Classical Conditioning (1) Flashcards
What happens to someone’s, or something’s, response to a stimulus when it is presented to them repeatedly?
Their response decreases.
Which phenomenon sometimes follows habituation as a result of the presentation of a new stimulus?
Dishabituation
Why did Pavlov reroute the salivary ducts to the outside of his dogs’ cheeks?
So he could collect and measure the spittle produced when they salivated.
What was Pavlov’s hypothesis about the production of saliva?
That it was a fixed, nervous reflex (like a knee-jerk).
What was Pavlov’s discovery after taking many measurements of spittle?
That the dogs drooled automatically when their tongues touched food.
What issue did Pavlov encounter throughout his dog experiments?
As the dogs became familiar with the experimental routine, they began to fill the test tubes with spittle before Pavlov had a chance to stimulate their tongues (the dogs were learning to anticipate food).
Which response did Pavlov call the salivation reflex?
The tendency for dogs to drool automatically when their tongues touch food.
What was Pavlov’s solution to the issue he encountered while carrying out his experiments?
He erected a screen so that the dogs couldn’t see what was going on, and presented them with a stimulus that was completely unrelated to feeding (a ticking metronome) before presenting food through the hatch.
What was the response to the solution provided by Pavlov to the issue he encountered while carrying out his experiments?
At first, the dogs only salivated when they were presented with food, but after a number of trials, the dogs began to associate the ticking metronome with food and produced saliva upon hearing the ticking metronome.
What did Pavlov name the tendency for his dogs to begin associating the ticking metronome with food in his experiment, and producing saliva upon hearing the ticking metronome?
The conditioned reflex
What were Pavlov’s dogs soon able to do, whatever the conditioned response?
Produce saliva
What did Pavlov believe he had discovered as a result of his dog experiments?
How animals learn (even in the wild).
In Pavlov’s dog experiments, what would have been the unconditioned stimulus presented before conditioning?
The food
In Pavlov’s dog experiments, what would have been the unconditioned response caused by the presentation of food and occurring before conditioning?
Salivation
What happens to the strength of a conditioned response (for example salivation) when a conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with an unconditioned stimulus?
It decreases
What is the pairing of a conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus, and the consequent increase in strength of a conditioned response (such as salivation) known as?
Conditioning
What is it called when a conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with an unconditioned stimulus, and the ensuing decrease in strength of the conditioned response (such as salivation) known as?
Extinction
What can sometimes occur after the extinction of a conditioned response?
Its spontaneous recovery (the reappearance of a conditioned response after a rest period or period of lessened response).
What is discrimination?
The ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have not been paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
What is an example of a conditioned response?
The number of drops of saliva secreted when a stimulus is presented.
In classical conditioning, what always follows the presentation of a conditioned stimulus?
The unconditioned stimulus
In a case in which someone receives a letter from their dentist and experiences fear before opening it, what could the unconditioned stimulus be?
The infliction of pain on the person.
In a case in which someone receives a letter from their dentist and experiences fear before opening it, what could the unconditioned response be?
The experience of fear following infliction of pain.
In a case in which someone receives a letter from their dentist and experiences fear before opening it, what could two potential conditioned stimuli be?
- The dentist’s drill
- The dentist themself.
In a case in which someone receives a letter from their dentist and experiences fear before opening it, what could a conditioned response to the dentist and their drill be?
The experience of fear
