Classical Conditioning Concepts

Learning in Classical Conditioning

• Learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in knowledge or behavior due to experience.

Key Concepts of Classical Conditioning

• Classical conditioning is a learning process where a neutral stimulus gains the ability to elicit a response after being associated with an unconditioned stimulus.

Unconditioned Stimulus and Response

• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): Automatically elicits a specific unconditioned response without prior learning.
• Unconditioned response (UCR): An automatic, unlearned response triggered by the unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus and Response

• Conditioned stimulus (CS): Initially neutral stimulus that elicits a learned response after being paired with the UCS.
• Conditioned response (CR): The learned reaction to the conditioned stimulus.

Advanced Conditioning Concepts

• Higher-order conditioning involves a neutral stimulus becoming a conditioned stimulus by being paired with an already established conditioned stimulus.
• Stimulus generalization occurs when a conditioned response is elicited by stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus.
• Stimulus discrimination enables an organism to distinguish between the conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli, responding only to the conditioned stimulus.

Extinction and Recovery

• Extinction refers to the process where the conditioned response diminishes when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus.
• Spontaneous recovery is the unexpected reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a period of absence.

Conditioned Taste Aversion

• Conditioned taste aversion occurs when an association is made between a specific taste and subsequent gastrointestinal distress, leading to an aversion to that taste.