Unit 6:
Learning
Mr. McCormick
A.P. Psychology
Essential Question
How is behavior
influenced by one’s environment,
rewards/punishments,
and social interactions?
Unit 6 (A):
Classical Conditioning
Mr. McCormick
A.P. Psychology
Do-Now
(Discussion)

What is learning as a psychological process?

What are some ways that people and
animals learn from their environments?

How can learning change one’s thoughts
and behavior?
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

Classical Conditioning:
Association of two separate stimuli
 Ivan Pavlov
 John B. Watson
 John Garcia


Operant Conditioning:
Association of a response and its consequences
 B.F. Skinner

Associative Learning
(Create List in Journal)


Consider the following stimuli:
With what do you typically associate each stimuli?
The sight of dark clouds =
 The sound of a marching band =
 The taste of chicken soup =
 The smell of hotdogs and hamburgers =
 The feel of the warm sun on your skin =

Why Do We Associate?

Why do we typically associate such events with
one another?


They typically occur with/as a result of one another
Natural Stimulus elicits Natural Response

(e.g. dark clouds = “rain”)
Associative Learning:
Classical Conditioning
Learning to associate one stimulus with another
Associative Learning:
Operant Conditioning
Learning to associate a response with a consequence
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”
Ivan Pavlov
(1849-1936)
Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
 Why
might psychologists be
interested in studying Classical
Conditioning in humans and
animals?
 How
does Classical Conditioning
promote an organism’s survival?
Classical Conditioning
 What
are some examples of things that
you have been classically conditioned
to respond to?
 What
are some examples of things that
your pets have been classically
conditioned to respond to?
Review

What is Classical Conditioning?


How does it suggest that we learn?
Differentiate between the following:
Neutral Stimulus
 Unconditioned Stimulus (US)
 Unconditioned Response (UR)
 Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
 Conditioned Response (CR)

Homework

Unit 6 Key People:

Research Study Response # 10: “Little
Emotional Albert” (Pgs. 72-78)

Unit 6 Quiz: “Learning”