Learning and Motivation最新文献

Some research with human participants has shown that the choice of a smaller-sooner reinforcer (SS) over a larger-later reinforcer (LL) is more frequent in aversive than non-aversive contexts (e.g., presence versus absence of response-independent intense noise). Although there is evidence that this effect could be reproduced in rats (e.g., response-independent noise disrupts rats’ performance on schedules of reinforcement), no explicit attempt has been reported to date. The present study tested the generality of the disruptive effect of aversive contexts in rats’ impulsive choice. To emulate the procedures implemented with humans, response-independent (Random-Time 60 s) mild-intensity footshocks (.25 mA) were incorporated into a systematic replication of Green and Estle’s (2003) task designed to study preference reversal phenomena (i.e., SS preference changes to LL with the addition of delays before both the SS and LL alternatives). In doing so, we explored the effects of an aversive context on preference reversal, which also have not been reported to date. Male Wistar rats (16) were exposed to three different conditions; eight of them experienced shocks throughout the study. During an initial delay configuration condition (SS = 2 pellets after 0.5-s; LL = 4 pellets after 6 s), responding of non-shocked rats showed an increase from indifference (∼ 50 % LL) towards preference for the LL option (∼ 75 % or higher LL responses), whereas responding of shocked rats did not deviate from indifference. Next, delays were added to the LL reinforcer until SS preference was individually established (+6 s, +9 s, +15 s, etc.). The behavior of non-shocked rats seemed more affected by the added delays, e.g., they reached SS preference with less added delays. Preference-reversal conditions consisted of adding 5-s, 15-s, and 25-s delays to both SS and LL alternatives. Shocked rats showed a more robust and consistent preference reversal effect than non-shocked rats. Research on manipulations that reduce impulsive choice suggests that similar processes could explain the disruptive effects of aversive contexts and the effects of interventions; namely, aversiveness of delays and discrimination of contingent relations between temporally distant events. The results of the present study are discussed in that framework, focusing on covariations between rats’ choice patterns across the different delay configurations and the distribution of shocks pre- and post- reinforcement delivery.

This study examined the effects of stimulus continuity and response requirements on pigeon choices between post-reinforcer delays (from 2 s to 8 s) using concurrent-chains schedules with FR 1 schedules arranged for the choice phase. In Experiment 1, using seven pigeons, the effect of stimulus continuity, the presentation of the same stimulus (background color of the computer screen) during the post-reinforcer delay period as in the pre-reinforcer delay period, was examined. In Experiment 2, the effect of stimulus continuity was examined under the conditions where a response was required (FR 1) to initiate the post-reinforcer delay using eight pigeons. The experimental results indicated that when the same stimulus as in the pre-reinforcer delay was presented continuously during the post-reinforcer delay and a response was required to start the post-reinforcer delay, the subjects showed relatively high sensitivity to differences between post-reinforcer delays. The implications of the results are discussed from a new perspective for the analysis of self-control choices.

As the main force of higher education, ensuring the learning status and quality of college students is undoubtedly an important task in the education industry. Analyzing their learning motivation can provide a good understanding of their learning status. Especially in the new educational environment supported by multimedia technology, efficient and convenient learning channels can eliminate students' concerns about educational facilities and instead strengthen the analysis of learning motivation in other aspects. As part of our comprehensive study of learning motivation, we draw on established learning theories, such as reinforcement theory, associative learning, and self-determination theory. Applying such learning theories encourages positive reinforcement, establishes constructive relationships with learning, and nurtures competence and autonomy. This article believed that using machine learning models to predict students' grades or behaviours and analyze their learning motivation is a good approach. Moreover, this article also tested the prediction accuracy by setting different improved random forest model runs, and concluded that the more runs, the higher the accuracy. Especially when the runs reached 100, the accuracy reached 99.98 %.

Important variables affecting adolescents' mathematics achievement are motivation and peer relationships, including beliefs about the usefulness of mathematics. This study investigated the mediating role of academic motivation and the moderating role of perceived social support in the relationship between mathematics achievement and peer relationships. The study was conducted with a Turkish sample of 534 adolescents (n_female=328, n_male=206). Data was collected using math course achievement grades, academic motivation scales, peer relations and perceived social support scales. Structural equation modelling showed a direct relationship between peer relationships and math achievement, and academic motivation was a mediating variable. However, it was determined that perceived social support did not have a moderating role in the relationship between mathematics achievement and peer relationships. The results regarding the development of adolescents' mathematics achievement are discussed.

Performance feedback is essential for effective learning. Feedback contains both informational and affective properties. Following negative feedback (indicating an incorrect response), the unpleasant experience of being wrong can diminish the value of constructive information that feedback also provides. This can hinder motivation to seek feedback, which can impede learning. Therefore, research into factors that directly shape the subjective value of feedback is critical. The current study investigated potential behavioral and physiological contributors to feedback valuation and to subsequent feedback-seeking behavior. Fifty-nine participants completed a willingness-to-pay associative memory task that measured feedback valuation via trial-wise decisions to either purchase or forgo feedback during a learning phase in service of maximizing a performance-contingent monetary reward during a future test phase. Skin conductance response (SCR) was also measured during feedback decisions. Lower confidence in response accuracy significantly predicted higher likelihood of purchasing feedback during learning. Neither self-reported emotional responses to feedback nor SCR during feedback decisions predicted feedback purchases. Purchase decisions yielding negative feedback significantly predicted better performance during test. These results suggest that confidence during learning significantly impacts performance feedback valuation and should be considered when devising methods to motivate feedback-seeking in settings where learning is critical to success.

Overgeneralization of anxiety is a potential etiological factor contributing to anxiety disorders. Based on perceptual and conceptual generalizations of fear memory, previous research has initiated investigations into the involvement of explicit memory in human fear generalization. However, the precise relationship between episodic and semantic memory in fear generalization remains unclear. Based on the theoretical framework of "multiple trace theory" in memory and using the experimental paradigm of fear generalization from episodic memory, this study aimed to investigate the potential of human fear generalization from episodic to semantic memory. The results showed that conditioned fear can be generalized from episodic to semantic memory and that this generalization has a categorical effect. The results of this study are of great importance for elucidating the mechanism underlying human fear generalization and for exploring more effective measures of emotional intervention.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is considered as a complex syndrome comprising extremely severe anxiety levels, social-interpersonal dysfunction, and cognitive impairment that may be based on severe traumatic events. Although PTSD is more prevalent in females than in males, most preclinical studies have been carried out in males. The present study investigated the effects of voluntary and involuntary exercise, as well as sertraline on behavioral deficits in a female nonhuman animal model of PTSD using the single-prolonged stress (SPS) paradigm. Female adult rats were exposed to SPS protocol (2-hour restrain, 20-minute forced swimming, 15-minute rest, and 2–3 minute diethyl ether exposure) and were then kept undisturbed. Following a 7-day undisturbed period, animals were subjected to a 10 min restraint (re-stress). SPS rats were treated with voluntary wheel running or moderate treadmill exercise (5 days/week) and/or the administration of sertraline (10 mg/kg/day) for four consecutive weeks. Behavioral assessments were conducted using the Elevated Plus Maze (EPM) test for anxiety, the Three-Chamber Social Test (3-CST) for social interaction, and the Morris Water Maze (MWM) test for spatial memory. Involuntary exercise combined with sertraline significantly increased time spent in the open arms of the EPM test (P < 0.001), and interaction with new rats in 3-CST (P < 0.001) compared to SPS rats. The voluntary exercise plus sertraline group showed a significant increase in entries into the training platform during the probe phase of the MWM test (P < 0.001) compared to SPS rats. Overall, sertraline combined with involuntary exercise was more effective than voluntary exercise plus sertraline in enhancing social interaction and reducing anxiety in the SPS model of PTSD. Conversely, voluntary exercise combined with sertraline provided greater benefits for spatial memory enhancement in female rats.

Extinction of fear and avoidance is not permanent and can return following contextual changes (termed renewal). The aim of the current study was to investigate the renewal of avoidance, threat expectancy, and fear ratings in an online avoidance task administered during the COVID-19 pandemic. One-hundred and two participants completed a task consisting of habituation, threat conditioning, avoidance conditioning, extinction with response prevention, and renewal. Tests for renewal occurred either in the original conditioning context (ABA, n = 52) or the extinction context (ABB, n = 50). Images of a quiet and a busy street served as relevant contexts. Renewal was evident whereby the ABA group showed a significant increase in threat expectancy when tested in the conditioning context, which had not been extinguished. This effect was not found for avoidance or fear ratings, nor for the ABB group who underwent the renewal test in the extinction context. The current study demonstrated differential renewal of threat expectancy in an online contextual avoidance paradigm.