Human LearningTopic 12 - 2: Special Issues: Timing

04/10/2023CEDP324 Ryan Sain, Ph.D. 1

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What is timing?

Effects of stimuli are determined by durations or distributions in time

Identifying that time has passed – and responding in a different manner

Habituation, sensitization, spontaneous recovery

Classical conditioning

Operant conditioning

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Studying timing

Timing as a biological process

Environmental clues must be ruled out

Clocks ticking

Sun rising

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Timing techniques

Duration estimation

Discrimination task

Sd is the duration of an event

Match to sample procedure

Peak procedure

Sd presented

After specified time passes a response will produce Sr

Responding follows a generalization gradient

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Time out!

Using a peak procedure

20 second

Introduce a break in the Sd

10 seconds

Sd only presented for 20 seconds total

The peak shifts by that amount of break

10 second delay20 second peak No delay

10 20 30 40

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Theories

Cognitive – Scalar Expectancy Theory

Pacemaker Switch accumulator (sums)

Send that info to working memory

Then compare that to the stimulus and decide if you should respond

Behavioral

Adjunctive behavior (waiting behaviors) Finger tapping, etc

Those occur in a particular pattern

After the pattern is complete the interval should be over