Mr. Sin's AP Psychology Lecture: Classical Conditioning

Introduction

• Presenter: Mr. Sin
• Topic: Classical Conditioning
• Purpose: To help students understand classical conditioning for AP Psychology.

Key Concepts

Stimulus and Response

• Stimulus: An event or thing that triggers a specific reaction.
• Types of Stimuli:
  • Neutral Stimulus (NS): Elicits no response from subject (e.g., light on screen without mention).
  • Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): Naturally triggers a response (e.g., loud bang causing a startle).
  • Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Neutral stimulus paired with UCS to trigger a conditioned response (e.g., light paired with a loud bang).

Responses

• Unconditioned Response (UCR): Natural response to UCS, not needing to be learned (e.g., jumping at a loud sound).
• Conditioned Response (CR): Learned response to a previously neutral stimulus (e.g., jumping at the light after conditioning).

Classical Conditioning Process

• Definition: Learning where an individual associates two stimuli, leading to similar responses to both.
• Pavlov's Experiment:
  • Setup: Dogs, bell, and food.
  • Outcome: Bell (NS) initially elicits no response, food (UCS) causes salivation (UCR). After conditioning, bell alone elicits salivation (CR).

Important Terms in Classical Conditioning

Acquisition

• Process: CS is presented just before or with UCS, forming an association.

Extinction

• Process: CS is repeatedly presented without UCS, diminishing the conditioned response.

Spontaneous Recovery

• Definition: Reappearance of the CR after a delay, post-extinction.

Stimulus Generalization

• Definition: Responding to stimuli similar to the CS (e.g., different bell tones causing salivation).

Stimulus Discrimination

• Definition: Ability to distinguish between different stimuli; only responding to specific CS (e.g., different tone not causing salivation).

Higher Order Conditioning (Second Order Conditioning)

• Process: New neutral stimulus paired with existing CS, creating a new CS without UCS (e.g., light paired with bell, leading to salivation when light is on).

Conclusion

• Review: Overview of classical conditioning and related processes and terms.
• Additional Resources: Check Mr. Sin's Ultimate Review Packet for more help in psychology.
• Closing: Encouragement to continue learning and preparing for the AP Psychology exam.
• Contact: Mr. Sin for more educational content.