Section 1: Classical Conditioning
CHAPTER 9: LEARNING
 PDN: Read page 284-285
 What is the best way to
learn?
 Learning: A relatively permanent
change in behavior (or behavioral
potential) due to experience.
 Experience is the greatest
teacher
Affect how the person is likely
to act in the future
 Behaviorism: An approach to psychology
that emphasizes the study of observable
behavior and the role of the environment as a
determinant of behavior.
 Focus of conditioning- involves associations
between environmental stimuli &
responses
 Two types
 Classical Conditioning
 Operant Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
 Ivan Pavlov was studying the salivation
in dogs
 Eventually the dogs would start
salivating just when brought to the
laboratory & saw an empty bowl
 Conditioned reflex because it
depended on environmental conditions
Pavlov’s Apparatus
 Harness and fistula (mouth tube) help keep
dog in a consistent position and gather
uncontaminated saliva samples
 They do not cause the dog discomfort
9-6
New Reflexes from Old
 Original salivary reflex- Unconditioned
response (UCR)
 Food- unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
UCS- any event or thing that elicits a
response automatically or reflexively
UCR- response that is automatically
produced
 Learning occurs when a neutral stimulus
becomes the conditioned stimulus (CS)
that is paired with a UCS
 A CS elicits a CR, which is usually similar
to the original unlearned one
 Classical Conditioning: The process by which
a previously neutral stimulus acquires the
capacity to elicit a response through
association with a stimulus that already
elicits a similar or related response.
9-9
Terms
 Conditioned Stimulus: An initially neutral
stimulus that comes to elicit a conditioned
response after being associated with an
unconditioned stimulus.
 Conditioned Response: A response that is
elicited by a conditioned stimulus
 it occurs after the conditioned stimulus is
associated with an unconditioned stimulus.
Principles of Classical
Conditioning
 Occurs in all species
 Acquisition
 A neutral stimulus
that is consistently
followed by an
unconditioned
stimulus will
become a
conditioned
stimulus.
Extinction
 The weakening &
eventual disappearance
of a learned response
 It occurs when the
conditioned stimulus is
no longer paired with the
unconditioned stimulus.
Wade and Tavris © 2005
Prentice Hall
9-12
 Spontaneous recovery- explains
why completely eliminating a CR
usually requires more than one
extinction session
Higher Order Conditioning
 A procedure in which a neutral stimulus
becomes a conditioned stimulus through
association with an already established
conditioned stimulus.
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 May explain why some words trigger
emotional response in us
 Ex: Birthdays
 May contribute to the formation of
prejudices
 Dumb Pollacks
Generalization & Discrimination
 Stimulus Generalization:
 After conditioning, the tendency to
respond to a stimulus that
resembles one involved in the
original conditioning.
 Ex: sounds
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 Stimulus Discrimination:
 The tendency to respond
differently to two or more
similar stimuli.
 Ex: difference between sounds
What is actually learned in
Classical Conditioning?
 To be most effective, the stimulus to be
conditioned should precede the UCS
 The CS becomes a signal for the UCS
 To become a CS, the neutral stimulus,
must reliably signal or predict the UCS
 Examples Review