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Classical Conditioning Flashcards

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1
Q

Classical Conditioning

A01- Background

A
  • Discovered by Pavlov
  • Assumes learning is passive and based on reflex behaviours that all humans and animals have
  • It involves learning to associate a stimulus which bring about a response with a new stimulus so that it also bring about the same response
  • Two stimuli are linked together to produce a new learned response in a person or animal
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2
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Classical Conditioning

A01- Before conditioning

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UCS -> UCR. Eg Stomach virus and nausea
NS -> NR
-The unconditioned stimulus (UCS) produces a unconditioned response (UCR) in an organism
-Stimulus in the environment produced a behaviour/response= unlearnt (unconditioned)and therefore a NATURAL RESPONSE which has not been TAUGHT
-No new behaviour is learnt yet
-The neutral stimulus (NS)= person, object, place etc which doesn’t produce a response until paired with a UCS

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3
Q

Classical Conditioning

A01- During conditioning

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UCS + NS —> UCR eg stomach virus associated with eating certain food

  • A stimulus which produces no response (NS) is associated with the UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS (UCS)
  • UCS often must be associated with NS on a number of occasions/ trials for learning to take place
  • 1 trial learning can happen on certain occasions when its not necessary for an association to be strengthen over time eg sick after drinking alcohol
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4
Q

Classical Conditioning

A01- After conditioning

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CS—> CR eg having eaten chocolate before feeling sick, now produces the feeling of nausea whenever chocolate is eaten
-Conditioned stimulus (CS) associated with unconditioned stimulus (UCS) to create a new CONDITIONED RESPONSE (CR)

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5
Q

Classical Conditioning

A01- Types of conditioning

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Forward- Best for maintenance, conditioned stimulus presented before unconditioned stimulus

Delayed- Conditioned stimulus keeps going as unconditioned stimulus is introduced

Trace- Conditioned stimulus can start and end before unconditioned stimulus is introduced

Spontaneous conditioned- Means presenting the CS + UCS at the same time= simultaneously

Backwards conditioning- When UCS presented and afterwards comes the conditioned response. Not as effective as forward conditioning

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6
Q

Classical Conditioning

A01- Extinction

A

If conditioned stimulus continually presented without unconditioned stimulus then the conditioned response gradually dies out/extinguished

Link to Pavlov- Pavlov found that when he sounded the tone again and again with no food, the dogs salivated less and less. Their declining salivation= extinction. Finished responding occurs when CS (tone) no longer signals impending UCS (food)

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7
Q

Classical Conditioning

A01- Spontaneous recovery

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If a conditioned response is not reinforced it becomes extinguished. But after a short period of rest the response may reappear

Link to Pavlov- Pavlov found however, that if he allowed several hour to elapse before sounding the tone again, the salivation would appear spontaneously. Reappearance of a weakened CR after a rest pause. Suggests extinction was suppressing the CR rather than eliminating it

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8
Q

Classical Conditioning

A01-Generalisation

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Extension of the conditioned response from the original stimuli, to similar stimulus

Link to Pavlov- Pavlov and his students noticed that a dog conditioned to the sound of one tone, also responded somewhat to the sound of a different tone, never paired with food. Generalisation can be ADAPTIVE, as when toddlers taught to fear moving cars on the road, they respond similarly to trucks and motorbikes

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9
Q

Classical Conditioning

A01-Discrimination

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Conditioned response- only from presentation fo original stimulus, not extended to similar stimulus

Link to Pavlov- Pavlov’s dogs leant to respond to the sound of a particular tone, not other ones

Discrimination is the learnt ability to distinguish between the conditioned stimulus and other irrelevant stimuli

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10
Q

Classical Conditioning

A01- One trial learning

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When conditioning occurs immediately- only one trial

Some response make take 100 trials, not always this slow- in some cases individuals acquire a new behaviour through a single pairing of the NS and UCS= one trial learning.
Often occurs in poisonous food eg that it makes us sick
Strong alcohol drinks cause sickness etc

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11
Q

Classical Conditioning

A01- Pavlov’s dogs aim

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Aim- To explore how salivation becomes associated with a new stimuli apparently unrelated to food and properties of this association

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12
Q

Classical Conditioning

A01- Procedure

A
  • Studied the reflex of salivating, to see of a dog could be conditioned to salivate to a completely unrelated stimulus
  • Dogs are restrained in a harness in a cubicle and isolated from all distractions
  • Experimenter observed dogs through a 1 way mirror and remote control presented fo with food and other conditioning stimuli
  • Tube carried saliva from dogs mouth to a container where it was measured
  • Used a variety of neutral stimuli: metronome, buzzer, bell paired with food (UCS) to condition stimulus to (NS) to produce the same response
  • Before placing the food in the dogs mouth (to produce salivation) Pavlov sounded the metronome
  • After several pairings the dog began salivating the metronome alone, anticipation for the meat powder. After tone and food paired together 20 more the tone alone would elicit salivation
  • Conditioned dogs would salivate to other stimuli using higher conditioning process, changed tone conditioned to light, touch of leg, sight of a circle
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13
Q

Classical Conditioning

A01- Pavlov’s dogs controls

A
  • Windows were cover with extra sheets, each room had double steel doors (sealed when closed)
  • deep moat of straw surrounded the building= vibration, noise, temp, odours and drafts eliminated
  • Dogs couldn’t hear footprints of researcher, gave them food by sliding in the food first. Then by blowing meat powder into the dogs mouth at the exact moment
  • Done to ensure nothing could influence the digs apart from conditioning stimulus
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14
Q

Classical Conditioning

A01- Results

A
  • Salivation started after 9seconds and 11 drops were collected
  • Found dogs only salivate when NS/CS is presented before the USC, not after. Dogs had to be alert and have no other stimuli present (distraction)
  • Wanted to establish reliability= see if the same system of learning worked with new NS eg presentation of vanilla odour and a visual test with a rotating disc, prior o food. Also paired different shapes/ colours (NS) with the sound of the metronome= higher order conditioning is possible
  • Dogs showed stimulus generalisation to sounds of a similar tone, able to discriminate between different tones= the more similarity between the new NS and CS= more salivation
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15
Q

Classical Conditioning

A01-Pavlov’s dogs Conclusion

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Pavlov concludes that it is signalisation in the brain which links the metronome to the food, causing the reflex response of salivation, Conditioning is sensitive to many extraneous variables and individual differences
Eg the same experiment was done and two other dogs and produced opposite results.

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16
Q

Classical Conditioning

A03- Evaluation of Pavlov Control of EV

A

Strength-
Pavlov used strict controls in his study, with the dogs isolated in cubicles to remove any distractions. They had double steel doors, windows covered with extra sheets and a deep moat of straw surrounding the building to eliminate any vibrations, noise, odour or temperature change from distracting the dogs. These strict controls improves the validity of Pavlov’s study as it enables him to confidently attribute the salivation of the dogs as a result of the conditioning and nothing else. Therefore, allowing a cause and effect conclusion to be reached.

17
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Classical Conditioning

A03- Evaluation of Pavlov Weakness

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Pavlov’s study took place in the artificial setting of a lab, with high controls and low task validity. The presentation meat powder at the sound of a metronome is highly unusual and not reflective of an organic situation in which the dogs would be offered food. This paired with the artificial environment demonstrates how the study is not reflective of a natural situation in which learning would occur, therefore reducing the validity of the results as it limits the application of results.

18
Q

Classical Conditioning

A03- Evaluation of Pavlov Strength

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Pavlov followed a standardised procedure in his study, playing the sound of the metronome(or other NS) before the food was presented. Then using a remote control to place the meat powder in the cubicle with the dogs. The salivation of the dogs was measured in the same way through the amount of saliva droplets capture in the tube in the dogs mouths. This means the study is highly replicable, so we can repeat the study and test for reliability in the results. If the replication produces similar results it improves the accuracy of the findings from the study.

19
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Classical Conditioning

A03- Evaluation of Pavlov Weakness

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Pavlov’s use of dogs as the participant instead of humans, limits the studies generalisability. Dogs and humans have a different brain structure, for instance size of the brain and cerebral cortex is significantly less. Therefore, any inference about the processing of the cerebral cortex in classical conditioning dogs would be difficult to generalise to humans.

20
Q

Classical Conditioning

A03- Supporting Research

A

Classical Conditioning works on the assumption that learning is passive and based on reflex behaviour all humans and animals have. The theory being that when a stimuli producing a certain response is associated with another stimuli, we also associate that stimuli with the same response. Pavlov’s animal study of dogs provides strong evidence for classical conditioning, finding when food is paired with the sound of a metronome, it produces the response of salivation, eventually just in response to the metronome. Demonstrating the reflex response dogs have to food to become associated with a neutral stimulus such as sound.

21
Q

Classical Conditioning

A03- Reductionist

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Classical conditioning claims that association can be learnt through one or multiple trials, with certain occasions where it is not necessary for multiple trials to take place. However, it can be argued this approach to learning is reductionist in simplifying learning down to the one factor of association. The theory fails to account for nature aspect such as genetics which may impact an individuals response to stimulus. Therefore, demonstrating how classical conditioning is not a complete explanation of learning behaviour.

22
Q

Classical Conditioning

A03- Strength

A

Classical conditioning suggests the concept of generalisation in learning. Where there is an extension of the conditioned response from the original stimuli to a similar stimulus. This is supported by multiple credible studies, all finding consistent evidence of classical conditioning. Pavlov found that conditioning was possible in animals, whereas Watson and Rayner conditioned a 9month infant into fearing a white rat, when banging a metal bar behind his head every time this stimulus was presented. This suggest the theory is accurate as there is consistent data demonstrating the process of classical conditioning

23
Q

Classical conditioning

A03- Weakness

A

Findings from Pavlov show that when the pairing of the CS and UCS, the conditioned response gradually dies out- extinction. This research can be criticised however as lacking ecological validity. Pavlov study took place in artificial lab setting with strict controls, suggesting that the results found are not representative of learning in a natural real life situation. This means it would be hard to generalise the theory of classical conditioning to others due to the lack of external validity in the study

Psychology- Learning (7 decks)

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