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Section 1
Interactive Study Guide
Chapter 8
Learning
1. A relatively permanent change in behavior based on prior experiences defines learning
a. What do behaviorists believe to be evidence of learning?
Observable behavior
b. What do cognitivists believe to be evidence of learning?
Mental process
c. Which behaviorists believed just because the mind could not be observed it therefore
should not be studied?
John B. Watson
d. Who, however, believed that it is a person’s mental representations in our mind that
influence learning?
Edward Tolman and Robert Rescorla
Classical Conditioning
2. Who discovered that while researching the digestive systems of dogs that when his
assistant made a clanging sound with the dogs’ food dishes that the dogs began to salivate
before the presence of food was shown?
Ivan Pavlov
a. Pavlov discovered that the repeated pairing of an unconditioned stimulus with a neutral
stimulus can produce the same behavior which he referred to this process as classical
conditioning
a. An event that produces, or elicits, an automatic or unlearned response is called the
unconditioned stimulus (UCS/US)
b. An automatic or unlearned response that is preceded, or elicited, by an
unconditioned stimulus is called the unconditioned response (UCR/UR)
c. A stimulus that does not elicit a response prior to learning is called the neutral
stimulus (NS)
d. An original neutral stimulus that has been paired repeatedly with the
unconditioned stimulus to produce, or elicit, a conditioned response is called the
conditioned stimulus (CS)
e. A response/reaction elicited by the conditioned stimulus is called the conditioned
response (CR)
Section 1
Interactive Study Guide
Chapter 8
Pavlov’s Experiment
3. During the initial phase of the experiment, Pavlov and his associates placed food or meat
powder (unconditioned stimulus UCS/ US) on the tongue of one of the dogs. The food
or meat powder (UCS/US) automatically produced saliva (unconditioned response
UCR/UR) in the dog’s mouth; the production of saliva is a reflex an involuntary
response elicited from a stimulus. The unconditioned stimulus (UCS) always produces
an unconditioned response (UCR) prior to learning.
a. During the second phase of the experiment, Pavlov introduced a musical tone,
which served as the neutral stimulus (NS). A tone was then presented with the
food or meat powder (UCS/US). After repeated pairings, the tone no longer
served as the neutral stimulus, but changed to the conditioned stimulus CS.
When the conditioned stimulus (the tone) was presented to the dog, he responded
by salivating (conditioned response CR) Keeping the conditioned stimulus (CS)
–conditioned response (CR) connection does require that unconditioned stimulus
(UCS) be presented periodically.
b. To ensure that the bell/tone/object was associated with salivation (CR), Pavlov
would present the meat powder (UCS) with the bell/tone/object (CS) periodically.
Factors in Classical Conditioning
Generalization
4. In Pavlov’s experiment, the dogs were conditioned to salivate to a tone or object. Once
the association was established, Pavlov noticed that the dogs were also salivating to
similar tones or objects. The tendency for a conditioned response (behavior) to be
elicited by similar stimuli is called generalization
Discrimination
5. Differentiating between two stimuli is advantageous; Pavlov understood the profound
effects of this differentiation and started to condition his dogs to salivate to a particular,
specific tone. The ability to distinguish between the conditioned stimulus (CS) and
similar stimuli that are not associated with the unconditioned stimulus is called
discrimination
Second-Order (High Order) Conditioning
6. Once the CR has been associated with the CS, it is possible to condition other neutral
stimuli. A new neutral stimulus (NS) is repeatedly paired with the conditioned stimulus
in order to elicit the same conditioned response is called second or higher-order
conditioning
Section 1
Interactive Study Guide
Chapter 8
a. Pavlov demonstrated this by pairing a tone (CS) that elicited salivation (CR) with
a light (NS). After repeated trials the light became a conditioned stimulus (CS)
that elicited the salivation (CR)
Extinction
7. When a conditioned stimulus (CS) no longer elicits the conditioned response (CR), it is
said to experience extinction. When the conditioned stimuli no longer elicits the
conditioned response after repeated presentation of the CS without the UCS is called
extinction
Reconditioning and Spontaneous Recovery
8. Extinction successfully disrupts the (CS)-(CR) association. However, this connection is
simply inhibited rather than lost forever. If the (UCS) is once again presented with the
(CS) the previously acquired (CS)-(CR) will return this is known as reconditioning
(process) a quick relearning of a previously extinct (CS)-(CR) association.
a. The abrupt return of the (CS)-(CR) association is known as spontaneous
recovery (result) the recovery of a previously extinguished response after a
passage of time.
Little Albert
9. In 1920 an experiment took place that launched American Behaviorism. John B. Watson
wanted to apply Ivan Pavlov’s principles of conditioned reflexes to human beings.
Watson believed that science must be observable and nurture (environment) was only
thing responsible for human development. Watson and Rosalie Rayner set out to
condition fear in a human (very controversial experiment because Watson did not have
permission from parents- would not be able to be done today.) In the initial part of the
experiment Watson exposed 9 month-old Albert to a series of neutral stimuli, white rat,
rat, dog, cotton balls, to test his emotional reaction, in which Albert did not show any
initial fears.
a. Fill out the diagram for the “Little Albert” experiment:
Loud noise
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
White rat
Neutral Stimulus
+
>>>>>>
Crying/fear
Unconditioned Response (UCR)
Loud noise
>>>>>>>
Crying/fear
Unconditioned Stimulus
Unconditioned Response
White rat
======
Crying/fear
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
Conditioned Response (CR)
b. Watson began trials of second-order (higher order) conditioning by pairing the
white rat with other neutral stimuli such as a white rabbit and white mask. This
led to generalization his fear of similar stimuli that shared similar characteristics.
Section 1
Interactive Study Guide
Chapter 8
Applications of Classical Conditioning
10. To treat phobias, some therapists continuously expose an individual to the fear-evoking
conditioned stimulus to eliminate the conditioned response (fear) is called flooding
through constant exposure to the fear-evoking stimuli the (CS)-(CR) association will
become extinct.
a. A less aversive treatment for phobias, consists of exposing the patient to a series
of approximations to the anxiety-producing stimulus under relaxed conditions
until finally the anxiety reaction is extinguished is called systematic
desensitization, which involves the therapist diagrams a hierarchy of fear-evoking
stimuli (from least to most frightening for the client) which then the client will
progress through learning to associate a relaxation technique with each fearevoking stimuli.
b. Another technique for treating phobias, involves pairing the fear-evoking stimuli
with a pleasant stimulus to reverse the effects of the phobia called
counterconditioning, for example pairing a favorite food with the phobia
Conditioned Taste Aversion
11. When exposure to a noxious substance causes sickness and results in the individual
associating the food with the sickness, making him or her avoid that food in the future is
called conditioned taste aversion
a. Unlike most forms of classical conditioning that require the (UCS) and the (CS)
to be paired closely together and repeated multiple times, taste aversion paired
closely together
b. Evolutionary psychologists believe that taste aversions promote survival of
species, by being able to quickly learn what foods make them sick