The DOI matches its Crossref record; 75 of the 75 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Exploring a latent cause theory of classical conditioning
Open accessAbstract
We frame behavior in classical conditioning experiments as the product of normative statistical inference. According to this theory, animals learn an internal model of their environment from experience. The basic building blocks of this internal model are latent causes-explanatory constructs inferred by the animal that partition observations into coherent clusters. Generalization of conditioned responding from one cue to another arises from the animal's inference that the cues were generated by the same latent cause. Through a wide range of simulations, we demonstrate where the theory succeeds and where it fails as a general account of classical conditioning.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Large prediction errors signal that the current latent cause is no longer relevant (i.e., the situation has changed) and a new or stored latent cause should be inferred.”
From Does mental context drift or shift? (2017) · cites this paper as [46]
In the citing paper
“According to a recent theory of latent cause inference, people build up a library of statistical models of their environment, and then infer which is the hidden, or “latent,” cause of their current sensory observations [43–46].”
From Does mental context drift or shift? (2017) · cites this paper as [46]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Gelman, A., Carlin, J. B., Stern, H. S., & Rubin, D. B. (2003) · doi:10.1201/9780429258480 · Cited by 27,276
Advances in neural information processing systems 7
Cios, K. J., & Shields, M. E. (1997) · Neurocomputing · doi:10.1016/s0925-2312(97)90018-7 · Cited by 22,093
Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 19
(2007) · The MIT Press eBooks · doi:10.52202/085713 · Cited by 16,043
Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 14
(2002) · The MIT Press eBooks · doi:10.7551/mitpress/1120.001.0001 · Cited by 9,187
Rescorla, R. A. (1972) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 7,268
Cognitive maps in rats and men
Tolman, E. C. (1948) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/h0061626 · Cited by 6,641
Marr, D. (1982) · Cumulative Index of Computer Aided Architectural Design · Cited by 5,733
Barlow, H. B. (1983) · Journal of Mathematical Psychology · doi:10.1016/0022-2496(83)90030-5 · Cited by 5,506
Classical conditioning II: Current research and theory.
Black, A. H., & Prokasy, W. F. (1972) · Appleton-Century-Crofts eBooks · Cited by 4,449
Pearce, J. M., & Hall, G. (1980) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.87.6.532 · Cited by 3,023 · cited 3×
“Like Rescorla and Wagner’s (1972) model, the latent cause theory we have presented is a trial-level model, treating the entire trial as a single time point; hence, withintrial timing effects lie beyond its scope.”
A theory of attention: Variations in the associability of stimuli with reinforcement
Mackintosh, N. J. (1975) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/h0076778 · Cited by 2,733
Bayesian Data Analysis, 2nd edn
Brix, A. (2005) · Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A (Statistics in Society) · doi:10.1111/j.1467-985x.2004.00347_4.x · Cited by 2,588
The Adaptive Character of Thought
Massaro, D. W., Friedman, D., & Anderson, J. R. (1991) · The American Journal of Psychology · doi:10.2307/1423253 · Cited by 2,174
ADVANCES IN NEURAL INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEMS 16
Storkey, A. (2004) · neural information processing systems · Cited by 2,085
Learning the value of information in an uncertain world
Behrens, T. E. J., Woolrich, M. W., Walton, M. E., & Rushworth, M. F. S. (2007) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn1954 · Cited by 2,053
Context, time, and memory retrieval in the interference paradigms of Pavlovian learning
Bouton, M. E. (1993) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.114.1.80 · Cited by 1,896
Context and Behavioral Processes in Extinction: Table 1.
Bouton, M. E. (2004) · Learning & Memory · doi:10.1101/lm.78804 · Cited by 1,808
Gallistel, C. R., & Gibbon, J. (2000) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.107.2.289 · Cited by 1,134
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
Tilya, H., Fedorenkob, E., Gibsonb, E., Tily, H. J., Fedorenko, E. G., & Gibson, E. A. F. (1948) · Nature · doi:10.1038/161272a0 · Cited by 1,098
The adaptive nature of human categorization.
Anderson, J. R. (1991) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.98.3.409 · Cited by 1,069
Information Processing in Animals: Memory Mechanisms.
indicated, N. A. (1986) · Contemporary Psychology · doi:10.1037/024459 · Cited by 1,021
Information Processing in Animals
(2014) · Psychology Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315798820 · Cited by 902
Latent inhibition and conditioned attention theory.
Lubow, R. E., Schnur, P., & Rifkin, B. (1976) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Behavior Processes · doi:10.1037/0097-7403.2.2.163 · Cited by 735
Miami Symposium on the prediction of behavior, 1967 : aversive stimulation
Jones, M. R. (1968) · University of Miami Press eBooks · Cited by 732
"Attention-like" processes in classical conditioning
Kamin, L. J. (1967) · NASA Technical Reports Server (NASA) · Cited by 716
Latent Inhibition and Conditioned Attention Theory
Lubow, R. E. (1989) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511529849 · Cited by 695
Structure and strength in causal induction☆
Griffiths, T. L., & Tenenbaum, J. B. (2005) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.cogpsych.2005.05.004 · Cited by 626
A tutorial on Bayesian nonparametric models
Gershman, S. J., & Blei, D. M. (2011) · Journal of Mathematical Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jmp.2011.08.004 · Cited by 626
Self-citationFactors governing one-trial contextual conditioning
Fanselow, M. S. (1990) · Animal Learning & Behavior · doi:10.3758/bf03205285 · Cited by 564
Learning and Computational Neuroscience: Foundations of Adaptive Networks
Gabriel, M., & Moore, J. (1990) · Cited by 518
SOP: A Model of Automatic Memory Processing in Animal Behavior
Wagner, A. R. (2014) · doi:10.4324/9781315798820-6 · Cited by 508
Time-Derivative Models of Pavlovian Reinforcement
Sutton, R. S., & Barto, A. G. (1990) · Cited by 501
Learning and selective attention
Dayan, P., Kakade, S., & Montague, P. R. (2000) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/81504 · Cited by 495
Perceptual and Associative Learning
Hall, G. (1991) · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198521822.001.0001 · Cited by 481
Bayesian theories of conditioning in a changing world
Courville, A. C., Daw, N. D., & Touretzky, D. S. (2006) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2006.05.004 · Cited by 457
Associations in second-order conditioning and sensory preconditioning.
Rizley, R. C., & Rescorla, R. A. (1972) · Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0033333 · Cited by 426
Context, learning, and extinction
Gershman, S. J., Blei, D. M., & Niv, Y. (2010) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/a0017808 · Cited by 386 · cited 4×
“Renewal In Gershman et al. (2010), we presented an extensive discussion of renewal effects.”
InfluentialSelf-citationRational approximations to rational models: alternative algorithms for category learning
Sanborn, A. N., Griffiths, T. L., & Navarro, D. J. (2010) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/a0020511 · Cited by 369
Redish, A. D., Jensen, S., Johnson, A., & Kurth-Nelson, Z. (2007) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.114.3.784 · Cited by 346
THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM AND BEHAVIOR
Brazier, M. A. B. (1961) · The American Journal of the Medical Sciences · doi:10.1097/00000441-196105000-00019 · Cited by 334
Sometimes-competing retrieval (SOCR): A formalization of the comparator hypothesis.
Stout, S. C., & Miller, R. R. (2007) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.114.3.759 · Cited by 290
Latent inhibition: A neural network approach.
Schmajuk, N. A., Lam, Y., & Gray, J. A. (1996) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Behavior Processes · doi:10.1037//0097-7403.22.3.321 · Cited by 235
Rescorla, R. A. (1971) · Learning and Motivation · doi:10.1016/0023-9690(71)90002-6 · Cited by 231
Extinction of Pavlovian conditioned inhibition.
Zimmer-Hart, C. L., & Rescorla, R. A. (1974) · Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0036412 · Cited by 216
Latent inhibition of a CS during CS-US pairings.
Hall, G., & Pearce, J. M. (1979) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Behavior Processes · doi:10.1037/0097-7403.5.1.31 · Cited by 180
Time as content in Pavlovian conditioning
Savastano, H. I., & Miller, R. R. (1998) · Behavioural Processes · doi:10.1016/s0376-6357(98)00046-1 · Cited by 175
Reduction in the effectiveness of reinforcement after prior excitatory conditioning
Rescorla, R. A. (1970) · Learning and Motivation · doi:10.1016/0023-9690(70)90101-3 · Cited by 144
Latent inhibition: A neural network approach.
Schmajuk, N. A., Lam, Y., & Gray, J. A. B. (1996) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Behavior Processes · doi:10.1037/0097-7403.22.3.321 · Cited by 133
Kiernan, M. J., & Westbrook, R. F. (1993) · The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section B · doi:10.1080/14640749308401089 · Cited by 132 · cited 1×
“For example, preexposing an animal to the conditioning context facilitates subsequent contextual fear conditioning (Kiernan & Westbrook, 1993).”
Beckers, T., Miller, R. R., Houwer, J. D., & Urushihara, K. (2006) · Journal of Experimental Psychology General · doi:10.1037/0096-3445.135.1.92 · Cited by 130
Detecting and predicting changes
Brown, S. D., & Mark Steyvers, B. (2008) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.cogpsych.2008.09.002 · Cited by 129
Stimulus coding in human associative learning: Flexible representations of parts and wholes
Melchers, K. G., Shanks, D. R., & Lachnit, H. (2007) · Behavioural Processes · doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2007.09.013 · Cited by 115
Particle filters for mixture models with an unknown number of components
Fearnhead, P. (2003) · Statistics and Computing · doi:10.1023/b:stco.0000009418.04621.cd · Cited by 107
Summation and configuration in patterning schedules with the rat and rabbit
Bellingham, W. P., Gillette, K., & Kehoe, E. J. (1985) · Animal Learning & Behavior · doi:10.3758/bf03199268 · Cited by 106
Restoration of the orienting response to a light by a change in its predictive accuracy
Wilson, P. N., Boumphrey, P., & Pearce, J. M. (2007) · The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section B · doi:10.1080/02724999208250600 · Cited by 103
Acquisition and extinction in autoshaping.
Kakade, S. M., & Dayan, P. (2002) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.109.3.533 · Cited by 101
Priming-produced facilitation or diminution of responding to a Pavlovian unconditioned stimulus.
Donegan, N. H. (1981) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Behavior Processes · doi:10.1037/0097-7403.7.4.295 · Cited by 82
Yin, H., Barnet, R. C., & Miller, R. R. (1994) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Behavior Processes · doi:10.1037/0097-7403.20.4.419 · Cited by 81
Daw, N. D., & Courville, A. C. (2007) · neural information processing systems · Cited by 77
Cognitive aspects of classical conditioning
Holland, P. C. (1993) · Current Opinion in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/0959-4388(93)90215-k · Cited by 63
THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM AND BEHAVIOR
(1959) · American Journal of Public Health and the Nations Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.49.10.1421-b · Cited by 56
Facilitation and retardation of discrimination learning after exposure to the stimuli.
Channell, S., & Hall, G. (1981) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Behavior Processes · doi:10.1037//0097-7403.7.4.437 · Cited by 54
Learned irrelevance: No more than the sum of CS and US preexposure effects?
Bonardi, C., & Hall, G. (1996) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Behavior Processes · doi:10.1037/0097-7403.22.2.183 · Cited by 52
Reinforcement history and the extinction of conditioned salivary response.
Wagner, A. R., Siegel, S., Thomas, E., & Ellison, G. D. (1964) · Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0048721 · Cited by 51
Model Uncertainty in Classical Conditioning
Courville, A. C., Gordon, G. J., Touretzky, D. S., & Daw, N. D. (2003) · Cited by 51
Similarity and Discrimination in Classical Conditioning: A Latent Variable Account
Courville, A. C., Daw, N. D., & Touretzky, D. S. (2004) · Cited by 50
Schmajuk, N. A., & Larrauri, J. A. (2006) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Behavior Processes · doi:10.1037/0097-7403.32.1.1 · Cited by 46
Kingsbury, J. (2008) · Biology & Philosophy · doi:10.1007/s10539-008-9113-2 · Cited by 46
Statistical Models of Conditioning
Dayan, P., & Long, T. W. (1997) · Cited by 34
The Effect of Different Amounts of Alternating Partial Reinforcement on Resistance to Extinction
Capaldi, E. J. (1957) · The American Journal of Psychology · doi:10.2307/1419584 · Cited by 30
Mechanisms in Classical Conditioning
Schmajuk, N. A. (2010) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511711831 · Cited by 24
Extinction of conditioned inhibition through nonreinforced presentation of the inhibitor
Melchers, K. G., Wolff, S., & Lachnit, H. (2006) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/bf03193978 · Cited by 22
Mechanisms in Classical Conditioning: A Computational Approach
Schmajuk, N. A. (2010) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 20
Amundson, J. C., Wheeler, D. S., & Miller, R. R. (2005) · Learning and Motivation · doi:10.1016/j.lmot.2004.11.006 · Cited by 13
Priming-produced facilitation or diminution of responding to a Pavlovian unconditioned stimulus.
Donegan, N. H. (1981) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes · doi:10.1037//0097-7403.7.4.295
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Pavlov, I. P. (1927). Conditioned reflexes (G. V. Anrep, Trans). London, UK: Oxford University Press.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
What do we mean by prediction in language comprehension?
Kuperberg, G. R., & Jaeger, T. F. (2016) · Language, Cognition and Neuroscience · doi:10.1080/23273798.2015.1102299 · Cited by 1,087
Dunsmoor, J. E., Niv, Y., Daw, N., & Phelps, E. A. (2015) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.028 · Cited by 329
Self-citationMesolimbic dopamine release conveys causal associations
Jeong, H., Taylor, A., Floeder, J. R., Lohmann, M., Mihalaş, Ş., Wu, B., Zhou, M., Burke, D. A., & Namboodiri, V. M. K. (2022) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.abq6740 · Cited by 232
Hierarchical control over effortful behavior by rodent medial frontal cortex: A computational model.
Holroyd, C. B., & McClure, S. M. (2014) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/a0038339 · Cited by 199
Optimizing exposure therapy with an inhibitory retrieval approach and the OptEx Nexus
Craske, M. G., Treanor, M., Zbozinek, T. D., & Vervliet, B. (2022) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2022.104069 · Cited by 195
Metadata
- Authors
- Gershman, S. J., & Niv, Y.
- Affiliations
- Princeton University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Gershman, Samuel J.
- Venue
- Learning & Behavior
- Published
- 2012-08-29
- Volume
- 40
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 255-268
- ISSN
- 1543-4494 (ISSN-L)
- 1543-4508
- OpenAlex
- W2155479528
- Cited by
- 149
- References
- 74
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 6
- FWCI
- 4.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Learning & Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Bayesian Modeling and Causal Inference
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Keywords
- classical conditioning, animal learning, Bayesian inference
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Bayes Theorem, Computer Simulation, Conditioning, Classical, Models, Psychological, Psychological Theory
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
