classical conditioning

Classical conditioning
Results from presentation of conditioned stimulus with unconditioned stimulus.
Definition of Stimulus-
Unconditioned stimulus
Stimulus which reliably elicits a reflex-like response.
E.g., puff of air- eye blink, Pain- withdrawal, loud noise- startled response, food powder- salivation.
Unconditioned Response
Reflex-like response elicited by unconditioned stimulus
Eye blink
Withdrawal
Startle
Salivation
Conditioned stimulus
An originally neutral stimulus (does not elicit the UR) that when paired with US (number of times) leads to response similar to UR
E.g., tone, light taste
Conditioned Response
Response to CS that is similar to UR
E.g., eye blink, withdrawal, salivation
Examples of classical conditioning
Pavlov’s dogs (Russia )
CS – US—UR
Caretaker – food – Salivation
CS – CR
Caretaker – salivation
Twitmeyer’s patellar reflex (Pennsylvania)
CS – US – UR
CS—CR
Tone – tap tendon – knee jerk
Tone – leg movement
College student in dorm
CS—US – UR
CS – CR
Toilet flush – hot water – jump back
Toilet flush—jump back
Acquisition
Pair CS & US together
Extinction
Present CS alone
Spontaneous recovery
Reappearance of CR after extinction of the CR
Types of pairing
Forward conditioning CS – US
Backward conditioning US – CS  NOT EFFECTIVE
Simultaneous cond.  not effective
Stimulus generalization
Performance of learned response to stimuli similar to original training stimulus
E.g., Watson & Rayner
Little albert (1920)
CS  US  UR
CS CR
White rat  banging noise  scared
White rat  scared
Stimulus discrimination
Learning to make a response to a specific stimulus and not another (prevent stimulus generalization).
CS (rabbit)  US (none)
CS (rat)  US (noise)
Alternate
Applications of classical conditioning
Treatment of fears/ phobias
Extinction-
present feared stimulus alone
Spontaneous recovery can occur
Counterconditioning
E.g., peter
Condition a response