Classical conditioning is a learning theory that allows an organism to associate a new stimulus with a response, thereby producing the same reaction.
Ivan Pavlov's Experiment (1890)
Background: Pavlov discovered classical conditioning while studying the digestion process in dogs.
Experiment process:
Initially, when researchers appeared, dogs began to salivate.
Pavlov repeated the process where dogs would eat when they heard a metronome bell sound.
Eventually, even without food, the dogs would salivate just by hearing the bell sound.
Conclusion:
Food acts as an unconditioned stimulus, directly triggering saliva secretion.
The bell sound, as a conditioned stimulus, learned to trigger a conditioned reflex through its association with food.
Characteristics of Classical Conditioning
The best learning effect occurs when the shortest time interval between the sound and the food is present.
The composition of saliva triggered by sound differs from that triggered by food, indicating that a conditioned reflex is different from an unconditioned reflex.
Classical conditioning cannot be used to train new behaviors, only to trigger involuntary physiological responses.
Conditioned reflexes can be extinguished through the principle of extinction.
Nervous System and Classical Conditioning
When dogs see food, visual and olfactory stimuli activate the brain, triggering the salivary glands.
When hearing the sound, the ears send signals to the brain, but initially do not trigger secretion.
When visual, olfactory, and auditory stimuli are activated simultaneously, new synaptic connections form, enabling the sound stimulus to independently cause saliva secretion.
Practical Application of Classical Conditioning
Experiment: By repeatedly associating a certain action (like tapping the table) with a response (like movement), the establishment of a conditioned reflex is tested.
Discussion: The effectiveness and application of classical conditioning, such as its use in psychological manipulation in advertisements.
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