4.1.1 classical conditioning

Question 1

what is classical conditioning?

Answer 1

learning through association

Question 2

what is an unconditioned stimulus?

Answer 2

a stimulus that produces a natural, unlearned response.

Question 3

what is an unconditioned response?

Answer 3

an unlearned response that occurs naturally without any form of learning (a reflex).

Question 4

what is a neutral stimulus?

Answer 4

a stimulus that does not produce a response, without association

Question 5

what is a conditioned response?

Answer 5

a behaviour that is shown in response to a learned stimulus

Question 6

what is a conditioned stimulus?

Answer 6

a stimulus that only produce the ‘target’ response after it has been paired with the UCS

Question 7

3 steps of classical conditioning

Answer 7

Step 1 - Before conditioning (learning)
unconditioned stimulus produces reflex unlearned response (uncondtioned response) e.g. salivation, anxiety. ns produces no reponse

Step 2 - During conditioning (learning)
NS + UCS produces UCR

Step 3 - After conditioning (learning)
following pairing, NS produces the same response as the UCS. NS is now a conditioned stimulus (CS) and the response to it is called a conditioned response (CR)

ucs = ucr (1st stage) ns + ucs = ucr (2nd stage) cs = cr (3rd stage)

Question 8

what is extinction?

Answer 8

• CS no longer produces CR
• occurs when a cs is experienced without the ucs oevr a period of time

e.g. buzzer no longer causes the dog to salivate

Question 9

what is spontaneous recovery?

Answer 9

the return of a conditioned response (in a weaker form) after a period of time following extinction

e.g. after a period of extinction, dog hears buzzer and begin salivating

Question 10

what is stimulus generalisation?

Answer 10

a similar stimulus to the one used in the pairing causes the same response

e.g a different type of buzzer or a similar noise makes the dog salivate

Question 11

what is stimulus discrimination?

Answer 11

only one specific stimulus causes the associated response

e.g. only that particular buzzer will make the dog salivate

Question 12

real life example of classical conditioning - aversion therapy

Answer 12

Classical conditioning is used to treat alcoholism using AVERSION THERAPY
An emetic (a drug that induces nausea and vomiting) is paired with alcohol until an association is made. Eventually the individual will associate alcohol with feeling sick thus preventing alcoholism.

Question 13

supporting evidence for classical conditioning

evaluation

Answer 13

P: a strength of the theory is that it has supporting evidence

E: pavlov successfully paired the sound of a metronome (ns) with food (ucs) so eventually the dog salivated (cr) when it heard the sound (cs). other studies have replicated similar associations, for example Watson and Rayner conditioned Little Albert to show fear (CR) of white rats through the pairing of a loud noise with the animal (CS)

T: this evidence suggests that classical conditioning is a valid explanation of behaviour

Question 14

contradicting evidence for classical conditioning

Answer 14

P: a weakness of the theory is that it has contradicting theories

E: social learning theory (slt) suggests that we learn behaviour (e.g. phobias or aggression) by paying attention to a role models’ behaviour, retaining it and replicating it if we feel motivated to do so, rather than learning through association

T: therefore because there are other ways of explaining behaviour, classical conditioning isn’t a complete explanation, therefore validity is lowered

Question 15

application of classical conditioning

evaluation

Answer 15

P: another strength of the theory is that it has application to real life behaviour

E: aversion therapy conditions addicts to associate drinking with unpleasant feelings. an addict is given an emetic drug (ucs) which makes them feel nauseous (ucr), this is paired with their drink of choice (ns). overtime it becomes the cs associated with unpleasant feelings (cr), thus reducing the chance of drinking

T: this is a strength as the principles of the theory can be used to improve people’s quality of life

Question 16

weakness of classical conditioning

evaluation

Answer 16

P: a further weakness of the theory is..

E: it reduces complex behaviours such as addiction or phobias down to association, suggesting new associations can override existing ones easily, hoiwever aversion therapy is not successful for all individuals

T: therefore by being reductionist cc theory limits its validity as it ignores how other factors such as genes or cognition play a role in behaviour

Question 17

classical conditioning conclusion

evaluation

Answer 17

overall, there are strengths and weaknesses of cc as an explanation, despite its limitations it offers practical ways to learn new associations so people can improve their quality of life, however using it in combination with other explanations would improve its effectiveness