Chapter 9 Classical
Conditioning
Introduction to Psychology
Virginia Union University
Learning & Behavior
• Learning
• A relatively enduring or permanent change in behavior or
knowledge that results from previous experience with certain
stimuli and responses
• Behavior
• Any observable responses
Classical Conditioning
• Classical Conditioning (Ivan Pavlov)
• Kind of learning where a neutral stimulus acquires the ability to
produce a response that was originally produced by a different
stimulus
• Automatic & unconscious response/reflex
• Pavlov & his salivating dogs
• Selecting Stimulus & Response
• Before conditioning: NS (bell) = NR (no salivation)
• Establishing Classical Conditioning
• During conditioning: NS (bell) + UCS (food) = UCR (salivating dog)
• Testing for Conditioning
• After conditioning: CS (bell) = CR (salivating dog)
• Dog salivation also called a conditioned reflex
Classical Conditioning
Examples
• Aftershave & Anxiety
• Before conditioning: NS (Aftershave) = NR (No Anxiety)
• During conditioning: NS (Aftershave) + UCS (Dental Procedure) =
UCR (Anxiety)
• After conditioning: CS (Aftershave) = CR (Anxiety)
• Anxiety also called a conditioned reflex
• Needles & Fear
• Before conditioning: NS (Needle) = NR (No Fear)
• During conditioning: NS (Needle) + UCS (Injection) = UCR (Fear)
• After conditioning: CS (Needle) = CR (Fear)
• Fear also called a conditioned reflex
Explaining Classical
Conditioning
• Stimulus Substitution
• A neutral bond or association forms in the brain between the neutral
stimulus and unconditioned stimulus. After repeated trials, the
neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus and acts like a
substitute for the unconditioned stimulus. Thereafter, the
conditioned stimulus elicits a conditioned response that is similar to
that of the unconditioned stimulus.
• Contiguity Theory
• Two stimuli are paired close together in time (are contiguous). As a
result of this contiguous pairing, the neutral stimulus becomes the
conditioned stimulus, which elicits the conditioned response.
• Cognitive Perspective
• An organism learns a predictable relationship between two stimuli
such that the occurrence of one stimulus predicts the occurrence of
another. Classical conditioning occurs because the organism learns
what to expect.
Operant Conditioning
• Operant Conditioning (BF Skinner)
• Kind of learning in which the consequences that follow some
behavior increases or decreases the likelihood of that behavior’s
occurrence in the future
• Reinforcement & punishment
• Thorndike’s Law of Effect: if some random actions are followed by a
pleasurable consequence or reward, such actions are strengthened
and will likely occur in the future (ex: Cat’s goal-directed behavior)
• 4 types
•
•
•
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Positive Reinforcement
Negative Reinforcement
Punishment
Extinction
Operant Conditioning: Positive
Reinforcement
• Positive Reinforcement
• A particular behavior is strengthened by the consequence of
experiencing a positive condition
• Positive Reinforcement Examples
• A hungry rat presses a bar in its cage and receives food. The food
is a positive condition for the hungry rat. The rat presses the bar
again and again receives food. The rat’s behavior of pressing the
bar is strengthened by the consequence of receiving food.
• A student studies for a course and receives a good grade. The
good grade is a positive condition for the student. The student
continues to study and again receives good grades. The student’s
behavior of studying is strengthened by the consequence of
receiving good grades.
Operant Conditioning:
Negative Reinforcement
• Negative Reinforcement
• A particular behavior is strengthened by the consequence of stopping or
avoiding a negative condition
• Negative Reinforcement Examples
• A rat is placed in a cage and immediately receives a mild electrical shock on
its feet. The shock is a negative condition for the rat. The rat presses a bar
and the shock stops. The rat receives another shock, presses the bar again,
and again the shock stops. The rat’s behavior of pressing the bar is
strengthened by the consequence of stopping the shock.
• A driver parks their car on the street and receives a parking ticket in the
amount of $20. The parking ticket is a negative condition for the driver. The
driver pays $1 to the parking meter and stops receiving parking tickets. The
driver receives another parking ticket, pays the parking meter, and the tickets
again stop. The driver’s behavior of paying the parking meter is strengthened
by the consequence of preventing receiving parking tickets.
Operant Conditioning:
Punishment
• Punishment
• A particular behavior weakened by the consequence of experiencing
a negative condition
• Punishment Examples
• A rat presses a bar in its cage and receives a mild electrical shock on
its feet. The shock is a negative condition for the rat. The rat presses
the bar again and again receives a shock. The rat’s behavior of
pressing the bar is weakened by the consequence of receiving a
shock.
• A driver speeds through a known speed trap and receives a speeding
ticket. The speeding ticket is a negative condition for the driver. The
driver speeds through the speed trap again and receives another
speeding ticket. The driver’s behavior of speeding through the speed
trap is weakened by the consequence of receiving a speeding ticket.
Operant Conditioning:
Extinction
• Extinction
• A particular behavior is weakened by the consequence of not
experiencing a positive condition or stopping a negative condition
• Extinction Examples
• A rat presses a bar in its cage and nothing happens. Neither a
positive or a negative condition exists for the rat. The rat presses the
bar again and again nothing happens. The rat’s behavior of pressing
the bar is weakened by the consequence of not experiencing
anything positive or stopping anything negative.
• A guy uses corny pick-up lines on women and they don’t respond
“Girl, you must be from Tennessee, cause you’re the only ten I see….”
The guys uses a similar line again and again nothing happens. The
guy’s behavior of using corny pick-up lines on women is weakened by
the consequence of not receiving a response from women.
Different kinds of Learning
• Cognitive Learning (Albert Bandura)
• A kind of learning that involves mental processes, such as
attention and memory; may be learned through observation or
imitation; and may not involve any external rewards or require
the person to perform any observable behaviors
• Learning through observation & imitation
• Bandura & Bobo doll study
• Children learned to behave aggressively after watching and
imitating the aggressive behaviors of adults
Other 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. Usually, the more similar
the new stimulus to the original conditioned stimulus, the larger will be the
conditioned response.
• Example: Response to aftershave generalized to shampoo
• Discrimination
• Occurs during classical conditioning when an organism learns to make a particular
response to some stimuli and not to others
• Example: Response to aftershave and not to nail polish
• Extinction (previously mentioned)
• Spontaneous Recovery
• The tendency for the conditioned response to reappear after being extinguished
even though there have been no further conditioning trials
• Example: Conditioned anxiety to the smell of aftershave spontaneously returns
after a run-in with the dentist
Adaptive Value & Uses
• Adaptive Value
• The usefulness of certain abilities or traits that have evolved in
animals and humans and tend to increase their chances of survival,
such as finding food, acquiring mates, and avoiding pain and injury
• Examples
• Taste-Aversion Learning
• Associating a particular sensory cue (smell, taste, sound or sight) with
getting sick and thereafter avoiding that particular sensory cue in the
future
• Is the smell of rotten or spoiled food appealing?
• Example: getting drunk & throwing up
• Preparedness
• Phenomenon that animals and humans are biologically prepared to
associate some combinations of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli
more easily than others
• Example: rats more sensitive to taste/smell taste aversion compared to
light cues
Conditioning Emotional
Responses
• Conditioned Emotional Response
• Feeling some positive or negative emotion, such as happiness,
fear, or anxiety, when experiencing a stimulus that initially
accompanies a pleasant or painful event
• Examples:
• John Watson, Little Albert & the rat
• Laugh tracks vs. scary movie instrumentals
Cultural Diversity & Classical
Conditioning
• Dental care & cultural differences in dental fear
• More fear in countries where dental care is not free/universal and more
likely to occur when absolutely necessary and potentially where pain is
involved (i.e. US & Japan) compared to countries where dental care is
free/universal & routine (i.e. Scandinavian countries)
• Racial differences & perceptions of police officers
• Races that are more likely to be racially profiled/have negative
experiences with police officials more likely to have
negative/fearful perceptions of the police compared to races that
are less likely to be racially profiled
Systematic Desensitization
• Procedure based on classical conditioning in which a person
imagines or visualizes fearful or anxiety-evoking stimuli and then
immediately uses deep relaxation to overcome the anxiety .
Systematic desensitization is a form of counterconditioining because
it replaces, or counters, fear and anxiety with relaxation.
• Systematic Desensitization in Action
• Fear of Spiders
• Develop relaxation techniques
• Practice relaxation techniques while thinking about spiders until the
thought no longer produces feelings of fear
• Practice relaxation techniques while viewing a picture of spiders until the
pictures no longer produce feelings of fear
• Practice relaxation techniques while watching a movie about spiders until
the visual no longer produces feelings of fear
• Practice relaxation techniques while in the room with a caged spider until
the presence of a spider no longer produces feelings of fear
• Etc.