Pavlovian conditioning: Pigeon nictitating membrane

Abstract

We explored the hypothesis that perceptions of overweight vary in accord with the prevalence of overweight in specific populations. The present study investigated this relationship in samples from diverse groups in the US and four other countries. The perceptual threshold for overweight is the scalar point at which individuals determine the transition from normal to overweight. Perceptual thresholds for overweight were obtained from 812 adults in Korea, Mexico, Ukraine, Tanzania, and the US (Black, Hispanic, White and college student samples). A linear relationship was observed between the perceptual threshold for overweight and the population prevalence (r=0.52, adjusted R2=0.22, F (1/15)=5.24, p<.05), and this relationship was considerably stronger in the non-US samples. This finding links with the results of other studies documenting the influence of the social environment on both weight perception and weight transmission. Together, they suggest that the socio-cultural milieu and weight norms are components of the obesogenic environment and argue for the inclusion of weight norm interventions in weight management programs and public health initiatives. " 2015 Elsevier Ltd.",,,,,,"10.1016/j.eatbeh.2015.01.015",,,"http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12104/43521","http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84922693780&partnerID=40&md5=cb08e085ef971197653dd0ab2376a346",,,,,,,,"Eating Behaviors",,"125

129",,"17",,"Scopus

WOS",,,,,,"Normative overweight; Perceptions of overweight; Social transmission of weight",,,,,,"Perceptions of overweight in US and global cultures",,"Article" "45290","123456789/35008",,"Burns, R., University of Massachusetts/Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States; Burgos, J.E., University of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico; Donahoe, J.W., University of Massachusetts/Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States",,"Burns, R.

Burgos, J.E.

Donahoe, J.W.",,"2011",,"A new Pavlovian conditioning preparation was developed using the nictitating membrane of the restrained pigeon. Either visual or auditory stimuli served as conditioned stimuli (CSs) with an unconditioned stimulus (US) of a puff of air to the cornea. Movement of the nictitating membrane constituted the conditioned and unconditioned responses (CR and UR). Conditioning was studied with the Kamin blocking procedure. In agreement with findings from other conditioning preparations, responding to the redundant stimulus was attenuated relative to a stimulus that received the same number of CS-US pairings in a compound-conditioning procedure. Although response attenuation occurred, substantial individual variation was observed within the blocking procedure, a finding with some precedent in the experimental literature. Theoretical analysis and neural-network simulations indicate that inter-subject variation in response attenuation may result from differences in the extent to which contextual stimuli contribute to the functional CS. " 2010 Elsevier B.V.