Classical Conditioning

Question 1

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 1

Learning through association and involves stimulus response

Assumes learning is passive and is based on reflex behaviours that all humans and animals have

Question 2

What is an unconditioned stimulus (UCS)?

Answer 2

Refers to anything that naturally has the power to produce a reflex response in a human or animal

Doesn’t have to be learned

Question 3

What is an unconditioned response (UCR)?

Answer 3

A natural reflex response to an unconditioned stimulus

Doesn’t have to be learned

Question 4

What is a neutral stimulus (NS)?

Answer 4

Has no natural potential to cause a reflex response in a human or animal before it is paired with the unconditioned stimulus

Question 5

What is a conditioned stimulus (CS)?

Answer 5

Results from learning to associate the neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus

Question 6

What is a conditioned response (CR)?

Answer 6

Learned response to the conditioned stimulus

Question 7

What is extinction (property of classical conditioning)?

Answer 7

Occurs when an association using classical conditioning is no longer present

Happens because the association between the UCS and NS weakens if conditioning is no longer occurring

Question 8

What is spontaneous recovery (classical conditioning)?

Answer 8

May occur after extinction whereby an association reappears without any re-conditioning but may be in a weaker form

Question 9

What is stimulus generalisation (classical conditioning)?

Answer 9

Occurs when a stimulus similar to the CS produces a CR

Question 10

What is stimulus discrimination (classical conditioning)?

Answer 10

Opposite of stimulus generalisation

The CR will only be produced to the specific stimulus the animal/person has been conditioned with

Question 11

What are the strengths/supporting evidence of classical conditioning?

Answer 11

Pavlov (1927)

Watson & Rayner (1920)

Psychology as a science

Psychology in society

Question 12

What are the weaknesses/refuting evidence of classical conditioning?

Answer 12

Generalisation

Reductionism

Nature-nurture debate

Question 13

Why is Pavlov supporting evidence of classical conditioning?

Answer 13

Demonstrates that animals can produce unnatural responses to novel stimuli by simply creating an association

Question 14

Why is Watson & Rayner supporting evidence of classical conditioning?

Answer 14

Demonstrated that humans can produce unnatural responses to neutral stimuli by simply creating an association using classical conditioning to create fear in a baby when presented with a previously neutral object

Question 15

Why is psychology as a science a strength of classical conditioning?

Answer 15

May be viewed as a scientific procedure because it focuses on studying outward, observable behaviour and is not concerned with internal, mental processes which cannot be measured directly

Question 16

Why is psychology in society a strength of classical conditioning?

Answer 16

Many useful applications have been developed using the principles of classical conditioning

e.g. use of aversion therapy to help treat alcoholism by deliberately creating an association between nausea and alcohol and systematic desensitisation to treat phobias by helping the patient associate relaxation with the phobic object

Question 17

Why is reductionism a weakness of classical conditioning?

Answer 17

It isolates the response to a stimulus and only focuses on this as an explanation for learning new behaviours

This is simplistic because it ignores other factors such as internal mental processes and genes which are also involved in helping us learn new behaviours

Question 18

Why is nature-nurture debate a weakness of classical conditioning?

Answer 18

Only focuses on nurture and ignores the influence of nature or the interaction between both

Assumes that all learning happens after birth and through the environment

Question 19

Why is generalisation a weakness of classical conditioning?

Answer 19

Vast amount of knowledge regarding classical conditioning has been obtained using research with animals e.g. Pavlov dogs

Some psychologists would argue that generalising the findings from animal behaviour to human behaviour has limitations because humans have more complex communication and thought processes