Effects of delay on the decay of conditioned and derived valence functions

• Grant number: 15/24159-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: June 01, 2016
• End date: July 05, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Experimental Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Júlio César Coelho de Rose
• Grantee: Micah Ahmad
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 17/02550-9 - Neurophysiological correlates of an emergent valence trace, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Classical conditioning describes how contingent pairings between a neutral stimulus and an emotionally-relevant/unconditioned stimulus (US) can result in the neutral stimulus acquiring some of the emotional valence functions of the US. Valences established through contingent stimulus-stimulus (S-S) pairings is termed 'conditioned valence'. Another method via which stimulus valence functions may be established is through the transformation/generalization of stimulus functions, or ToF (Hayes, Barnes-Holmes & Roche, 2001; Hull, 1939). Briefly, ToF refers to the alteration in stimulus functions following the systematic reinforcement of conditional S-S discriminations in the presence of a valence-specifying context. Valences established via ToF is termed 'derived valence' (Amd & Roche, 2015a). The current proposal involves establishing stimuli with conditioned and derived valences across two studies, followed by regular assessments of stimulus valence via a smartphone application. In Study 1, 50 undergraduate students will undergo classical conditioning procedures involving the pairing of abstract shapes with emotion-eliciting images. The stimuli will then be presented to the participants along a pre-determined length of weekly intervals while self-reported stimulus ratings and electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings are acquired. The goal is to determine the rate at which self-reported valence decreases as a function of time. In Study 2, 50 undergraduate students will first undergo conditional reinforcement procedures designed to establish abstract shapes with valence-specifying contextual functions, followed by reinforcement of conditional S-S discriminations reinforced in the presence of the above cues in order to establish functional stimulus classes. All stimuli will be assessed weekly using self-report and EEG. The proposed research will illuminate how differentially valenced stimuli decrease in eliciting potential as a function of time, while generally building on our understanding of symbolic verbal behavior.

Scientific publications

(8)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

AMD, MICAH; PASSARELLI, DENISE APARECIDA. Dissociating preferences from evaluations following subliminal conditioning. ACTA PSYCHOLOGICA, v. 204, MAR 2020. (15/24159-4, 19/01406-7)

AMD, MICAH; ROCHE, BRYAN. Transforming valences through transitive inference: How are faces emotionally dissonant?. QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY, v. 70, n. 12, p. 2478-2496, 2017. (15/24159-4)

AMD, MICAH; MACHADO, ARMANDO; DE OLIVEIRA, MARLON ALEXANDRE; PASSARELLI, DENISE APARECIDA; DE ROSE, JULIO C.. Effects of Nodal Distance on Conditioned Stimulus Valences Across Time. FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY, v. 10, APR 10 2019. (15/24159-4, 17/02550-9, 14/50909-8)

AMD, MICAH; ROCHE, BRYAN. Assessing the Effects of a Relational Training Intervention on Fluid Intelligence Among a Sample of Socially Disadvantaged Children in Bangladesh. PSYCHOLOGICAL RECORD, v. 68, n. 2, p. 141-149, JUN 2018. (15/24159-4)

AMD, MICAH. Scientific Method: How Science Works, Fails to Work and Pretends to Work. FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY, v. 9, p. 2-pg., 2018-11-20. (15/24159-4, 14/50909-8, 17/02550-9)

AMD, MICAH; DE OLIVEIRA, MARLON A.; PASSARELLI, DENISE A.; BALOG, LIVIA C.; DE ROSE, JULIO C.. Effects of orientation and differential reinforcement II: transitivity and transfer across five-member sets. Behavioural Processes, v. 150, p. 8-16, MAY 2018. (15/24159-4, 14/50909-8)

AMD, MICAH; BAILLET, SYLVAIN. Neurophysiological Effects Associated With Subliminal Conditioning of Appetite Motivations. FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY, v. 10, MAR 5 2019. (15/24159-4, 17/02550-9)

AMD, MICAH; DE ALMEIDA, JOAO H.; DE ROSE, JULIO C.; SILVEIRA, CAROLINA C.; POMPERMAIER, HENRIQUE M.. Effects of orientation and differential reinforcement on transitive stimulus control. Behavioural Processes, v. 144, p. 58-65, NOV 2017. (15/24159-4)