Psychology Classical Conditioning Overview

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Questions and Answers

What is the primary focus of behaviorism according to John B. Watson?

Understanding the emotions associated with behavior.

The role of mental processes in learning.

The influence of genetics on behavior.

Observable behavior and prediction and control of behavior. (correct)

In classical conditioning, what is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS)?

The reflexive salivation from the dogs.

The sound of the tone that precedes food.

The food that naturally causes salivation. (correct)

The food dish presented to the dogs.

Which of the following best describes the acquisition phase in classical conditioning?

The final stage where the conditioned response diminishes.

The gradual process of associating the conditioned stimulus with the unconditioned response. (correct)

The process of learning through operant conditioning techniques.

The complete understanding of the mental processes involved in learning.

What did Pavlov's experiment reveal about dogs in relation to classical conditioning?

Dogs learned to associate a tone with the arrival of food and salivated in response. Signup and view all the answers

Why do researchers today agree with Watson's focus on observation?

It allows for objective measurement of behavior. Signup and view all the answers

In operant conditioning, how is behavior modified?

Through the association of behaviors with their consequences. Signup and view all the answers

What role does habituation play in learning with regards to stimuli?

Habituation results in a decreased response to repeated stimuli. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements about classical and operant conditioning is false?

Operant conditioning requires a neutral stimulus to create a response. Signup and view all the answers

What is the ideal time interval between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus for creating an association?

0.5 seconds Signup and view all the answers

What happens when the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are no longer presented together?

Extinction sets in Signup and view all the answers

Which concept describes the ability to respond differently to similar stimuli?

Discrimination Signup and view all the answers

How can classical conditioning be applied to human health?

It can help treat substance use disorders. Signup and view all the answers

What did Watson's experiment with Little Albert demonstrate?

Conditioned responses can be created from neutral stimuli. Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the phenomenon when a conditioned response re-emerges after a pause?

Spontaneous recovery Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for when an organism responds similarly to different but related stimuli?

Generalization Signup and view all the answers

Why is the order of stimulus presentation significant in classical conditioning?

It creates anticipatory effects. Signup and view all the answers

What did research reveal about biological constraints in classical conditioning?

Some responses are more easily conditioned than others. Signup and view all the answers

What is a potential outcome of higher order conditioning?

Weaker conditioned responses can occur. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Classical Conditioning Overview

Learning is adapting to the environment, acquiring information and behaviors through experience.
Learning involves associating events that occur in sequence.
Classical conditioning involves associating two stimuli presented close together, allowing anticipation of an event.
Operant conditioning associates behavior with its consequence, changing voluntary behaviors.
Pavlov's work founded behaviorism, focusing on observable behavior instead of mental processes.

Pavlov's Experiment

Pavlov, studying digestion, discovered classical conditioning accidentally.
Dogs naturally salivated (unconditioned response) to food (unconditioned stimulus).
Pavlov paired a neutral stimulus (e.g., a tone) with the food.
Repeated pairings led dogs to salivate (conditioned response) to the tone (conditioned stimulus) alone.
The tone became associated with the food, anticipating its arrival.

Acquisition and Higher-Order Conditioning

Acquisition is the initial learning of the association.
Optimal acquisition involves a half-second delay between the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus.
Higher-order conditioning involves associating a new neutral stimulus with a conditioned stimulus, creating a weaker conditioned response. This happens naturally (e.g., fear of a dog's bark and sight).

Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery

Extinction occurs when the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus.
The conditioned response weakens and eventually disappears.
Extinction suppresses, but does not eliminate, the conditioned response.
Spontaneous recovery shows a temporary reappearance of the conditioned response after a pause.

Generalization and Discrimination

Stimulus generalization is responding similarly to similar stimuli.
For example, fearing all moving vehicles after fearing a car.
Stimulus discrimination is distinguishing between similar but distinct stimuli.
This allows us to ignore irrelevant stimuli.

Importance of Pavlov's Work

Pavlov's work established the basis for studying learning objectively.
Classical conditioning is found in many species.
Neuroscience has identified neural pathways involving conditioned stimuli and unconditioned stimuli.
Classical conditioning is adaptive, enhancing survival.

Classical Conditioning in Human Health

Classical conditioning is used to treat substance use disorders by reducing associations between cues (e.g., situations) and drug use cravings.
Similar principles apply to food cravings (associated with pleasant experiences).
The taste of a drug can initiate an immune response without presence of the drug (conditioned association of taste and immune response).

Little Albert and Watson

Watson's Little Albert experiment demonstrated emotion conditioning.
A neutral stimulus (a rat) was paired with a frightening stimulus (loud noise), causing the child to fear the rat.
This experiment highlighted an importance of understanding emotions as learned responses.
Inspired counterconditioning techniques for fear reduction.

Biological Constraints on Conditioning

Classical conditioning is not universal; biological factors limit which associations are easily learned.
Some associations are learned faster than others. Different species learn differently to stimuli.

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Description

Explore the fundamentals of classical conditioning and its significance in learning theories. Understand Pavlov's experiments with dogs and how associations between stimuli can lead to conditioned responses. Delve into the concepts of acquisition and higher-order conditioning in this comprehensive overview.