Modules 9 &10 cover:
The process of learning: a
long-lasting if not
permanent change in
behavior as a result of
experience
Module 9
Classical Conditioning
1st of (3) patterns of learning we
will explore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhqumfpxuzI
THREE KINDS OF LEARNING
1. Classical conditioning:
– a kind of learning in which a neutral stimulus
acquires the ability to produce a response that
was originally produced by different stimulus
Ex: With Teacher (x), lot of red ink on a paper signified
you failed and you began to panic. Now that you
have teacher (y), you get a paper back with a lot of
red ink (however this teacher makes a lot of positive
comments), yet you begin to feel panic come over
you. You are conditioned to red ink.
THREE KINDS OF LEARNING
2. Operant conditioning:
– learning that relies on the consequences that
follow the behavior which either increase or
decrease the likelihood that the behavior will
continue
Ex: If a salesman gets a bonus after every sale, the
likelihood is that the salesman will strive to keep
what?
THREE KINDS OF LEARNING
3. Cognitive learning:
– learning that involves mental processes such
as attention and memory;learned through
observation and imitation;paradoxically it does
not require the behavior to be rewarded
Ex: A young child regularly observes her mother twirling
her hair whenever she reads;curious as to why her
mother does this, the young child begins to do the
same whenever she reads in class
IVAN PAVLOV
• Ivan Pavlov:
– conducted experiments with dogs where he:
1. Pavlov rang a bell before putting food in a dogs
mouth.
2. after numerous trials of pairing the food and bell,
the dog salivated to the sound of the bell
3. For the dogs this became a conditioned reflex
PROCEDURES OF: CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
• Step 1: Choosing stimulus and response
Neutral stimulus
• a stimulus that causes a sensory response, such as
being seen, heard, or smelled, but does not produce the
reflex being tested
• Ex: perfume/cologne
Unconditioned stimulus
• USC, some stimulus that triggers or elicits a
physiological reflex, such as salivation or eye blink
• Ex: the presence of someone you have a crush on
Unconditioned response
• UCR, unlearned, innate, involuntary physiological reflex
that is elicited by the unconditioned stimulus
• Ex: when you see this person you become nervous, you
sweat, your heart beats faster
PROCEDURES OF: CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
• Step 2: Establishing classical conditioning
Neutral stimulus
• During trial, pair neutral stimulus (bell/perfume) with the
unconditioned stimulus (food/individual)
Unconditioned stimulus
• seconds after the (bell/perfume), the (food/individual) is
presented as the UCS
Unconditioned response
• UCS (food/individual) elicits the
UCR (salivation/sweats, nervousness)
PROCEDURES OF: CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
• Step 3: Testing for conditioning
Conditioned stimulus
• CS, formerly the neutral stimulus that has acquired the
ability to elicit a response that was previously elicited by
the unconditioned stimulus. Ex: the perfume now has the
same effect as the mere sight of the person you desire
Conditioned response
• CR, (salivation/nervousness, sweats), formerly brought
on by UCS (food/person), is now elicited simply by
hearing the (bell), or smelling that persons
(cologne/perfume)
OTHER CLASSICAL CONDITIONING CONCEPTS
Generalization
– tendency for a stimulus that is similar to the
original conditioned stimulus to elicit a response
that is similar to the conditioned response
Ex: perfumes/colognes that are similar to the one
your object of affection wore
Discrimination
– occurs during classical conditioning when an
organism learns to make a particular response to
some stimuli but not to others
Ex: the smell of Lysol or deodorant will not cause
your CR (conditioned response)
OTHER CLASSICAL CONDITIONING CONCEPTS
Extinction
– refers to a procedure in which a conditioned
stimulus is repeatedly presented without the
unconditioned stimulus and, as a result, the
conditioned stimulus tends to no longer elicit the
conditioned response
Ex: everybody is wearing the perfume/cologne so it
losses its effect on you
Spontaneous recovery
– tendency for the conditioned response to
reappear after being extinguished even though
there have been no further conditioning trials
Ex: months later, you smell the perfume/cologne and
you instantly become excited
REAL-WORLD OCCURRENCES
Taste aversion learning
– refers to associating a particular sensory cue
(smell, tastes, sound, or sight) with getting sick
and thereafter avoiding that particular sensory
cue in the future
Examples:
1. Eating something (4 cheese pizza), then
becoming ill; conditioning you to feel ill every time
you see smell (4 cheese pizza)
2. Over-drinking (and getting sick) from a specific
type of alcohol; forces you to avoid that drink
3. Eating something poisonous; some researchers
believe we are wired to develop taste aversions to
poisons?
ADAPTIVE VALUES & USES: How is CC useful?
CONDITIONED EMOTIONAL RESPONSE
– Feeling some positive or negative emotion, such
as happiness, fear, or anxiety, when experiencing
a stimulus that initially accompanied a pleasant or
painful event.
Examples:
1. years from now you will feel nostalgic when
hearing a song played at your prom.
2. You become instantly frightened when you
see/hear a police car behind you.
3. You remember the smell of a funeral home
experienced after losing someone special.
Theories of EXPLANATION FOR CC
• Theories of classical conditioning
– Stimulus substitution
• stimulus substitution means that a neural bond
or association forms in the brain between the
neutral stimulus (bell) and unconditioned
stimulus (food)
The bell
Substitutes for
the food
Theories of EXPLANATION FOR CC
• Cognitive perspective
- says that an organism learns a predictable
relationship between two stimuli such that the
occurrence of one stimulus (neutral stimulus)
predicts the occurrence of another
(unconditioned stimulus)
the perfume
predicts that your
heartthrob will be
arriving soon
Stimulus Substitution Theory
Contiguity Theory
Cognitive Perspective
Stimulus Substitution:
A neutral bond or association forms in the brain
between the NS and UCS. After repeated trials, the
NS becomes the CS and acts like a substitute for the
UCS. Thereafter , the CS elicits a CR that is similar to
that of the UCR.
Contiguity Theory:
Classical Conditioning occurs because 2 stimuli (NS
and UCS) are paired close together in time (are
contiguous. As a result of this stimulus, which elicits
the CR.
Cognitive Perspective:
An organism learns a predictable relationship between
2 stimuli such that the occurrence of one stimulus (NS)
predicts the occurrence of another (UCS). In other
words, classical conditioning occurs because the
organism learns that to expect.
Ex.
Bell Substitutes for food
Ex.
Seeing a Pizza is paired closely in time
with eating it
Ex.
The bell predicts food is coming
Little Albert
Little Albert
Little Albert Experiment
– In the early 1920s J.Watson introduced a 9 month-old child
to a famous experiment highlighting the theory of C.C.
Steps:
1. Albert has no fear or rage towards rats, rabbits, dogs or
anything w/white fur.
2. Watson begins to condition Albert so that whenever he sees
a white rat (NS)he bangs a hammer on a metal bar (UCS)
he cries (UCR).
3. After multiple experiences, whenever Albert sees the rat
(now the CS) he begins to cry (CR) even if there is no
accompanying metal bang.
4. The end observable result indicated that attached to little
Albert’s fear of the rat was also fear or (generalization)
towards anything that resembled the rat.
Systematic Desensitization Procedure; Three Steps
Step 1: Learning to Relax
Ex.
Relaxing sets of muscles at a time on cue.
Step 2: Making an Anxiety Hierarchy
Step 3: Imagining and Relaxing
Ex.
Ex.
A list of things that are stressful, listing them in Combining the relaxation and imagining the list
order.
of stressful things going through each thing on
the list.