Conditioning: Situation Versus Intermittent Stimulus

In laboratory research, the process of conditioning is traditionally initiated with a single intermittent stimulus (such as a tone or flash of light). This is true of both classical and instrumental research. Because of its role in evoking conditioned behavior, the use of an intermittent stimulus has become an indispensable part of laboratory research on conditioned behavior. The question arises whether the same scheme of conditioning may be applied to behaviors occurring in real life. In Conditioning, Wanda Wyrwicka analyzes evidence of the influence of situations on behavior in laboratory studies. She looks at cases in which the subject's reaction was dependent on complex situations rather than a single stimulus. Wyrwicka suggests that beyond external situations there exists internal factors located in the brain that consist of previous and present experiences that may influence behavior. In Chapter 1, Wyrwicka summarizes Ivan Pavlov's concept of the conditioned reflex using intermittent stimuli. Chapter 2 deals with the mechanisms of motor conditioned behavior and the results of instrumental conditioning studies. Chapter 3 covers the phenomenon called "switching," which is the appearance of a conditioned reaction different than the original conditioned stimulus. In Chapter 4, Wyrwicka describes various studies in which situation becomes a potent factor in conditioned reactions. Chapter 5 describes research pertaining to defensive and alimentary behaviors. Chapter 6 analyzes three examples of complex conditioning: detour, feeding, and presleep behaviors. Chapters 7 and 8 focus on the functions of various internal organs, and the conditioning of electrical brain activity leading to inhibition of epileptic seizures. In her concluding chapter, Wyrwicka discusses theoretically the data mentioned previously. Conditioning opens up rich possibilities for continued exploration. This revealing work will interest scientists specializing in behavioral sciences, psychologists, neuroscientists, educators, as well as students of biology.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1. Classical Conditioned Reflexes 2. Instrumental Conditioned Reflexes 3. The Phenomenon of Switching 4. Cases of Dependence of Conditioned Behavior on Situational Factors 5. Studies on the Role of the Situation and the Intermittent Stimulus in Conditioning 6. Examples of Complex Conditioned Reflexes to the Situation 7. Conditioning of the Activity of the Internal Organs 8. Therapeutic Role of the EEG Feedback in Epilepsy 9. Theoretical Comments 10. Summary and Conclusions

About the Author :
Wanda Wyrwicka is senior scientist from the University of California School of Medicine in Los Angeles. She is author of The Development of Food Preferences, The Mechanisms of Conditioned Behavior, and Brain and Feeding Behavior.

Review :
-Wyrwicka (UCLA School of Medicine) describes the determining role of situational stimuli on the generalization of responses in both the classical and operant paradigm. She relates historical and present-day research to support the importance of considering environmental variables in experimental outcomes and describes how contextual cues can facilitate or hinder the transference of adaptive responding to similar and dissimilar situations. The author makes a case for conditioning being an internal event rather than primarily related to external cues... Although this book should be of interest in psychology collections serving both students and faculty, it should particularly interest the experimental or the applied behavior analyst... Those trained in the Skinnerian mode may be tantalized by language conversion issues associated with familiar concepts. The reconceptualization of the familiar may provide a refreshing perspective and become a fountain of productive ideas. Upper-division undergraduates and above.- --L. G. Worthy, Choice "Wyrwicka (UCLA School of Medicine) describes the determining role of situational stimuli on the generalization of responses in both the classical and operant paradigm. She relates historical and present-day research to support the importance of considering environmental variables in experimental outcomes and describes how contextual cues can facilitate or hinder the transference of adaptive responding to similar and dissimilar situations. The author makes a case for conditioning being an internal event rather than primarily related to external cues... Although this book should be of interest in psychology collections serving both students and faculty, it should particularly interest the experimental or the applied behavior analyst... Those trained in the Skinnerian mode may be tantalized by language conversion issues associated with familiar concepts. The reconceptualization of the familiar may provide a refreshing perspective and become a fountain of productive ideas. Upper-division undergraduates and above." --L. G. Worthy, Choice "Wyrwicka (UCLA School of Medicine) describes the determining role of situational stimuli on the generalization of responses in both the classical and operant paradigm. She relates historical and present-day research to support the importance of considering environmental variables in experimental outcomes and describes how contextual cues can facilitate or hinder the transference of adaptive responding to similar and dissimilar situations. The author makes a case for conditioning being an internal event rather than primarily related to external cues... Although this book should be of interest in psychology collections serving both students and faculty, it should particularly interest the experimental or the applied behavior analyst... Those trained in the Skinnerian mode may be tantalized by language conversion issues associated with familiar concepts. The reconceptualization of the familiar may provide a refreshing perspective and become a fountain of productive ideas. Upper-division undergraduates and above." --L. G. Worthy, Choice