KKDP 1a

Question 1

define classical conditioning

Answer 1

a simple form of learning that occurs through repeated associations between two stimuli to produce a conditioned response

Question 2

explain classical conditioning

Answer 2

• a form of involuntary learning whereby the subject can be conditioned without making any conscious effort to learn the conditioned response
• can be described as a simple form of involuntary learning, which occurs through repeated associations of two different stimuli to produce a conditioned response
• Classical conditioning is considered to be behaviourist approaches to understanding learning
• This is because it states that behaviours are learned through interactions with the environment as a result of the process of conditioning
• This is a learning process by which the behaviour of an organism becomes dependent on an event or stimulus occurring in its environment
• This is a learning process by which the behaviour of an organism becomes dependent on an event or stimulus occurring in its environment
• In the case of classical conditioning, the response involved is an involuntary or reflexive one that occurs automatically and unconsciously

Question 3

Define learning

Answer 3

the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, or behaviours resulting from experience

Question 4

Define behaviourist

Answer 4

approaches to learning theories that propose learning occurs by interacting with the external environment

Question 5

Define stimulus

Answer 5

an environmental event that triggers a response in an organism

Question 6

Define response

Answer 6

a behavioural reaction to a stimulus

Question 7

The three-phase process of classical conditioning:

Answer 7

1. before conditioning
2. during conditioning
3. after conditioning

Question 8

Pavlov’s pioneering classical conditioning research

Answer 8

• Around 1900, physiologist Ivan Pavlov was studying digestion in dogs, particularly the role of saliva in dogs’ digestion
• He developed equipment to measure the amount of saliva that dogs produced in response to food being placed in front of them
• He noticed that the dogs started to salivate as soon as the technician who fed them entered the room, before the food even appeared
• He therefore experimented with other stimuli to see if they also produced salivation
• His best-known experiment involved multiple trials of starting a metronome (a device that produces a steady beat) ticking just before the dogs were fed
• Originally the dogs had no natural response to the metronome, but eventually they started to unconsciously salivate at the sound of the metronome alone because of repeated associations between this stimulus and the stimulus of the food
• This led Pavlov to develop the three-phase process of classical conditioning

Question 9

This first stage of classical conditioning involves the following:

Answer 9

• neutral stimulus
• unconditioned stimulus
• unconditioned response

Question 10

Define before conditioning

Answer 10

the first stage of classical conditioning, during which the neutral stimulus has no associations and therefore does not produce any significant response

Question 11

Define neutral stimulus

Answer 11

the stimulus that produces no significant response before conditioning (a stimulus (before conditioning) that doesn’t produce a response)

Question 12

Define unconditioned stimulus

Answer 12

the stimulus that produces an unconscious response (a stimulus that consistently produces a naturally occurring, automatic response)

Question 13

Define unconditioned response

Answer 13

a naturally occurring behaviour in response to a stimulus (a response that occurs automatically/ involuntarily when the unconditioned stimulus is presented)

Question 14

explain before conditioning

Answer 14

• Before conditioning represents the natural condition that comes before any learned response.
• At this stage, there is no conditioned stimulus or conditioned response.
• Instead, there is only a neutral stimulus that produces no significant response, as well as an unconditioned stimulus that automatically produces an unconditioned response.

Question 15

example of before conditioning

Answer 15

• Before conditioning is the phase when no learning has taken place yet
• In this phase, there is a UCS, which consistently produces a naturally occurring, automatic response
• The UCS is the presentation of food
• The word unconditioned here is used in the sense of ‘not depending on any conditions’ or ‘unconditional’
• The response to the UCS is called the UCR ( it doesn’t depend on any conditions)
  It is the naturally occurring, automatic response to the UCS
• When a dog sees or smells food, it begins to salivate; this is a reflexive response.
• The UCR is the dog salivating in step 1
• In this before conditioning phase, there is also a NS, shown in step 2 as the sound of the ticking metronome
• The dog does not have a natural response to it
• The word neutral here is used in the sense of ‘not doing anything’.

Question 16

Define during conditioning

Answer 16

the second stage of classical conditioning, during which the neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus, producing the unconditioned response

Question 17

explain during conditioning

Answer 17

• During conditioning is the phase in which the neutral stimulus (NS) is repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), producing the unconditioned response (UCR).
• The timing and order are crucial: the NS must be presented first and remain until the UCS is introduced within half a second.
• This phase is when the two stimuli are associated, often with the NS presented just before or simultaneously with the UCS.

Question 18

example of during conditioning

Answer 18

• This is shown in step 3, where the metronome is started (NS) and food is presented (UCS)
• The salivating response (UCR) is due to the food being presented (UCS)
• This step is repeated multiple times, so that the two stimuli, the NS and UCS, become associated or paired
• This is called acquisition, the association of the NS with the UCS

Question 19

Define acquisition

Answer 19

the process during which an organism learns to associate two events (the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus)

Question 20

during conditioning - In Pavlov’s experiments

Answer 20

• this involved the repeated presentation of the sound of the bell (NS) with the dog’s food (UCS), which in turn produced the UCR of salivation
• The bell was sounded first, and then the food was presented directly afterwards

Question 21

To summarise the during conditioning stage:

Answer 21

• the NS is repeatedly paired with the UCS, which in turn produces the UCR
• the NS is to be presented half a second before the UCS

Question 22

define after conditioning

Answer 22

the third stage of classical conditioning, during which the neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus, producing a conditioned response

Question 23

explain after conditioning

Answer 23

• This is the final stage of classical conditioning.
  By this point, the conditioned response has been learnt.
• The neutral stimulus is now referred to as the conditioned stimulus, and its presentation alone will produce a conditioned response, which will be similar to the original unconditioned response

Question 24

example of after conditioning

Answer 24

• After conditioning, the neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus (CS), triggering the conditioned response (CR) previously elicited by the unconditioned stimulus (UCS).
• In Pavlov’s experiments, the metronome (CS) now causes salivation (CR), a learned response similar to the unconditioned response (UCR).
• The term “conditioned” indicates that this response depends on the prior association formed during the acquisition phase.

Question 25

define conditioned stimulus

Answer 25

a stimulus that was previously neutral but now, as a result of repeated associations with the unconditioned stimulus, produces a conditioned response

Question 26

conditioned response

Answer 26

a learned behaviour that is similar to the unconditioned response and is now triggered by the conditioned stimulus as a result of conditioning

Question 27

after conditioning - In Pavlov’s experiment

Answer 27

• the sound of the bell ultimately became the conditioned stimulus after conditioning had occurred.
• The sound of the bell alone made the dogs salivate
• The dogs salivating in response to the sound of the bell was the conditioned response and final outcome of Pavlov’s experiments