classical conditioning Flashcards
1
Q
what is classical conditioning?
A
- learning by association
2
Q
what happens when we pair a new stimulus with an existing stimulus-response link?
A
- we learn to associate the two stimuli and respond in a similar manner to both
3
Q
what is an example for classical conditioning?
A
- your cat anticipates being fed when you take a can of cat food from the cupboard
4
Q
what is an unconditioned stimulus?
A
- any stimulus producing a natural, unlearned response
5
Q
what is an unconditioned response?
A
- response that occurs naturally without any form of learning
- reflex action
6
Q
what is a neutral stimulus?
A
- environmental stimulus that doesn’t of itself (without association) produce a response
7
Q
what is a conditioned stimulus?
A
- stimulus that has been associated with an ucs so that it now produces the same response
8
Q
what is a conditioned response?
A
- behaviour that’s shown in response to a learned stimulus
9
Q
what is the first part of cc? give an example (1)
A
- involves a naturally occurring stimulus that will automatically elicit a response in an organism
- food is an ucs for your cat and salivation in response to the presentation of food is an ucr
- no learning required as salivation is an automatic response to the presentation of food
10
Q
what happens after the naturally occurring stimulus causes a response in an organism? give an example
A
- there’s also a ns that produces no effect as yet - the sound of an opening can of cat food
- there is, however, no innate reflex response to this sound
- according to the theory, the ns must be paired with the ucs to evoke a response
11
Q
what happens after the conditioning? give example
A
- if ns and ucs are repeatedly paired with each other an association is formed
- ns now because cs and the ucr becomes cr
- your cat salivates when presented with its food
- if the sound of the opening can is paired multiple times with the presentation of its food, the sound alone will eventually trigger the cr in your cat, as it’ll have learned that it’s food will be coming soon
12
Q
what is stimulus generalisation? give example
A
- in cc, there’s a tendency for cs to produce the same behaviour to a similar stimulus after the response has been conditioned
- eg cat may come running to any tin being opened
- generalisation suggests that stimulus triggering reaction doesn’t have to be exact one involved in the process of learning
- the more similar it is, the more likely it’ll produce a cr
13
Q
what is discrimination? give example
A
- over a period of time, learning only occurs in response to a specific stimulus
- eg cat may only respond to a can opening at a certain time of the day or your cat only responds to a tin of food but not glass jar
14
Q
what is extinction? give example
A
- removal (death) of behaviour
- eg if cs (sound of can opening) is continually presented without food being paired with it, the cat will gradually learn to disassociate with two stimuli - so will not salivate
- however, this association may not be entirely lost
15
Q
what is spontaneous recovery? give example
A
- eg if tin is once again paired with food following extinction, cat will quickly learn to associate food with tin
- known as spontaneous recovery and means that extinction is not the same thing as ‘unlearning’
- while response may disappear, it hasn’t been certainly eredicated
16
Q
what is a strength of classical conditioning (PEE)?
- supporting evidence pavlov
A
- a strength of classical conditioning is the supporting evidence from pavlov’s study
- dogs were conditioned to salivate at the sound of a metronome as this neutral stimulus was paired consistently with an unconditioned stimulus (food). 11 drops of saliva were collected when the metronome sounded without the food, after 45 seconds
- therefore, this quantitative analysis suggests that learning through classical conditioning is a credible explanation of learning behaviours
17
Q
what is a weakness of classical conditioning (PEE)?
- pavlov criticism
A
- a weakness of classical conditioning is that the supporting evidence from pavlov lacks generalisability
- the research was done on dogs which have different cerebral cortexes to humans. the cerebral cortex plays a role in memory, problem solving and reasoning
- therefore, these findings cannot accurately represent the way humans learn
18
Q
what is a strength of classical conditioning (PEECA)?
- supporting evidence watson and rayner
A
- a strength of classical conditioning is that it is supported by the study of Watson and Rayner
- they classically conditioned little Albert to develop a phobia of a white rat by introducing it at the same time as banging a metal bar. Albert associated the scary noise with the rat so began to cry at the sight of only the rat. the study also supports the idea of generalisation because similar stimuli such as a santa mask also produced the same conditioned response
- therefore, this suggests that children can develop phobias through classical conditioning
- however, the study lacks reliability. Albert was an unusual child who grew up in a hospital setting so whilst this also reduces the generalisability to other children, it also means it is unethical to easily replicate and check for consistency
19
Q
what is a strength of classical conditioning (PEE)?
- application
A
- a strength of classical conditioning is that there are practical applications
- for example, in Little Albert’s case study, it was found that phobias can be classically conditioned into a child. therefore, the feared stimuli could be associated with relaxation in order to reverse this
- so, it is a useful theory in treating phobias
20
Q
what is a weakness of classical conditioning (PEE)?
- criticism (reductionist)
A
- a weakness of classical conditioning is that it is a reductionist explanation
- this is because it oversimplifies the acquisition of behaviour. for example, there are other biological factors such as hormones (testosterone) or genetics which impact how we behave
- therefore, it is an incomplete explanation of how we learn because it oversimplifies learning to association of a neutral and unconditioned stimulus and ignoring biological factors
21
Q
what is an alternative theory for classical conditioning? (PEE)
A
- an alternate theory to classical conditioning is operant conditioning
- this is where learning takes place due to consequences and reinforcement or punishment. classical conditioning does not consider the effect of reward and punishment in the learning process which makes it an oversimplified explanation.
- therefore, operant conditioning might be a more detailed concept because it suggests that even if an association forms, the behaviour may only be learnt or continue if it is positively reinforced
