Acquisition in Autoshaping

However, most models have simply ignored these data; the few that have attempted to address them have failed by at least an order of magnitude. We discuss key data on the speed of acquisition, and show how to account for them using a statistically sound model of learning, in which differential reliabilities of stimuli playa crucial role. 1 Introduction Conditioning experiments probe the ways that animals make predictions about rewards and punishments and how those predictions are used to their advantage. Substantial quantitative data are available as to how pigeons and rats acquire conditioned responses during autoshaping, which is one of the simplest paradigms of classical conditioning.