Classical conditioning Flashcards
What is classical conditioning?
Learning by association. It occurs when a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus. The neutral stimulus eventually produces the same response as the unconditioned stimulus
What is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS)?
A stimulus that produces a response without any learning taking place
What is an unconditioned response (UCR)?
An unlearned response to an unconditioned stimulus
What is the neutral stimulus?
A stimulus that does not produce the target response. It becomes a conditioned stimulus after being paired with the unconditioned stimulus
What is a conditioned stimulus (CS)?
A stimulus that only produces the target response after it has been paired with the UCS?
What is a conditioned response (CR)?
The response elicted by the CS
What is extinction?
When the CS and UCS have not been paired for a while and the CS ceases to elict the CR
What is spontaneous recovery?
An extinct response activates again so that the CS once again elicts the CR
What is simulus generalisation?
When an individual who has acquired a conditioned response to one stimulus begins to respond to similar stimuli in the same way
What applications does classical conditioning have?
- Aversion therapy
- Flooding/ systematic desensitisation
What is aversion therapy?
Used to treat people who have an unwanted behaviour
What happens in the before conditioning process in Classical Conditioning?
The Unconditioned Stimulus triggers a reflex response such as salivation, anxiety or sexual arousal. This is called the unconditioned response. An unrelated Neutral Stimulus does not produce this response.
What happens in the during conditioning process in Classical conditioning?
The UCS and the NS are experienced contiguously, i.e. close together in time. This is called pairing. The effect of pairing is greatest when the NS occurs just before the UCS. Usually pairing has to take place many times for conditioning to occur.
What happens in the after conditioning process of classical conditioning?
Following pairing, the NS produces the same response as the UCS. The NS is now a conditioned stimulus and the response to it is called the conditioned response
What researches supports Classical conditioning?
Pavlov
He demonstrated CC of salivation responses in his studies of dogs.
Watson and Raynor
Demonstrated that a fear response can be conditioned in a human baby
