classical conditioning Flashcards
UCS—-> UCR (innate)
UCS + NS —–> UCR ( association)
CS—–> CR ( repeated pairings)
What is an unconditioned stimulus?
A stimulus which you are born with
What as an unconditioned response?
A natural response to a stimuli
What is a neutral stimulus?
A stimulus which causes no natural response
How does your unconditioned stimulus and neutral stimulus turn into an unconditioned response?
Through association
What is a conditioned stimulus ?
The NS has now become conditioned to cause a response.
How does an unconditioned stimulus turn into a conditioned stimulus?
Through repeated pairings
Who supports classical conditioning?
Pavlovs dogs supports classical conditioning because he found that dogs learned to associate the bell (NS) and the food (UCS) to salivate (UCR). This is a strength because it is direct evidence of learning through association which means it is a credible explanation.
However, the findings cannot be applied to humans as it was carried out on humans which lowers the generalisability.
Who conflicts classical conditioning?
Classical conditioning is conflicted by social learning theory which suggests that you learn through imitation of a role model. This is a weakness because its suggests that behaviour isn’t learnt via classical conditioning which reduces the credibility of the explanation if human behaviour.
However social learning theory Is reductionist because it ignores all biological explanations of human behaviour.
What is another explanation?
Another explanation for learning is operant conditioning which suggests you learn via reinforcement or punishment. This a better explanation because it is can be directly measured via observations which means it is empirical so isa credible explanation of learning
However this explanation is reductionist as it breaks down human behaviour into processes of reinforcement and punishment.
Why is this useful?
Classical conditioning is useful as it allows us to treat phobias via association and match pairings This makes classical conditioning a credible explanation as we are able to explain real world events Suva. phobias.
However it ignores all biological explanations such as genes.
How is it testable?
Classical conditioning allows us to test human behaviour in relation to association. This is a strength as we can empirically measure human behaviour as we can directly see the results of behaviour which means it is a credible explanation.
However this is socially sensitive because it suggests that phobias cannot be unlearned
