Classical Conditioning Lecture Notes

Behavioral Perspective in Psychology

• Focus on how an individual's actions are influenced by their environment.
• Learning through conditioning involves forming associations between events or responses.

Key Concepts in Classical Conditioning

Stimulus

• Stimulus: An event, object, or thing that triggers a reaction.
• Neutral Stimulus: Elicits no response initially.
• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): Naturally triggers a response without prior learning (e.g., a dog excited by a walk).
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Previously neutral stimulus that, after being paired with an UCS, triggers a learned response.
• Unconditioned Response (UCR): Natural response that occurs without learning.
• Conditioned Response (CR): Learned response to a conditioned stimulus.

Acquisition

• Developing a connection between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus.
• Example: Pavlov’s experiment with dogs, where a bell (neutral stimulus) is paired with food (unconditioned stimulus) causing the bell to become a conditioned stimulus eliciting salivation (conditioned response).

Extinction

• Occurs when the conditioned response diminishes after the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous Recovery

• The reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a pause.

Stimulus Generalization and Discrimination

• Stimulus Generalization: Similar stimuli to the original conditioned stimulus elicit the same response.
• Stimulus Discrimination: Learning to differentiate between the conditioned stimulus and other similar stimuli.

Higher Order Conditioning

• Also known as second-order conditioning.
• A new neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus by being paired with an already established conditioned stimulus.

Applications of Classical Conditioning

Counter Conditioning Therapy

• Helps clients unlearn harmful emotional responses.
• Replaces unwanted responses (e.g., fear) with more positive or neutral responses.

Taste Aversions

• Associating particular tastes with illness can lead to avoidance of those tastes.
• Occurs after one negative experience, known as one trial learning.
• Related to biological preparedness: the inclination to form associations that aid survival.

Habituation

• Gradual reduction in response to a stimulus when it is repeated over time.
• Differentiated from sensory adaptation, which is getting used to an unchanging stimulus.

Practice

• Practice problems and quizzes are available to reinforce understanding of conditioning concepts.

Tips for Further Study

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