Psychology Chapter on Classical Conditioning

Learning

• Our reactions to the environment are called classical conditioning.
• How we act in the environment is called operant conditioning.
• Observational learning is how we learn from observing the environment.

Classical Conditioning

• Ivan Pavlov is credited as the founder of Classical Conditioning.
• Pavlov's Dog Experiment demonstrated the ability of dogs to associate the sound of a bell with the presentation of food.
• This experiment helped scientists study human learning based on associations between two stimuli.

Elements of Classical Conditioning

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US): A stimulus that automatically elicits a response without prior learning (e.g., food).
• Unconditioned Response (UR): The automatic reaction to an unconditioned stimulus (e.g., salivation to food).
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): A neutral stimulus that becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus through learning (e.g., the bell).
• Conditioned Response (CR): The learned response to the conditioned stimulus (e.g., salivation to the bell).

Eye-Blink Experiment

• This experiment conditioned rabbits to blink their eyes in response to a tone.

Acquisition, Extinction, Spontaneous Recovery

• Acquisition: The process of strengthening a conditioned response through repeated pairings of the CS and US.
• Extinction: The weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response when the CS is presented repeatedly without the US.
• Spontaneous Recovery: The temporary return of an extinguished response after a period of rest.

Stimulus Generalization and Discrimination

• Stimulus Generalization: When a conditioned response to a specific stimulus becomes associated with other similar stimuli (e.g., a dog conditioned to fear a specific bell may fear similar sounds).
• Stimulus Discrimination: Learning to respond to one stimulus but not to another (e.g., a dog learned to salivate only to the specific bell sound).

Operant Conditioning

• Edward Thorndike is credited as the founder of the Law of Effect, which states that behaviors followed by rewards are more likely to be repeated.
• B.F. Skinner is the founder of Operant Conditioning which involves increasing a desired behavior by using rewards (reinforcement) or decreasing an undesired behavior through punishment.
• Skinner Box: A controlled environment used to study operant conditioning with mice.
• Pigeon Experiment: An experiment that demonstrated the use of operant conditioning to train a pigeon to turn in a specific direction.

Reinforcement and Shaping

• Reinforcement: A consequence that increases the likelihood of a behavior.
• Shaping: A process of using reinforcement to gradually mold behavior in the desired direction.
• Positive Punishment: The application of an unpleasant stimulus to decrease the likelihood of a behavior.
• Negative Punishment: The removal of a pleasant stimulus to decrease the likelihood of a behavior.

Bobo Doll Experiment

• Albert Bandura is credited with founding Observational Learning.
• This experiment involved children observing adults either attacking or ignoring an inflated "Bobo" doll. Children who observed aggressive behavior were more likely to exhibit aggression themselves.

Conditioned Taste Aversions

• This is a type of learning where individuals learn to avoid certain foods, especially unfamiliar ones, after experiencing nausea or illness in association with that food.

Primary and Secondary Reinforcers

• Primary Reinforcers: Unconditioned reinforcers that are inherently satisfying, such as food and water.
• Secondary Reinforcers: Conditioned reinforcers that derive their value from their association with primary reinforcers, such as money.
• Punishers: Consequences that decrease the likelihood of a behavior.