Computer simulations of the Rescorla-Wagner and Pearce-Hall models in conditioning and contingency judgment

A Visual BASIC program, running under Windows 3.1, simulated the predictions of the Rescorla—Wagner (Rescorla & Wagner, 1972) and the Pearce-Hall (Pearce & Hall, 1980) models and compared them to the normative contingency coefficient ΔP (Jenkins & Ward, 1965). The simulations can be applied to a variety of phenomena in human contingency judgment as well as learning and conditioning. Possible simulations include acquisition and extinction of excitatory and inhibitory conditioning, latent inhibition, blocking and overshadowing, or any other associative learning involving two single predictors, their compound, a contextual stimulus, and an outcome. The Pearce-Hall model has never been computerized before. In addition, unique features of this software include extensive use of the graphic user interface, context-sensitive help, verification of trial combinations, toggling of the contextual stimulus from ever-present to mutually exclusive with the discrete predictors, data entry via contingency tables or specifications trial by trial, single or batch randomizations of trial order, and specification of initial values. The associative simulator is both a powerful scientific instrument and a user-friendly teaching aid.     

Computer simulations of global memory models

Computer simulation models of memory—including the so-called global memory models—have had and continue to have a profound impact on current memory research and theory. Unfortunately, no memory textbooks published before 1998 present these models to students. The arguments for and against these types of models are summarized along with reasons why the models should be taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. A set of freely available computer programs that can facilitate classroom presentation is then briefly described.     

Learning from the existence of models: On psychic machines,tortoises, and computer simulations

Using four examples of models and computer simulations from the history of psychology, I discuss some of the methodological aspects involved in their construction and use, and I illustrate how the existence of a model can demonstrate the viability of a hypothesis that had previously been deemed impossible on a priori grounds. This shows a new way in which scientists can learn from models that extends the analysis of Morgan (1999), who has identified the construction and manipulation of models as those phases in which learning from models takes place.     

Equilibria of the Rescorla-Wagner model

The Rescorla-Wagner model has been a leading theory of animal causal induction for nearly 30 years, and human causal induction for the past 15 years. Recent theories (especially Psychol. Rev. 104 (1997) 367) have provided alternative explanations of how people draw causal conclusions from covariational data. However, theoretical attempts to compare the Rescorla-Wagner model with more recent models have been hampered by the fact that the Rescorla-Wagner model is an algorithmic theory, while the more recent theories are all computational. This paper provides a detailed derivation of the long-run behavior of the Rescorla-Wagner model under a wide range of parameters and experimental setups, so that the model can be compared with computational theories. It also shows that the model agrees with competing theories on a wider range of cases than had previously been thought. The paper concludes by showing how recently suggested modifications of the Rescorla-Wagner model impact the long-run behavior of the model.     

The widespread influence of the Rescorla-Wagner model

The theory of Pavlovian conditioning presented by Robert Rescorla and Allan Wagner in 1972 (the Rescorla-Wagner model) has been enormously important in animal learning research. It also has been applied in a variety of areas other than animal learning. We summarize the contribution of the Rescorla-Wagner model to research in verbal learning, social psychology, human category learning, human judgments of correlational relationships, transitive inference, color aftereffects, and physiological regulation. We conclude that there have been few models in experimental psychology as influential as the Rescorla-Wagner model.     

Achievement goals and optimal motivation: testing multiple goal models

Currently, there is a debate about which types of achievement goals promote optimal motivation. A number of theorists argue for a mastery goal perspective focusing on the adaptive consequences of mastery goals and the maladaptive consequences of performance goals. Others endorse a multiple goal perspective in which both mastery and performance goals can be beneficial. The purpose of the present investigation was to review why this debate has emerged and to offer a critical test of the mastery versus multiple goal perspectives. In Study 1, a correlational approach was used to identify the optimal goals for college participants to adopt for a learning activity. In Study 2, an experimental approach was used to identify the optimal goals to assign for the same activity. Each study revealed benefits of both mastery and performance goals, providing support for the multiple goal perspective.     

Autonomous motivation: involvement in physical activity, and perceived sport competence: structural and mediator models

Students in upper secondary school (N = 231, M = 16.6 yr., SD = 1.6) were tested on involvement in physical activity, perceived sport competence, using the Perceived Competence Scale of Harter, and motivational regulation on the Self-regulation Questionnaire of Ryan and Connell. Correlations were positive among involvement in physical activity, autonomous motivation, and perceived sport competence. A hypothetical model indicated that autonomous motivation mediates the relation between perceived sport competence and involvement in physical activity. Although LISREL analysis supported this mediation, the best model fit of the data supported a structural model with involvement in physical activity (R2 = .63) to mediate between autonomous motivation and perceived competence (R2 = .47). Results are interpreted and discussed in terms of self-determination theory.     

RWMODEL II: computer simulation of the Rescorla-Wagner model of Pavlovian conditioning

RWMODEL II simulates the Rescorla-Wagner model of Pavlovian conditioning. It is written in Delphi and runs under Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. The program was designed for novice and expert users and can be employed in teaching, as well as in research. It is user friendly and requires a minimal level of computer literacy but is sufficiently flexible to permit a wide range of simulations. It allows the display of empirical data, against which predictions from the model can be validated.     

Situation models,mental simulations,and abstract concepts in discourse comprehension

This article sets out to examine the role of symbolic and sensorimotor representations in discourse comprehension. It starts out with a review of the literature on situation models, showing how mental representations are constrained by linguistic and situational factors. These ideas are then extended to more explicitly include sensorimotor representations. Following Zwaan and Madden (2005), the author argues that sensorimotor and symbolic representations mutually constrain each other in discourse comprehension. These ideas are then developed further to propose two roles for abstract concepts in discourse comprehension. It is argued that they serve as pointers in memory, used (1) cataphorically to integrate upcoming information into a sensorimotor simulation, or (2) anaphorically integrate previously presented information into a sensorimotor simulation. In either case, the sensorimotor representation is a specific instantiation of the abstract concept.     

Autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and goal progress

Although the self-concordance of goals has been repeatedly shown to predict better goal progress, recent research suggests potential problems with aggregating autonomous and controlled motivations to form a summary index of self-concordance (Judge, Bono, Erez, & Locke, 2005). The purpose of the present investigation was to further examine the relations among autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and goal progress to determine the relative importance of autonomous motivation and controlled motivation in the pursuit of personal goals. The results of three studies and a meta-analysis indicated that autonomous motivation was substantially related to goal progress whereas controlled motivation was not. Additionally, the relation of autonomous motivation to goal progress was shown to involve implementation planning. Together, the three studies highlight the importance for goal setters of having autonomous motivation and developing implementation plans, especially ones formulated in terms of approach strategies rather than avoidance strategies. The present research suggests that individuals pursuing goals should focus relatively greater attention on enhancing their autonomous motivation rather than reducing their controlled motivation.     

Computer simulations of developmental change: the contributions of working memory capacity and long-term knowledge

Increasing working memory (WM) capacity is often cited as a major influence on children's development and yet WM capacity is difficult to examine independently of long-term knowledge. A computational model of children's nonword repetition (NWR) performance is presented that independently manipulates long-term knowledge and WM capacity to determine the relative contributions of each in explaining the developmental data. The simulations show that (a) both mechanisms independently cause the same overall developmental changes in NWR performance, (b) increase in long-term knowledge provides the better fit to the child data, and (c) varying both long-term knowledge and WM capacity adds no significant gains over varying long-term knowledge alone. Given that increases in long-term knowledge must occur during development, the results indicate that increases in WM capacity may not be required to explain developmental differences. An increase in WM capacity should only be cited as a mechanism of developmental change when there are clear empirical reasons for doing so.     

Adding the culturally specific ingredients: the Chinese and American models of learning persistence,including learning beliefs,choice and the internalization of learning motivation

Social Psychology of Education - This study challenged the widely spread assumption that East Asian students are more persistent than their American counterparts because they are more likely to...     

动机的结构与效应：基于动机连续体的视角

动机连续体是对内部动机、外部动机进行整合的心理学概念,其对内部动机和外部动机的争论提出了不同的假设。从大理论(grand theory)视角出发,对涉及上述两个概念的理论进行梳理,将自我决定理论与其他相关理论进行整合。由此展开对内部动机、外部动机结构的讨论,总结了动机的单维结构、多维结构和复杂结构假设下的理论新进展,分别论述在拮抗效应、累加效应和其他复杂效应等假设下动机对结果变量的影响,并展开不同效应对实践应用的讨论。     

Towards a synthesis of personality,temperament, motivation,emotion and mental health models within the Circumplex of Personality Metatraits

The paper presents empirical verification of the Circumplex of Personality Metatraits (CPM) that overcomes some problems with the Big Five and enables the integration of various constructs and models developed within many sub-disciplines of psychology. Empirical verification of the model was conducted on a group of 1045 participants in two steps: (1) validation of the model (e.g., the circular arrangement of the metatraits, and relations with the Big Five); (2) verification of the synthesizing potential of this model by testing the predicted locations of temperamental traits, interpersonal traits, values, affects, and mental health constructs within the CPM. It has been found that the CPM can be treated as a matrix accommodating constructs described by circumplex, circular, and noncircular models.     

Metacognition and proofreading: the roles of aging,motivation, and interest

The current study examined younger and older adults’ error detection accuracy, prediction calibration, and postdiction calibration on a proofreading task, to determine if age-related differences would be present in this type of common error detection task. Participants were given text passages, and were first asked to predict the percentage of errors they would detect in the passage. They then read the passage and circled errors (which varied in complexity and locality), and made postdictions regarding their performance, before repeating this with another passage and answering a comprehension test of both passages. There were no age-related differences in error detection accuracy, text comprehension, or metacognitive calibration, though participants in both age groups were overconfident overall in their metacognitive judgments. Both groups gave similar ratings of motivation to complete the task. The older adults rated the passages as more interesting than younger adults did, although this level of interest did not appear to influence error-detection performance. The age equivalence in both proofreading ability and calibration suggests that the ability to proofread text passages and the associated metacognitive monitoring used in judging one’s own performance are maintained in aging. These age-related similarities persisted when younger adults completed the proofreading tasks on a computer screen, rather than with paper and pencil. The findings provide novel insights regarding the influence that cognitive aging may have on metacognitive accuracy and text processing in an everyday task.     

On-line simulations of models for backward masking

Five simulations of quantitative models of visual backward masking are available on the Internet at http://www.psych.purdue.edu/~gfrancis/Publications/BackwardMasking/. The simulations can be run in a Web browser that supports the Java programming language. This article describes the motivation for making the simulations available and gives a brief introduction as to how the simulations are used. The source code is available on the Web page, and this article describes how the code is organized.     

Computer models of cognitive processes

Conclusion From the small sample of achievements that I have had time to mention, we can only conclude that automation is here to stay. Nor is there any doubt that more powerful automata will be built. A great many of the higher human abilities will be given to machines. The great rush to automation is sure to stimulate psychologists to learn more about the human symbolic processes being mimicked by the machines. And the computers, which are the ultimate cause of the feverish scramble toward automation, are providing both the framework for describing complex models of behavior and also the means for testing these models. With both the means and the motivation at hand, psychologists are sure to make rapid progress in understanding complex human behavior.Operated with support from the United States Army, Navy, and Air Force.     

Odor as a conditioned inhibitor: Applicability of the Rescorla-Wagner model to feeding behavior

Hooded rats were given conditioned inhibition training in which the taste of saccharin alone was always followed by induced illness, but the taste of saccharin plus the odor of amyl acetate was not. In a series of three subsequent tests—summation, enhancement of conditioning, and retardation—it was demonstrated that the odor had acquired active inhibitory properties. The results paralleled those obtained with more traditionally studied stimuli and techniques and hence were found to be readily predictable from a recent model of conditioning set forth by Rescorla and Wagner (1972).     

The influence of teacher models on the career confidence and motivation of college students

Sex Roles - Changes in undergraduates' career-related confidence and motivation were tested in a sample of 107 females and 72 males during their first college year. Subjects identified their...