11 Flashcards
Reflex
a behaviour that is automatically elicited by an environmental stimulus
E.g., blink when something rapidly approaches your eye
Habituation
the reduction in response strength of a reflex over repeated presentations of the stimulus
Imagine you’re a circus performer => things being thrown at you everyday lowers and stops your reflex to duck and dodge
Classical conditioning (Pavlovian conditioning)
The learning of a new association between two previously unrelated stimuli
• We learn that a stimulus predicts a certain event and we respond accordingly.
• In classical conditioning, all responses are reflexes or autonomic responses that are elicited by environmental stimuli.
Unconditioned stimulus
A stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response without previous conditioning.
(meat in pavlov’s experiment)
Unconditioned response
An unlearned reaction to an unconditional stimulus (UCS) that occurs without previous conditioning
(drooling in pavlov’s experiment)
Conditioned stimulus
A previously neutral stimulus that has acquired the capacity to elicit a conditioned response (CR)
(bell in pavlov’s experiment)
Conditioned response
A learned reaction to an conditioned stimulus (CS) that occurs because of previous conditioning
(response to the bell Pavlov’s experiment)
Acquisition in classical conditioning
The process of acquiring a new association between stimuli (e.g., food + bell)
It takes a certain number of pairings for association to become clear
▫ The process of pairing a conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus.
▫ The conditioned stimulus will acquire the ability to elicit a conditioned response
How does conditioning effect us ?
Advertising
▫ Associations between products and other stimuli
can be formed through advertising
▫ The main aim is that these associations will lead to a change in behaviour (e.g. purchase the product)
What gets conditioned ?
• Classical conditioning can change behaviour, physiology, emotions, and/or cognition
Learning
Any enduring change in the way an organism responds, based on its experiences.
▫ Implies change/adaptation
▫ Necessary for survival
• Key issue: Learning cannot be observed
directly. It is inferred from behaviour that is observed.
Changes in behaviour
▫ Changes in behaviour
- e.g Salivation
- For humans can be the establishment of avoidance or
preferences
Changes in physiology
Increased heart rate, skin conductance responses and muscle tension during a conditioned stimulus paired with an aversive stimulus
Changes in emotion
Conditioned stimuli paired with an aversive event are rated as less pleasant and more arousing than they were before conditioning
Neutral stimuli paired with a “liked” stimulus becomes more liked after conditioning
Changes in cognition
- Increased expectancy of the unconditional stimulus when the conditional stimulus is presented (law of prediction)
- Formulation of plans or reactions to conditional stimulus (e.g. how to avoid impact of unconditional stimulus)
Conditioned taste aversion
• A learned aversion to a taste associated with an unpleasant feeling, usually nausea.
• Takes just one trial to develop
• Evolutionary adaptation
UCS (Toxic Event) => UCR (Nausea)
NS (Taste of Prawns) + UCS (Toxic Event) => UCR (Nausea)
CS (Taste of Prawns) => CR (Nausea)
Pavlov and his dogs
Used a bell to indicate the times of the day the dogs would be fed
- when they were shown the food and fed the dogs would drool
- eventually upon hearing the bell the dogs would drool, even without the presence of food
3 temporal relations
- Simultaneous conditioning
- forward conditioning
- backward conditioning
Simultaneous conditioning
UCS & CS begin end end together
Bell begins to ring at the same time the food is presented. Both begin, continue, and end at the same time.
Forward conditioning
CS begins just before UCS
Bell begins to ring and continues to ring as until food has been presented.
- Most effective temporal relation
Backward conditioning
UCS begins before CS begin
The food is presented, and then the bell rings
- Least effective temporal relation
Extinction in classical conditioning
- The weakening of the conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus.
- Bell, but no food
- Time taken to extinguish CR depends on the strength of the conditioned bond when extinction begins
- Extinction is not an unlearning of the conditioned response. It is a learned inhibition of responding.
- Important implications for treatment of phobias.
Phobias
• Behavioural treatment for phobia is based on extinction
▫ The fear is so strong this is usually done in steps through systematic desensitisation
step 1 photograph of a spider in a book
step 2 spider in a jar
step 3 holding spider in jar
step 4 spider on table
step 5 holding spider
Spontaneous recovery
▫ If there is a break after extinction, a conditional response will be shown upon another presentation of the conditioned stimulus
▫ This “spontaneous recovery” response will typically be smaller than before extinction
▫ The longer the delay, the larger the spontaneous recovery
Renewal effect
- If a CR is extinguished in an environment different to the real environment, then the extinguished response will re-appear when the animal (or person!) is returned to the real environment
- Spontaneous recovery and renewal effect suggest that extinction suppresses a CR but CR is not unlearned