Name ________________________________________________________________ Number __________
Conditioning & Social Learning
Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning and Social Learning
Classical Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov
Classical conditioning: a learning procedure in which associations are
made between a _____________ _____________ and a ______________
________________
-
-
Classical conditioning is a type of ______________________.
o When something makes you react in a certain way, it is
called a stimulus.
o People and animals learn to respond to a new stimulus the
same way that they respond to one they already know.
o A person’s or animal’s old response becomes attached to a
new stimulus.
Neutral stimulus: _____________________________________________________________________
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): an event that elicits a certain predictable response without previous
training <____________>
Unconditioned response (UCR): an organism’s automatic (or natural) reaction to a stimulus
<_____________________________>
Conditioned stimulus (CS): a once-neutral event that elicits a given response after a period of training
in which it has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus <____________>
Conditioned response (CR): the learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus <____________________>
Generalization, Discrimination and Extinction
Generalization occurs when an animal responds to a second stimulus similar to the original CS,
without prior training with the second stimulus. When Pavlov conditioned a dog to salivate at the
sight of a circle, he found that the dog would salivate when it saw an oval as well.
Generalization:____________________________________________________________________
Pavlov also taught the dog discrimination–to respond only to the
circle, not the oval.
Generalization and discrimination are complementary processes and
are part of your everyday life.
Discrimination: the ability to respond differently to _________________________________stimuli
Extinction: the gradual ______________________________________________ response when
the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus
Example: The response the Jaws theme song elicits from people.
Even though a classically conditioned response may be extinguished, this does not mean that the CR
has been completely unlearned. Spontaneous recovery does not bring it back in full strength,
however.
Taste Aversion
A taste aversion is an example of _________________________________________.
Example: Suppose you eat snails for the first time. Later in the evening, you feel sick. You will
probably think the snails made you sick and you will note like the smell or thought of them next time
someone serves them.
Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning: learning in which a certain action is _______________________________,
resulting in corresponding increases or decreases in occurrence
Reinforcement: stimulus or event that _________________________ and increases the likelihood
that the response will be repeated - Positive (good) and negative (bad)
In the Big Bang Theory YouTube video, what was the item that Sheldon used as positive
reinforcement for Penny?
What did Sheldon use as negative reinforcement on his roommate?
B.F. Skinner has been the psychologist most closely associated with operant
conditioning.
–
–
–
Skinner trained rats to respond to lights and sounds in a special
enclosure called a _____________________.
A rat, placed in the Skinner box, must learn how to solve the problem of
how to get food to appear in a cup.
The food that appears in the cup is a _________________
_________________________ in this experiment.
Shaping and Chaining
Shaping: technique in which the desired behavior is “modeled” by first rewarding any act similar to
that behavior and then requiring ever-closer approximations to the desired behavior before giving the
reward
-
One type of operant conditioning that is good for teaching skills is called shaping. Shaping
teaches a new behavior ____________________.
At first you are given a reward for behavior similar to the skill you are learning. To keep getting
rewards, you must get better at the skill.
___________________________________________.
Response chain: learned reactions that follow one another in _____________________, each
reaction producing the signal for the rest.
- If you want to learn a complex skill, you need to learn several different behaviors.
You also have to learn how to put the behaviors together in the right order.
O For example, if you want to learn how to swim, you have to learn several
behaviors like kicking your feet, stroking your arms and breathing.
O Then you have to __________________________________________.
Social Learning
Albert Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment illustrates social learning.
Social learning – a form of learning in which the organism ______________
and _______________ the behavior of others
There are two types of social learning: Cognitive and modeling
“Psychology cannot tell people how they ought to live their lives. It can however,
provide them with the means for effecting personal and social change. “
- Albert Bandura
Cognitive Learning
Cognitive learning - a form of learning that involves __________________________ and may
result from observation or imitation.
Types of Cognitive Learning
Latent learning – alternation of a behavioral tendency that is not demonstrated by an ____________
observable change in behavior.
Example: You need to get to a store that you have been to only once before. You are not sure how to
get there. As you drive, you see signs and landmarks that you remember from the first trip. You did
not try to learn the signs and landmarks on your first trip, but you were still able to remember what
they looked like when you needed them.
Latent learning is possible because we create cognitive maps.
Cognitive map – a mental picture of _________________________ or relationships between events
We create them naturally as we explore our surroundings. They help us remember how things relate
to one another. Example: A rat in maze looking for an alternate route to food
Learned helplessness – a condition in which repeated attempts to control or influence a situation
__________, resulting in the belief that the situation is ______________________ and that any effort
to cope will fail. They no longer even try. They become convinced they are helpless.
o _______________________- – You believe you can never change a situation.
o _______________________ – You believe that because you cannot change one situation, you
cannot change anything.
o __________________- You blame yourself for your own failures, not your circumstances.
Learned helplessness can lead to depression, guilt and self-blame.
Modeling
The second type of social learning is called modeling.
Modeling – learning by __________________ others, copying behavior
Types of Modeling
____________________ – copying the exact behavior or others.


If other people look up, you do too.
Simple modeling does not involve learning.
You already know the skill. You simply copy the behavior of people around you.
_________________________________- You use observational learning when you copy another
person to learn a new skill.

You may watch someone perform a dance step. By watching, you are able to learn the step
then do it yourself.
_______________________________ – This type of modeling helps people do things that they are
afraid of doing. When you watch someone do something you fear, and not get hurt, you are more
willing to try it for yourself.

Used to treat phobias.
Behavior Modification
 It is possible to use classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social learning to
deliberately change someone’s behavior.
Behavior modification – a ____________________________________ of learning principles to
change people’s actions and feelings
 It begins by clearly defining a problem. A plan is then developed using different learning
techniques.
Applying What You Have Learned
With a partner, come up with a school-related example for each of the types of learning below:
1. Classical conditioning
2. Operant Conditioning
3. Cognitive mapping
4. Latent learning
5. Learned helplessness
6. Modeling
7. Behavior modification