Psychology Flashcards: Classical Conditioning

Classical Conditioning Concepts

• Pavlov: A prominent behaviorist known for his experiments with dogs, demonstrating classical conditioning by making them salivate at the sound of a bell.
• Unconditioned Stimulus (US): A naturally occurring stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response without prior conditioning, such as food causing salivation.
• Unconditioned Response (UR): The automatic, natural reaction to an unconditioned stimulus, exemplified by salivation in response to food in the mouth.
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): An initially neutral stimulus that, when paired with an unconditioned stimulus, eventually triggers a conditioned response, such as a bell sound.
• Conditioned Response (CR): The learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus, which occurs after conditioning, like dogs salivating at the sound of the bell.
• Higher Order Conditioning: Introducing an additional neutral stimulus that becomes associated with the conditioned stimulus, enabling the conditioned response to occur in response to the new stimulus, for instance, a flash of light preceding the bell.
• Taste Aversion: A specific learned behavior where individuals develop a strong aversion toward particular foods, often due to a negative experience (e.g., illness).
• Generalization: Drawing broader conclusions based on specific examples or experiences, often leading to similar responses to stimuli that resemble the original conditioned stimulus.
• Discrimination: The ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus, enhancing specificity in responses.
• Acquisition: The initial phase in classical conditioning where a neutral stimulus is linked with an unconditioned stimulus, starting to elicit a conditioned response; also relates to strengthening responses in operant conditioning.
• Extinction: The process whereby a conditioned response diminishes over time when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus.
• Interstimulus Interval: The time gap between the presentation of the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus, critical for effective conditioning.
• Spontaneous Recovery: The phenomenon where a previously extinguished conditioned response reappears after a pause, indicating that conditioning effects may linger.