Download Classical Conditioning

Unit 6 (Mod 26):
Classical Conditioning
A.P. Psychology
Learning

Learning:

A relatively permanent change in an organism’s thought
and behavior due to experience
Associative Learning

Associative Learning:

Learning that certain events occur together

Can be seen in classical conditioning AND operant conditioning
 Classical
Conditioning:
 Association
of two separate stimuli
 Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, John Garcia
 Operant
Conditioning: **We will discuss later**
 Association
of a response and its consequences
 B.F. Skinner
Classical Conditioning

Classical Conditioning:

Ivan Pavlov (Behavioral Psychologist)

Example of associative learning

A learning procedure in which associations are made
between a natural stimulus and a neutral stimulus

Helps organisms anticipate events

E.g. Dark clouds (natural stimulus) elicit “rain”

E.g. Umbrellas (neutral stimulus), when paired with dark clouds
(natural stimulus) elicit “rain”
Classical Conditioning
Learning to associate one stimulus with another
Ivan Pavlov
(1849-1936)
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Experiments
Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP5lCleK-PM
Classical Conditioning: Stimuli & Responses

Stimuli and Responses in Classical Conditioning:

Neutral Stimulus
 Stimulus
that, before conditioning, elicits no response
E.g. Bell before conditioning

Unconditioned Stimulus (US):
A
stimulus that unconditionally – naturally and
automatically – elicits a response E.g. Food

Unconditioned Response (UR):
 The
unlearned, naturally occurring response to the
unconditioned stimulus (US) E.g. Salivating to the food
Classical Conditioning: Stimuli & Responses

Stimuli and Responses in Classical Conditioning (cont)

Conditioned Stimulus (CS):
 The
originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association
with an unconditioned stimulus (US), elicits a learned
response E.g. Bell after conditioning

Conditioned Response (CR):
 The
learned response to a previously neutral (but now
conditioned) stimulus (CS) E.g. Salivating to the bell
Review

Explain (in your own words) Classical Conditioning.

Differentiate between the following:





Neutral Stimulus
Unconditioned Stimulus (US)
Unconditioned Response (UR)
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
Conditioned Response (CR)
Acquisition

Acquisition: occurs in both classical & operant
conditioning

Classical Conditioning:
 Initial
stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an
unconditioned stimulus
 Neutral stimulus begins triggering conditioned response

Operant Conditioning:
 The
**We will discuss later**
strengthening of a reinforced response
Acquisition
Timing

Timing is very important in classical conditioning


Studies have shown that the CS must precede the US by (at
most) ½ - 1 seconds in order to successfully bring about a CR.
Other types of timing have been studied with classical
conditioning:
 Delayed conditioning: CS precedes the US, but the two stimuli
overlap a bit-best timing for conditioning
 Trace conditioning: CS precedes the US, but they do not
overlap-the longer the delay, the more difficult conditioning is
 Simultaneous conditioning: CS occurs at the same time as the
US-results in poor conditioning. CS doesn’t predict the US at all
 Backward conditioning: CS occurs AFTER the US-little or no
conditioning takes place, unless the response is biologically predisposed
Higher-Order Conditioning

Procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one
experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus,
creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus
E.g. an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then
learn that a light predicts the tone & begin responding to the light
alone
 Also referred to as “second-order conditioning”

Extinction & Spontaneous recovery

Extinction

The diminishing of a conditioned response
Occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus
(US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS)
 Also occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer
reinforced. **We will discuss later**


Spontaneous recovery

Reappearance, after a break, of an extinguished conditioned
response.

Based on this, Pavlov speculated that extinction was suppressing
a CR, not eliminating it
Generalization

The tendency, once a response has been conditioned,
for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit
similar responses

John B. Watson, Rosalie Rayner: “Little Albert”

Original CR was fear of white rat; would generalize to rabbits,
dogs, etc (but not dissimilar objects like toys)
Discrimination

The learned ability to distinguish between a
conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an
unconditioned stimulus
Little Albert was able to discriminate between white, fuzzy
objects (rats, rabbits, dogs, etc) and dissimilar objects like
toys, books, etc
 Pavlov discovered that his
conditioned dogs did not
respond to other tones.

Applications of Classical Conditioning

John Garcia showed that the duration between the CS
and the US may be long (hours), but yet result in
conditioning. A biologically adaptive CS (taste) led to
conditioning but other stimuli (sight or
sound) did not.
Applications of Classical Conditioning
Even humans can develop classically to conditioned nausea.
Applications of Classical Conditioning

Psychologists may suggest that
alcoholics use “Antabuse,” a pill that
causes nausea when combined with
alcohol

The use of this drug may serve to
condition the alcoholic to become
nauseous when drinking alcohol

aversive conditioning
Applications of Classical Conditioning

Former crack cocaine users should avoid cues
(people, places) associated with previous drug use.

Through classical conditioning, a drug (that has a
particular taste) that affects the immune response
may cause the taste of the drug (but not the drug
itself) to invoke the immune response.
Applications of Classical Conditioning

John B. Watson used classical
conditioning procedures to
develop advertising campaigns
for a number of organizations,
including Maxwell House,
making the “coffee break” an
American custom.
Review

Provide an example of each of the following elements of
Classical Conditioning:


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Generalization
Discrimination
Extinction
Spontaneous Recovery