lecture 18,19,20 : classical conditioning Flashcards
examples of reflexive behaviours in newborns
eyeblinking, “sucking” and “gripping”
examples of instinctual behaviors
imprinting, homing, migratory behaviour (pre-programmed)
eg: ducklings don’t recognise mother duck as the mother, chicks imprint on the first moving object they see, they instinctually imprint. on this and follow it around
what are instinctual behaviours
hard wired behaviours that come with organisms
learning def
a relatively permanent change in behaviour or knowledge as a result of experience
what causes learning (behaviours selected by experience)
- by habituation
- by the association of events (classical conditioning)
- by the consequence of events (instrumental conditioning)
- by the observation of events (observational learning)
habituation
the decline in the tendency to respond to stimuli that have become familiar due to repeated exposure
- it takes energy to have a response, so after repeated exposure it would be a waste of energy to maintain this response
eg: startiling to a new sight or sound decreases quite quickly with experience
is the response in young turkeys showing alarm to a ‘hawk’ shape but not a ‘goose’ shape, pre-programmed or habituation
it is a process of habituation due to where they were raised, leading to differences in responses to the silhouette
experiment used to investigate digestive system
present: food
record: salivation, gastric excretions
sometimes however: food bowl alone, or experimenter –> salivation
first:
tone alone –> no salivation
and
food alone –> salivation
second:
tone and food –> salivation
finally:
tone alone –> salivation
general description of experiment for classical conditioning
- present stimuli in isolation
Neutral stimulus (NS) –> no response
Unconditioned stimulus (US) –> unconditioned response (UR) - NS immediately precedes US - pair repeatedly
NS + US –> UR - present previously neutral stimulus alone
conditioned stimulus –> conditioned response
classical conditioning def
- a neutral stimulus (NS) is repeatedly paired with a stimulus (US) that automatically elicits a particular response (UR)
- the previously neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) that also elicits a similar response (CR)
- found in many species
examples of human classical conditioning
- in the laboratory
a)
US (puff of air) –> UR (eye-blink)
NS (soft click) –> no eye blink
b)
NS (click) + US (air) –> UR (eye blink)
c)
CS (click) –> CR (eye-blink)
conditioned emotional responses
many emotions carry distinct physiological correlates
- increased heart rate
- “hair standing on end”
- flushes
- muscle tension
–> neural stimuli (sounds, smells) associated with emotional events can elicit emotional responses
example of classical conditioning in advertising
McBurger + cute children + bubbly music –> “the warm fuzzies”
McBurger –> “the warm fuzzies”
connection between fetishes and classical conditioning
- a person has heightened sexual arousal in the presence of certain inanimate objects (eg: shoes, rubber)
- the object has become a conditioned stimulus that can elicit arousal on its own
what else is classical conditioning involved with
- allergic reactions
- anticipatory nausea
- immune responses
what is the relationship between the UR and the CR
- Pavlov believed that the CS came to elicit the CR by a process of stimulus substitution i.e. the CS was equivalent to the US
- however, while UR and CR are often very similar, they are not necessarily identical
what is the point of classical conditioning (in terms of salivation)
tone (CS) –> salivation (CR)
- salivation is less copious and has fewer digestive enzymes than if food itself is presented
- classical conditioning is not so much directed toward replacing the US with the CS, but a learning mechanism whereby the CS (and the CR) prepares the animal for the onset of the US and the UR
- Conditioned stimulus causes a condition response so your body is prepared
what is the compensatory reaction hypothesis
sometimes the UR and the CR can be opposites
- insulin injections = insulin depletes blood sugars. after a number of such injections, bodily reactions to the various CS produce opposite response to the drug (i.e. blood sugar levels go up)
- the body “prepares” itself for the drug, and “tilts” the other way
–> tilting the system in the other direction
stimulus response = is to raise blood sugar
drug response = is to lower blood sugar
