Classical (Pavlovian) Conditioning

• Learning that an event/object/context predicts an outcome.
• Neutral stimulus → conditioned stimulus when paired with US.
• Example: fridge (NS) predicts cheese (US) → excitement (CR).

Context notes:

• Context determines when the CS-US association is retrieved (e.g., fridge at home vs. fridge in someone else’s house).
• Same CS can produce different responses across contexts (safety vs threat environments).
• Context cues become part of the predictive network (e.g., “kitchen + fridge sound = cheese”).

Operant Conditioning

• Learning that behaviour predicts outcomes.
• Reinforcement increases behaviour; punishment decreases it.

Reinforcement types:

• Positive reinforcement → add pleasant stimulus.
• Negative reinforcement → remove aversive stimulus.

Punishment types:

• Positive punishment → add aversive stimulus.
• Negative punishment → remove desirable stimulus.

Context notes:

• Behaviour is often context-specific (tantrums may work at home but not at school).
• Reinforcers and punishers depend on environmental conditions (availability of reward, social setting).
• Context influences which behaviours are expressed—a kid may be polite in class but rude at home due to different contingencies.

Rescorla–Wagner Model

• Learning is driven by prediction error — mismatch between expected and actual outcomes.
• Equation: ∆V = α(λ − V).

Context notes:

• Prediction errors vary by context because expectations differ in different environments.
• Context helps set baseline expectations (e.g., expecting danger at night vs safety during the day).
• Poor contextual encoding leads to ambiguous cues, weakening learning.

Extinction Learning

• Occurs when CS is presented without the US → negative prediction error.
• Results in a decrease in conditioned response.
• Extinction is not forgetting; it is new inhibitory learning.

Context notes:

• Extinction is heavily context-dependent.
• The extinction memory is tied to where extinction occurred.
• Old learning often dominates outside the extinction context.
• Explains why exposure therapy in clinic may not generalise to home/work.

Classical Conditioning Example (Fear of Dogs)

• Conditioning: dog bite (US) → fear (UR).
• Dogs (CS) → fear (CR).
• Extinction: seeing dogs safely → fear decreases.

Context notes:

• Fear may return in the original bite location (renewal).
• Safety learning in one context (therapy office) may not transfer to parks, sidewalks, etc.
• Context determines whether fear or safety memory is retrieved.

Relapse & Recovery Phenomena

After extinction, conditioned responses can come back through:

1. Reinstatement

• US is presented again → CR returns.
• Context affects strength of reinstatement.

2. Renewal

• Changing context (ABA, ABC patterns) → CR returns.
• Strongest evidence that extinction is context-locked.

3. Spontaneous Recovery

• Time acts as a contextual shift → CR reappears after rest.

4. Rapid Reacquisition

• Relearning happens faster → original memory intact.
• Context helps determine which memory retrieves first.

Resurgence

• Old behaviour reappears when newly reinforced behaviour is extinguished.
• Context shift (loss of reinforcement) triggers fallback to old learning.

Theories & Cognitive Networks

• Extinction doesn’t erase CS-US association.
• Instead forms new inhibitory association.
• Memories compete for expression.

Context notes:

• Context cues determine which association “wins.”
• Safety vs danger interpretation depends on context similarity.
• Ambiguous or changing contexts → relapse more likely.

Extinction Variations

Different mechanisms to reduce behaviour:

• Contingency degradation: CS predicts absence of US.
• Reducing reinforcer value: decrease reward magnitude.
• Punishing the response: add aversive consequence.
• Alternative reinforcement: provide another reward.

How does context impact it:

• Each variation depends on contextual conditions:
  • Reinforcer availability varies by environment.
  • Punishment works only if consistently applied across contexts.
  • Alternative reinforcers must be accessible in that specific setting.
• Behaviour may extinguish in one context but reappear in another.

Why Study Extinction?

• Helps explain behavioural flexibility.
• Supports exposure therapy for anxiety/phobias.
• Models addiction relapse.

Context notes:

• Real-world relapse often driven by context changes (party, stress, old environment).
• Treatment must account for contextual control of learning.
• Multi-context exposure improves generalisation.

Extinction in Clinical Contexts

• Used to reduce fears, cravings, unwanted behaviours.

Challenges:

• Identifying real reinforcer.
• Managing multiple reinforcers.
• Extinction bursts.
• Relapse via renewal, reinstatement, etc.

Memory Processes

Consolidation

• Memory stabilisation after learning.
• Can be disrupted pharmacologically.
• Consolidation includes contextual features as encoding environment becomes part of the memory.

Reconsolidation

• Retrieved memories become malleable again and can be updated.
• The retrieval context shapes how the memory is rewritten.
• Mismatch in context reduces reconsolidation effects.

Retrieval–Extinction Procedure

• Retrieve memory → do extinction during reconsolidation window.
• Can disrupt fear/craving more deeply.
• Context mismatches weaken the reconsolidation update.

Works best when:

retrieval and extinction occur in similar contexts

context cues remain stable