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Chapter 8 Learning: Understanding Classical Conditioning

This chapter explores the concept of learning, specifically focusing on classical conditioning and how organisms acquire new behavior through associations between stimuli. It discusses the terms and principles of classical conditioning, as well as real-life examples and applications.

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Chapter 8 Learning: Understanding Classical Conditioning

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  1. CHAPTER 8 LEARNING

  2. What’s In This Chapter?(Objectives for this Unit) • This chapter on learning is the perspective known as Behavioral • Essential Questions to be asked: • What is learning? • Which part of our behavior is learned? • What are the types of learning?

  3. "The object of teaching a child is to enable the child to get along without the teacher."   unknown

  4. What is Learning? • A relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience.

  5. Association • We learn by association • Our minds naturally connect events that occur in sequence • Aristotle 2000 years ago • John Locke and David Hume 200 years ago • Associative Learning • learning that two events occur together • two stimuli • a response and its consequences • Ex. Upward arm motions correlate to positive position

  6. Conditioning • Conditioning: • The acquisition of specific patterns of behavior in the presence of well-defined stimuli. • Classical Conditioning(C.C.): • a response naturally elicited by one stimulus comes to be elicited by a different, formerly neutral stimulus Ex. Snails on 310

  7. Classical or Pavlovian Conditioning • We learn to associate two stimuli

  8. Classical Conditioning Terms • Neutral stimulus: • A stimulus that does not elicit a specific response. • Conditioned stimulus (CS): • A neutral stimulus that acquires the ability to elicit a specific response • Conditioned response (CR): • A response similar to the UR that is elicited by the CS.

  9. Classical Conditioning Terms • Unconditioned stimulus (US): • A stimulus that always elicits a specific response in the absence of any training. • Unconditioned response (UR): • A response that is always elicited by a specific stimulus in the absence of any training.

  10. Classical Conditioning • Ivan Pavlov • 1849-1936 • Russian physician/ neurophysiologist • Nobel Prize in 1904 • studied digestive secretions • First studies on associative learning

  11. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING • Nearly all automatic, involuntary responses (UR) can become a conditioned response: • heartbeat, sweating, stomach secretion, blood pressure, brain waves etc. • For conditioning to be effective, the conditioned stimulus should occur before the unconditioned stimulus, not after. • the conditioned stimulus becomes a kind of signal for the unconditioned stimulus.

  12. 1. Sara is watching a storm. A bolt of lightning is followed immediately by a huge crash of thunder and makes her jump. This happens several more times. The storm starts to move away and there is a gap between the lightening bolt and the sound of thunder, yet Sara jumps at the lightening bolt. What is the: UCS UCR CS CR ALL HANDS ON DECK

  13. Steve's mouth waters whenever he eats anything with lemon in. One day, while seeing an advertisement showing lemons, his mouth begins to water. What is the: UCS UCR CS CR ALL HANDS ON DECK

  14. Can you name the Stimulus?

  15. Classical Conditioning in Real Life • Learning to like • Learning to fear • Accounting for Taste • Reacting to Medical Treatment

  16. UCS (passionate kiss) UCR (sexual arousal) CS (onion breath) UCS (passionate Kiss) UCR (sexual arousal) CS (onion breath) CR (sexual arousal) Classical Conditioning

  17. UCS (drug) UCR (nausea) CS (waiting room) UCS (drug) UCR (nausea) CS (waiting room) CR (nausea) Nausea Conditioning in Cancer Patients

  18. Acquisition • Initial stage of classical conditioning with associating a neutral stimulus with an unconditional stimulus so that the neutral stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned response. • Ex. Flatworms

  19. Principles of Conditioning • Discrimination • Generalization • Extinction • Spontaneous recovery

  20. Classical Conditioning • Discrimination • in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a CS and other stimuli that do not signal a UCS • Ex. Different types of dogs or snakes

  21. Classical Conditioning • Generalization • tendency for stimuli similar to CS to elicit similar responses • the extension of the conditioned response from the original stimulus to similar stimuli. • Ex. Children fear cars, truck, and other moving vehicles

  22. Modification of Original Classical Conditioning • Response generalization: • Stimulus discrimination:

  23. Classical Conditioning • Extinction • diminishing of a CR • in classical conditioning, when a UCS does not follow a CS

  24. Persistence of Classical Conditioning • Spontaneous recovery: the reappearance of the CR after a pause in extinction trials

  25. Acquisition (CS+UCS) Strength of CR Spontaneous recovery of CR Extinction (CS alone) Extinction (CS alone) Pause Classical Conditioning

  26. ALL HANDS ON DECK • Think about the following scenarios and try to apply some of the aspects of classical conditioning: • 1. How we acquire likes or dislikes for certain foods. • 2. How classical conditioning may be used to treat conditions such as alcoholism. • 3. How advertisers use classical conditioning. • 4. How phobias and fears can be acquired. • 5. How phobias and fears could be treated.

  27. Behaviorism • John B. Watson • The case of baby Albert” • Subject: 11 month old baby

  28. Classical Conditioning in Humans • J. B. Watson classically conditions “Little Albert” to fear white rats. • Case study • Identify the u.s., u.r., c.s., c.r. • Discrimination and generalization

  29. The Case of Baby Albert

  30. Classical Conditioning in Humans • Mary Cover Jones reconditions “Peter” to not fear rabbits. • This procedure evolved into desensitization therapy. • The Case of Baby Peter • Ucs, cs, ucr, cr

  31. Common Examples of Classical Conditioning • Phobias: • Irrational fears • Conditioned food (taste) aversion: • Classically conditioning a novel flavor to illness • Biological predispositions for serve as protective measures

  32. Classical Conditioning Is Selective • Martin Seligman has used the concept of preparedness to account for the fact that certain conditioned responses are acquired very easily. • The ease with which we develop conditioned taste aversions illustrates preparedness.

  33. Classical Conditioning Is Selective • Animals are biologically prepared to learn conditioned taste aversions • Taste aversions can occur with only one pairing of the taste of a tainted food and later illness.

  34. Reasons Taste Aversion Is Unique • Taste aversion only requires one pairing of the NS with the US. • Several hours can occur between the presentation of the NS and the US and the association between the two stimuli will occur.

  35. OPERANT CONDITIONING Learning By Consequences

  36. Thorndike’sLaw of Effect • Behavior consistently rewarded will become learned behavior. • Contemporary psychologists refer to this as the principle of reinforcement

  37. Operant Conditioning • We learn to associate a response and its consequence • Key to learning trained behavior that doesn’t begin naturally within an organism • Ex. Pigeon flapping its wings or pecking for food

  38. Operant (O.C.): behaviors are emitted (in the presence of specific stimuli) to earn rewards or avoid punishments The behavior is more likely or less likely to occur based on its consequences. B. F. Skinner modified Pavlov’s concept and Thorndike’s law of effect. Skinner used reinforcement and punishment to enhance learning. Operant Conditioning

  39. Operant/Instrumental Conditioning • Operant or instrumental conditioning is learning to make or withhold a certain response because of its consequences. • Operant behaviors are different from the responses involved in classical conditioning • They are voluntarily emitted • Those involved in classical conditioning are elicited by stimuli.

  40. Operant Conditioning: Shaping • Shaping: procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior closer and closer approximations of a desired goal • The organism is learning associations between its behavior and resulting events • Ex.

  41. Operant Conditioning Terms • Reinforcer: • An event or stimulus that makes the behavior it follows more likely to occur again. • Best when not delayed but immediately following the behavior

  42. Types of Reinforcement • Primary reinforcers • Secondary reinforcers • Positive reinforcers • Negative reinforcers

  43. A Closer Look At Reinforcement • Primary reinforcer: • A reinforcer that is rewarding in itself, such as food, water, and sex. • Secondary reinforcer: • A reinforcer that acquires its reinforcing power through association with a primary reinforcer. • Money: #1 secondary reinforcer

  44. A Closer Look At Reinforcement • Positive reinforcer: • A pleasant event that follows an operant response and increases the likelihood that the response will recur. • Negative reinforcer: strengthens a given response by removing an aversive stimuli.

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