Download Chapter 3

Chapter 3
Simple Mechanisms of Learning
Order of coverage of material
 Classical Conditioning – basic
procedure and definitions
 Practical Applications of Classical
Conditioning
 Temporal Arrangements of Stimuli
(timing) and how it affects Classical
Conditioning
 Opponent Process Theory of Emotion
What is Classical Conditioning?
 It is a process in which one stimulus that does
not (naturally) elicit a response is associated
with a second stimulus that does
 As a result, the first stimulus also comes to
elicit a response

(for example, a “whirring” sound doesn’t naturally
cause fear, but if it gets paired up with a dentist
drilling into a tooth with the result of pain, it could!)
Elicited Behaviors
 Building blocks for Classical Conditioning
 Natural S-R relationships between
environmental stimuli and physiological
responses to them – survival based

Reflexes – simple involuntary responses




Startle response (basic, defense reaction)
Orienting response (turn towards a potentially important
S)
Flexion response (automatically jerking hand away from
a painful S)
Fixed action patterns
– Squirrel vs. chipmunk in front of car ex.
Classical Conditioning
 How does Classical Conditioning happen??
Basic Processes
 Before, During, and After Conditioning

See your class notes for this part of the material
 Four Elements of Classical Conditioning
 US – stimulus naturally causing the response
 UR – the natural response to a powerful stimulus
 CS –a stimulus that starts out neutral but gets
associated with a powerful US
 CR – a learned response to a CS
Temporal Arrangement of
Stimuli
 In other words, what effect does the timing of
presentation of the NS, CS, and US have on
the effectiveness of conditioning?




Delayed Conditioning –NS before US AND they
overlap
Trace Conditioning – NS before US AND with NO
overlap
Simultaneous Conditioning – NS and US occur at
the same time
Backward Conditioning – US is presented before
the NS
Why the difference in effectiveness
for these 4 time relationships?
 See if you can figure it out
 The reason has to do with the fact that the NS
must begin to serve as a signal that the US is
coming
 The less clear it is to the organism that the
NS is a signal that something important is
coming, the less powerful the conditioning
 NOTE: TEST I FOR SPRING, 2009 WILL
INCLUDE MATERIAL UP TO THIS POINT
Other terms and concepts
Classical Conditioning
Appetitive and Aversive
Conditioning
 Appetitive – the US is an event that the
organism considers pleasant and seeks
out
 Aversive – the US is an event that the
organism considers unpleasant and
avoids
 Which do you think occurs most
rapidly? Why?
Applications of Aversive
Conditioning
 Fears may be learned this way
 How might they be treated?
 Masochistic tendencies, too!
 How do you think sexual perversions such
as masochism, sadism, and pedophilia
could develop through Classical
Conditioning?
 Do you have any ideas of how these
aberrant behaviors could be treated?
Excitatory and Inhibitory
Conditioning
 The examples we have looked at so far are of
excitatory conditioning (the NS is associated
with a powerful US – after a while, the NS
becomes the CS and elicits the response on
its own)
 Another type of classical conditioning is
called inhibitory conditioning

The CS becomes associated with the absence of
the US (e.g. a dog bites only in the absence of its
owner, so the owner gets to be a signal of safety)
Other Simple Mechanisms of
Learning
 Strength of an elicited behavior can change
following repeated presentation of the elicited
stimulus:

Habituation – decrease in strength (usually a low
intensity stimulus)


Ex. “dripping faucet”
Dishabituation - habituated responses can reoccur
suddenly in the presence of a seemingly irrelevant novel
stimulus
– Ex. Romance rekindled on vacations

Sensitization – increase in strength (usually a
high intensity stimulus)

Ex. Soldiers in battle situation
Opponent Process Theory of
Emotion – Solomon (1980)
 When a strong emotional reaction
occurs (a process) to a stimulus, a
second, opposite process (b process)
gradually kicks in and begins to counter
the original reaction
 May help us balance our emotions
Factors Affecting Opponent
Processes
 The a-process correlates closely with the b-
process
 The b-process is slow to increase and slow to
decrease

Ex. Mild depression after an exciting event like
graduation, a wedding, etc.
 With repeated presentation of the emotional
event, the b-process increases in both
strength and duration

Ex. Thrill seeking behaviors as fear wears off and
excitement increases
Other Practical Applications of
Classical Conditioning
 Interpersonal attraction
 Changes in relationships from dating to
marriage
 Can you think of others?