Conditioned Inhibition Conditioned inhibition is an internal state

Conditioned Inhibition Conditioned inhibition is an internal state that prevents an organism from making some response, like salivation. As an intervening variable, it must be operationally defined. To say that an organism has acquired a conditioned inhibitory response, two tests must be passed: (1) retardation test; (2) summation test. In these examples, there are 2 CSs: CSB CSC clicks

Conditioned Inhibition Retardation Test Phase 1 Experimental Group Control Group Inhibitory training with CSB No experience with CSB Phase 2 (test) CSB is paired with US until there is a strong CR. CSB is inhibitory if it takes the Experimental Group more trials to learn a CR than it takes the Control Group. In other words, the previous inhibitory training slows down learning in the Experimental Group.

Conditioned Inhibition Why Does the Experimental Group Learn More Slowly? Excitation + Tendency to Salivate to CSB 0 Inhibition The Control Group starts at 0. Going from Trial 1 to Trial 5, the level of excitation increases.

Conditioned Inhibition Why Does the Experimental Group Learn More Slowly? Excitation + Tendency to Salivate to CSB 0 Inhibition The Experimental Group starts below 0. It takes extra trials to bring them up to 0, then more trials to raise the level of excitation.

Conditioned Inhibition Summation Test The logic is as follows: If you combine a positive value (like +9) with a negative value (like – 4), the sum will be lower than the positive value alone. The positive value is an “excitatory” CS, a CS that has been paired with the US. The negative value is an “inhibitory” CS, a CS that has been used in some form of inhibitory training. Excitatory stimulus: CSC clicks Inhibitory stimulus: CSB

Conditioned Inhibition Summation Test Phase 1 The Experimental Group receives inhibitory training with CSB. The Control Group receives no training with CSB.

Conditioned Inhibition Summation Test Phase 2 Both groups receive pairings between CSC and the US until there is a strong CR. clicks

Conditioned Inhibition Summation Test Phase 3 CSB and CSC are combined and presented together for a few trials without the US. If CSB is inhibitory, the CR should be weaker in the Experimental group than in the Control group. This is because CSB is neutral (has a value of 0) for the Control group but has a negative value for the Experimental group. Combining a negative CS with a positive CS produces less excitation than combining a neutral CS with a positive CS.