4.1.1 classical conditioning Flashcards
What is classical conditioning
classical conditioning is learning through association and was discovered by Pavlov. It assumes learning is passive and is based on reflex behaviours that all human and animals have. It involves learning to associate a stimulus which brings about a response with a new stimulus So that it also brings about the same response
What is the neutral stimulus
Something in the environment which does not initially cause a response e.g. a dog and not normally salivate in response to a bell
Unconditioned stimulus definition
Anything that naturally has the power to produce a response in a human or animal e.g. the smell of food
Unconditioned response definition
A natural reflex response to an unconditioned stimulus like salivation in response to the presence of food
Condition stimulus definition
The neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus when it acquires the ability to produce a specific response eg bell
Conditioned response definition
I learned response to something that does not naturally have the power to produce a response e.g. salivating to the sound of a bell
What is the process of classical Conditioning
Before conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus produces an unconditioned response e.g. the food create the dog to salivate which is the unconditioned response
Before conditioning, the neutral stimulus produces no conditioned response e.g. the bell produced no salivation
During conditioning both the unconditioned stimulus and neutral stimulus produce an unconditioned response e.g. the bell and food together makes the dog salivate (ring the bell whilst food comes so dog learns to associate bell with food)
After conditioning, the condition stimulus, produces a conditioned response e.g. the dog now salivates at the Bell as a conditioned response
What is extinction
when the conditioned response declines and disappears because the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented In the absence of the unconditioned stimulus e.g. when the bell is presented repeatedly without food present the salivation will eventually disappear
What is spontaneous recovery
When the conditioned response reappears in a week in form in response to the condition stimulus e.g. the bill was wrong sometime later and the dog will salivate a little
What is generalisation
When stimuli similar to the condition stimulus produce the conditioned response e.g. the dog was salivate to similar stimuli like doorbell
Discrimination definition
The conditioned response is only produced in response to the condition stimulus and not to similar stimuli for example the dog will only salivate in response to the specific bell is been conditioned
Evaluate classical conditioning in terms of credibility
There is a lot of research in support of classical conditioning, including the studies by Pavlov 1927 and watson and rayner in 1920. this research isn’t just from the start of the 20th century It continues to the present day with brain scanning revealing the ward centres in the brain that activate when pleasant associations are formed
moreover a lot of this research is strictly scientific, being carried out on animals in lab conditions or using brain imaging techniques like MRI. Because the theory only looks at behaviours rather than cognitions, Every step in the condition in process is observable and this adds credibility to the theory since you can see it happen with your own eyes
Evaluate classical conditioning in terms of objections (weaknesses)
Although research on dogs and animals shows conditioning taking place, generalised in the conclusions to human learning is not so clear cut. For one thing, there are other learning theories like operant conditioning and social learning theory, and it is usually difficult to tell whether one or the other is largely responsible when something is learned.
The theory focuses entirely on the nurture side of the nature/nurture debate. It is possible some people are born with predispositions towards behaviour like addiction, rather than learning them through conditioning.
this theory also focus entirely on behaviours and ignores cognitions. Cognitions our thought processes and include things like personality, will power and motivation. Freud, argue that a lot of self-destructive behaviour comes from hidden thought processes in the unconscious mind and are not learned and cannot be learned so easily
Evaluate classical conditioning in terms of real-world application
just like operant conditioning, classical conditioning has produced effective treatments for problem behaviours e.g. aversion therapy and systematic desensitisation. Classical condition has always had huge applications for therapy, especially the treatment of irrational or instinctive problems like phobias and addictions. Aversion therapy works by associating a dysfunctional behaviour like drinking with an unconditioned response to produce a conditioned response. If successful the condition stimulus will produce nausea whenever drink is present
