Review from last class….
 Higher order conditioning
 Overshadowing (Stimulus Features)
 Blocking & Latent Inhibition (Prior Experience)
Higher Order Conditioning
second-order CS
first-order CS
tone (CS1)
food (US)
Light (CS2)
 Need to maintain 1st order conditioning
 Tone-Food
Phase 1:
ToneFood
Phase 2:
LightTone
ToneFood
But what would happen to
the Tone?
- Extinction!
 Note that Light is still never directly paired with food!
Overshadowing (Stimulus Features)
 A more salient stimulus will interfere with learning
about less salient stimuli
 e.g. compound stimuli
 Loud noise & dim light  food
 Light not learned about
Blocking (Prior Experience)
 Novel stimuli presented in compound with an existing
CS will not be learned about
 CS must be informative (i.e. add new information)
 Light won’t be learned about
Latent Inhibition (Prior Experience)
 Pre-exposure to a CS makes it harder to condition
 Learn first that CS does not signal US
MORE TRIALS!
Phase 1:
Buzzer  No Food
Phase 2:
Buzzer  Food
“Regular” Classical
Conditioning:
Buzzer  Food
Pavlovian (Classical) Applications
Conditioned Suppression
 Conditional Response (CR) involves suppress behaviour that
would otherwise be performed
1) Train rat to press bar for food
2) Classical Conditioning: Pair light with shock
 Scared rats “freeze”
 i.e. when shock is coming, the rat will freeze
 While the rat is “frozen with fear”, it will NOT be pushing the bar
 After conditioning, the rat should freeze in response to the light
(CR)
 Compare the amount of bar pressing when light is off and when
light is on
Conditioned Emotional Response
 Emotional reactions
 Learned
 Classical conditioning
Little Albert
 Watson & Rayner (1920)
 Hard line behaviourist
 Nature vs Nurture
 Fear previously thought to be:
 Innate
 Faulty reasoning
 Initial studies showed that infants NOT afraid of many
“innately frightening” stimuli
 E.g. snakes, fire, rats
 Conditioned fear
Methodology
 Albert (11 months old)
 Present rat … observe
 No initial fear
 Present rat … bang metal bar (loud noise)
 UR = startle
 Present rat … Albert cries, avoids
 CR
 Present other furry objects
 generalization
Terminology
 US = noise
 UR = startle response/fear
 CS = rat
 CR = fear/avoidance
Conclusions
 Fear response produced through classical conditioning
 Watson suggests fear, hate, love conditionable
Albert Issues
 Sample size
 Replication
 Generalization to other objects
Prejudice
 Prejudice related to hate and fear
 Hate and fear conditionable
 Staats & Staats (1958)
 Paired positive, negative, neutral words with
nationalities
 Subjects rate nationalities
 Ratings correspond with conditioning
In real life…
 Where do these associations come from?
 Political speeches
 Media coverage
 Negative images, words, impressions paired with
identifiable group
Counter Conditioning
 Mary Cover Jones (1924)
 Eliminate phobia via classical conditioning
 Peter feared rabbits
 Peter eats snack (US) … present rabbit (CS)
 Associate positive US with CS
Systematic Desensitization
 A type of Counter-conditioning
 Also Aversion therapy
 Relaxation techniques
 Gradual introduction of phobic stimulus
 Imagination up to real situation
Flooding
 “Flood” patient with exposure to fear-inducing
stimulus
 Not counter-conditioning
 Kind of like habituation but…
 … not discreet trials!
First-Order C.C. in Ads
 Product (initially neutral --> CS)
 Pair with stimulus that elicits positive emotion (US)
 Consumer sees product, has positive CR
Example
 Sausages
 US = funny situation
 UR = happiness
 CS = brand
 CR = happiness, amusement, positive emotion
Example
Second-Order C.C.
 Use previously conditioned celebrity, situation, etc.
 CS1 & US
 Now, pair brand (CS2) with CS1
Example
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Sprint
Peyton Manning = CS1
Positive feeling = CR
Attractive, successful, lifestyle = US
Positive feeling = UR
Sprint mobility = CS2
Assumption: buy phone, be rich, popular, laser rocket
arm
Example
 Japander.com
 Brad Pitt and 503 Jeans
 Pitt (CS1), leading man, celebrity, rich, pretty = desirable
(US), 503s (CS2)
 Performance-void
Problems
 Celebs don’t always maintain status
 Tom Cruise spoof
 Michael Jackson
Paraphilia
 “Incorrect love”
 Fetishism, masochism, pedophilia, etc.
 More common in males
 Freud: unconscious forces
 Classical conditioning: association formed
Example: Masochism
 Generally, CS is previously neutral
 But, a US, by pairing with another strong US, can
become a CS
 Pavlov: shock (CS) for food (US)
 Masochism: pain (CS) for sexual pleasure (US)
Counter Conditioning
 Pair undesired CS with strongly aversive US (e.g.,
nausea)
 Aversion therapy
 Awareness not
necessary for
conditioning
Treatment
 Very difficult with some types of paraphilia
 Pedophilia, rape?
 Evolutionary Psychology
 Male attraction to youthfulness
 Desire for dominance and power
Typically
 Long-delay or trace conditioning
 US is food poisoning, illness, etc.
 UR is nausea induced pain
 CS is novel food/flavour
 CR is avoidance, nausea
 Violation of contiguity?
Explanations?
 Sensitization
 Aftertaste
 Biological preparedness
 Taste aversion a special case
Biological Preparedness in
Taste-Aversion
 Garcia & Koelling (1966)
Explanation
 Biological predisposition
 Taste and nausea
 Audiovisual and shock
 Must know about CS-US relationship before predicting
nature of CR
 Certain stimuli more easily associated than others
Allergic Reaction
 Release of histamines
 Body’s immune response to allergens
 Not all allergic responses biological
 Can be learned
Examples
 Patient sneezes when presented artificial rose
 Allergies to pets; sometimes not as bad if don’t know if
pets are in house
Russell et al. (1984)
 Expose guinea pigs to BSA
 Becomes allergen (US for histamine release)
 Pair BSA with odour of fish or sulphur (CSs)
 Expose guinea pigs to odours and get increased
histamines (CR) in bloodstream
 Preparatory value of classical conditioning