L4: Associations
This module discusses associationism and formative philosophical and empirical work on associative learning processes in humans and non-human animals.
Goals
Instructions
Work through each of the following Read, Watch/listen, and Engage sections. You have the full week to complete any quizzes or assignments for this module.
Read
40 minutes
Chapter 5: Associations
Describes associationism and formative philosophical and empirical work on associative learning processes in humans and non-human animals.
Watch/Listen
There are two mini-lectures for this module.
Lecture 3
Siegel et al. (1982)
paper on Blackboard
20 min
Engage
When you are ready complete any or all of the following assignments.
- QUIZ: Complete the L4: Associations quiz (2.5 points, on blackboard)
- Writing: (5 points, instructions below, submit on blackboard)
Submit your work before the due date posted on blackboard. Then, move on to the next learning module.
Conditioning and drug tolerance
5 points
Classical conditioning and associative learning influence a wide range of psychological and physiological processes, including those involved in drug-tolerance.
Your assignment is to write a QALMRI summary for the following paper. A video lecture overview for this paper was also provided in the watch/listen section to help you with this assignment.
Siegel, S., Hinson, R. E., Krank, M. D., & McCully, J. (1982). Heroin “overdose” death: contribution of drug-associated environmental cues. Science, 216(4544), 436-437.
Using the QALMRI method, write a one-page QALMRI (point form is OK) of the assigned paper.
- Question: Identify the big and specific question
- Alternatives: What are the alternative hypotheses or explanations
- Logic: What are the logical implications of the hypotheses
- Method: Describe the Methods
- Results: What was the main result
- Inference: What inferences about the hypothesis are made from the results?
At the end of your assignment indicate how many points you should receive for your work, along with a brief explanation or justification of your evaluation.
Include an assessment of your confidence that you could personally explain the article to another person.
Alternative: Fix the chatbot’s QALMRI
I submitted the above assignment to Google’s Bard text generator, which is similar to ChatGPT technology. It produced the QALMRI below. The problem is that BARD’s QALMRI is mostly completely wrong and does not describe what happened in the article. Instead, much of the text is fabricated nonsense that “appears” like it might make sense.
As an alternative approach to the assignment, you could discuss each of the QALMRI sections and describe how the section could be improved, and/or why it is completely wrong and what would be required to correct it.
QALMRI Summary
Paper: Heroin “overdose” death: contribution of drug-associated environmental cues. Science, 216(4544), 436-437.
Question: What is the role of drug-associated environmental cues in heroin overdose death?
Alternatives:
Drug-associated environmental cues play a role in heroin overdose death. Drug-associated environmental cues do not play a role in heroin overdose death. Logic: If drug-associated environmental cues play a role in heroin overdose death, then we would expect to see that people are more likely to overdose in environments that are associated with drug use.
Method: The researchers conducted a study of 10 heroin users who had overdosed and died. They interviewed the users’ friends and family to learn about the circumstances of the overdose. The researchers also visited the sites of the overdoses.
Results: The researchers found that 9 out of the 10 overdoses occurred in environments that were associated with drug use. For example, 6 of the overdoses occurred in the user’s home, 2 occurred in a car, and 1 occurred in a public park.
Inference: The results of the study suggest that drug-associated environmental cues play a role in heroin overdose death.
Additional Notes: The study is small, so more research is needed to confirm the findings. However, the study provides strong support for the hypothesis that drug-associated environmental cues play a role in heroin overdose death.
Implications: The findings of the study suggest that interventions aimed at reducing drug-associated cues in the environment may be effective in reducing the risk of heroin overdose death. For example, such interventions could include providing users with safe and clean places to use drugs and providing them with education about the dangers of drug use in certain environments.