled food presentation in comparison with consistent training. In Experiment 2, temporal discrimination after reversal and consistent training was compared with a naïve control. The experience of discrimination facilitated subsequent temporal conditioning with respect to the naïve control, and discrimination reversal enhanced temporal conditioning even further. In Experiment 3, reversal enhanced learning of the fixed temporal interval, regardless of whether it was relatively short or long (i.e., 30 s or 60 s). Results are discussed in terms of current associative theories of human and nonhuman conditioning and attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Stimulus control of actions and habits: A role for reinforcer predictability and attention in the development of habitual behavior

Goal-directed actions are instrumental behaviors whose performance depends on the organism's knowledge of the reinforcing outcome's value. In contrast, habits are instrumental behaviors that are insensitive to the outcome's current value. Although habits in everyday life are typically controlled by stimuli that occasion them, most research has studied habits using free-operant procedures in which no discrete stimuli are present to occasion the response. We therefore studied habit learning when rats were reinforced for lever pressing on a random-interval 30-s schedule in the presence of a discriminative stimulus (S) but not in its absence. In Experiment 1, devaluing the reinforcer with taste aversion conditioning weakened instrumental responding in a 30-s S after 4, 22, and 66 sessions of instrumental training. Even extensive practice thus produced goal-directed action, not habit. Experiments 2 and 3 contrastingly found habit when the duration of S was increased from 30 s to 8 min. Experiment 4 then found habit with the 30-s S when it always contained a reinforcer; goal-directed action was maintained when reinforcers were earned at the same rate but occurred in only 50% of Ss (as in the previous experiments). The results challenge the view that habits are an inevitable consequence of repeated reinforcement (as in the law of effect) and instead suggest that discriminated habits develop when the reinforcer becomes predictable. Under those conditions, organisms may pay less attention to their behavior, much as they pay less attention to signals associated with predicted reinforcers in Pavlovian conditioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).