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Equation 1 · Part 3 · Prepared Fears: How Evolution Biased What the Mind Learns to Dread

Symbol λ

ΔV=α (λ−V)\Delta V = \alpha \,(\lambda - V)
λ\lambda

What this part means

the asymptotic strength that outcome supports.

Its job in the formula

λ is one of the signed contributions combined to compute the quantity on the left.

Where the article explains it

where V is the current associative strength between a stimulus and an outcome, λ\lambda is the asymptotic strength that outcome supports, and α\alpha is a learning-rate parameter governing how much of the gap between the two is closed on a given trial.

The passage around this formula

…own parameters. A standard error-correction rule for associative strength states the update on each learning trial as ΔV=α (λ−V)\Delta V = \alpha \,(\lambda - V). where V is the current associative strength between a stimulus and an outcome, λ\lambda is the asymptotic strength that outcome supports, and α\alpha is a learning-rate parameter governing how much of the gap between the two is closed on a given trial. Preparedness theory’s defensible empirical content, on the evidence gathered across the last five sections, is that α\alpha is…

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A variable is a named place for a value. Its letter is a local label: x can mean position in one formula and a data point in another.

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Sources cited in the article section

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