Pavlov's Dogs: Classical Conditioning

Pavlov's Dogs

• Ivan Pavlov's famous experiment demonstrating classical conditioning
• Pavlov rang a bell every time he presented dogs with food, leading to:
  • Association between the bell (neutral stimulus) and food (unconditioned stimulus)
  • Salivation response to the bell alone (conditioned response)

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

• Natural response to an unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
• Unlearned, automatic response
• Example: salivation in response to food

Conditioned Response (CR)

• Learned response to a conditioned stimulus (CS)
• Acquired through association with the UCS
• Example: salivation in response to the bell alone

Stimulus Generalization

• Phenomenon where a conditioned response is elicited by similar stimuli
• Example: Pavlov's dogs salivating to similar sounds (e.g., a tone) after learning to associate the bell with food
• Demonstrates that classical conditioning can lead to responses to a range of stimuli

Extinction

• Process of eliminating a conditioned response by repeatedly presenting the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus
• Example: if Pavlov's dogs no longer received food after the bell, they would eventually stop salivating to the bell alone
• Extinction does not erase the learned association, but rather creates a new association between the CS and the absence of the UCS

Pavlov's Experiment

• Demonstrates classical conditioning, where a neutral stimulus (bell) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (food) to elicit an unconditioned response (salivation)
• Leads to association between the bell and food, and eventually salivation in response to the bell alone (conditioned response)

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

• Natural, automatic response to an unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
• Examples: salivation in response to food, blinking in response to a sudden noise

Conditioned Response (CR)

• Learned response to a conditioned stimulus (CS)
• Acquired through association with the UCS, and can be elicited by the CS alone
• Examples: salivation in response to the bell, sweating in response to a hot stove

Stimulus Generalization

• Phenomenon where a conditioned response is elicited by similar stimuli
• Results from classical conditioning, where the conditioned response is extended to stimuli similar to the original CS
• Example: salivation in response to similar sounds (e.g., tone) after learning to associate the bell with food

Extinction

• Process of eliminating a conditioned response by repeatedly presenting the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus
• Leads to a decrease in the conditioned response, but does not erase the learned association
• Example: if Pavlov's dogs no longer received food after the bell, they would eventually stop salivating to the bell alone

Classical Conditioning

Pavlov's Dogs

• Ivan Pavlov's experiment involved ringing a bell (neutral stimulus) before presenting food (unconditioned stimulus) to dogs.
• Initially, dogs salivated only at the sight of food, but after repeated pairing, they salivated at the sound of the bell alone, demonstrating classical conditioning.

Key Components

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US): naturally triggers a response without prior learning (e.g., food triggers salivation).
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): neutral stimulus that becomes associated with the US to elicit a conditioned response (e.g., bell).
• Unconditioned Response (UR): natural response to the US (e.g., salivation in response to food).
• Conditioned Response (CR): learned response to the CS (e.g., salivation in response to the bell).

Conditioned Response

• A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus that becomes associated with the US.
• Occurs after repeated pairing of the CS with the US.
• Examples: salivation in Pavlov's dogs, fear response to a specific sound.

Stimulus Generalization

• Phenomenon where the CR is elicited by stimuli similar to the CS.
• Examples: Pavlov's dogs salivating at the sound of a similar bell or a knocking sound.
• Indicates that the CR is not limited to the specific CS.

Extinction

• Process of eliminating the CR by repeatedly presenting the CS without the US.
• Example: Pavlov's dogs no longer salivating at the sound of the bell after repeated presentations without food.
• Extinction can be reversed by re-pairing the CS with the US.