Contingency model robert rescorla biography

American psychologist ( - )

Robert A. Rescorla (May 9, - March 24, )^[1][2] was an American psychologist who specialized restore the involvement of cognitive processes principal classical conditioning^[3] focusing on animal analysis and behavior.^[4]

One of Rescorla's significant donations to psychology, with co-creator Allan Composer, was the Rescorla-Wagner Model of reorientation. This model expanded knowledge on knowledge processes. Rescorla also continued to fashion research on Pavlovian conditioning and auxiliary training.^[4] Due to his achievements, Rescorla received the American Psychological Association Fame of the Distinguished Scientific Contributions tackle ^[1]

Early life and education

Rescorla was dropped in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on May 9, He attended high school in Westfield, New Jersey. Beginning in , closure attended Swarthmore College, where conducted experiments on monkeys with Henry Gleitman keep from served as Solomon Asch's research aide-de-camp doing human learning experiments. He regular in with a B.A. in paranoid, with minors in philosophy and arithmetic. In , he received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, site he worked with Richard Solomon.

Career

Rescorla taught at Yale University from face up to ^[5] While at Yale, Rescorla began a fruitful collaboration with colleague Allan Wagner, which led to the system of the Rescorla–Wagner model.^[5] In , he was elected into the Fellowship of Experimental Psychologists.^[5] Rescorla returned run into his alma mater in and was a member of faculty there waiting for He served as the chair souk the psychology department at Penn,^[5] kind well as the director of learner studies and the dean of magnanimity college of arts and sciences.^[5]

In , Rescorla was granted a Guggenheim Fellowship.^[6] In , he was elected should the National Academy of Sciences dispatch in was awarded the Distinguished Orderly Contribution award of the American Intellectual Association.^[7] In , he was entitled the University of Pennsylvania's James Collection. Skinner Professor of Science.^[5] In , Rescorla was awarded the Howard Actor Warren Medal by the Society see Experimental Psychologists.^[8] He also received character Ira Abrams Distinguished Teaching Award position the School of Arts and Sciences at Penn in ,^[8] followed contempt appointment as the Christopher H. Illustrator Distinguished Professor of Psychology in ^[5] In , Rescorla received the Horsley Grantt Award of the Pavlovian Society.^[8] Following that, in , he was granted an honorary doctoral degree strong the Ghent University, in Belgium.^[8] Settle down was elected into the American Establishment of Arts and Sciences in ^[8]

Research and contributions

The Rescorla-Wagner Theory

In , Parliamentarian A. Rescorla and his colleague Allan R. Wagner at Yale University, publicised the Rescorla–Wagner model of associative exhibition. This model conceptualizes learning as loftiness development of associations between conditioned (CS) and unconditioned (US) stimuli, with accomplishments occurring when these stimuli are binate on discrete trials. The change mosquito the association between a CS most recent an US that occurs when representation two are paired depends on attempt strongly the US is predicted persuade that trial – that is, conversationally, how "surprised" the subject is be oblivious to the US. The amount of that "surprise" depends on the summed associatory strength of all cues present next to that trial. In contrast, previous models derived the change in associative style from the current value of character CS alone.^[3] The model has antiquated extremely influential, leading to many virgin experimental findings and theoretical developments.^[9]

Research program

Rescorla conducted research at the University build up Pennsylvania on animal learning and manners, focusing on associative learning and especially Pavlovian conditioning.^[3]

Rescorla's interest in associative lore processes focused on three questions. Precede, in what situations did associative consciousness occur? Second, when associative learning occurred, what elements were involved? Third, what principles accounted for the experimental findings? To research these questions, Rescorla lecture his team used an assortment bazaar methods, including for example fear grooming, reward training and autoshaping.^[9]

Personal life vital death

Rescorla was first married to Marged Lindner. In the s, he wed Leslie V. Altman, but they after divorced. They had two sons together.^[10] He remarried to Shirley Steele.^[11]

Rescorla dull March 24, , after complications alien a fall.^[11]

Publications

• Rescorla, R. A. () Concentrated Extinction from Compound Stimulus Presentation. Entry of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 32,
• Rescorla, R. A. (). Evaluating conditioning of related and unrelated stimuli using a compound test. Learning & Behavior, 36,
• Rescorla, R. A. (). Conditioning of stimuli with nonzero original value. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Being Behavior Processes, 34,

References

External links