UNIT 3: Classical Conditioning

Question 1

NEUTRAL STIMULUS

Answer 1

A stimulus to which the organism does not respond in any noticeable way (e.g., the bell in Pavlov’s experiment).

Question 1

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING AND FEAR RESPONSES

Answer 1

Classical conditioning explains fears and phobias (e.g. fear of bees due to childhood stings).

Question 2

CONDITIONED STIMULUS

Answer 2

A stimulus where a previously neutral stimulus that elicits a response is no longer “neutral” after being paired with an unconditional stimulus.

After several pairings of the bell and the meat, the bell became a conditioned stimulus on its own, eliciting a conditional response of salivation from dogs.

Question 2

UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS

Answer 2

A stimulus that leads to an unconditioned, natural, and automatic response (e.g., the meat in Pavlov’s experiment).

Unconditioned Response: The response to this stimulus (eg. salivation)

Question 3

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING AND INVOLUNTARY RESPONSES

Answer 3

Classical conditioning helps us understand how people learn involuntary responses.
It’s particularly useful for explaining physiology responses and emotions.

Question 4

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING AND ADDICTIONS

Answer 4

Returning to familiar environments can trigger cravings.

Stimuli in the environment become conditioned triggers for addiction.

Question 5

ASSOCIATIVE BIAS

Answer 5

A phenomenon where associations between certain kinds of stimuli are more likely to be made than are associations between others.

Question 6

IMPORTANCE OF CONTINGENCY

Answer 6

Contingency is essential (classical conditioning) when the unconditioned stimulus and would-be-conditioned stimulus are presented at approximately the same time.

Question 7

EXTINCTION

Answer 7

A phenomenon where repeated presentations of the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus lead to successively weaker and weaker conditioned responses.

Question 8

SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY

Answer 8

It is a recurrence of a conditioned response when a period of extinction is followed by a rest period.

Question 9

STIMULI DISCRIMINATION

Answer 9

A phenomenon that occurs when one stimulus (theCS+) is presented in conjunction with an unconditioned stimulus, and another stimulus (the CS-) is presented in the absence of UCS.

Being able to differentiate between similar stimuli and respond only to the correct stimuli.

Question 9

GENERALIZATIONS

Answer 9

When learners respond to other stimuli in the same way they respond to a conditioned stimulus, generalizations are occurring.

Question 10

HIGHER-ORDER CONDITIONING

Answer 10

This phenomenon is known as second-order conditioning or, more generally, higher-order conditioning.

Question 10

COUNTERCONDITIONING

Answer 10

Can be defined as the replacement of an undesirable response to a stimulus with a better one.

Was an experiment made by Mary Cover Jones.

Question 11

SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION

Answer 11

Is a type of therapy that uses counter conditioning to treat anxiety and phobia disorders.

It may involve relaxation training, establishment of anxiety hierarchy, and repeated gradual exposure.