PSYC 110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Classical Conditioning, Alarm Clock, Habituation
Chapter 6: Learning *Identifying Components of Examples*
Chapter Overview
●What is learning?
●Classical conditioning
●Operant conditioning
●Cognitive models
●Biological influences
●Learning fads
Instincts vs. Reflexes
●Instinct- innate behaviors triggered by a broader range of events
○Complex (ex. breastfeeding)
●Reflex- a motor or neural reaction to a specific stimulus in the environment
○Simple (ex. put something in palm of newborn, they grasp the item)
●Both are unlearned
Learning
●Learning- change is an organism’s behavior or thought as a result of experience
●Many different kinds, most basic are habituation and sensitization
●Responding to stimuli less or more over time
●Habituation- process by which we respond less strongly over time to repeated
stimuli
●Simplest and earliest form of learning to develop (ex. infants)
●Sensitization- responding more strongly over time to repeated exposure to
stimulus (ex. alarm clock)
Learning via Association
●Large amounts of learning occur through association
●The British Associationists believed we acquired most knowledge via conditioning
●Simple associations provide the mental building blocks for more complex ideas
Ivan Pavlov
●Russian physiologist and 1904 Nobel Prize winner
●Most famous for work on digestion of the dog
●This included the first work on classical conditioning
Classical Conditioning
●Classical conditioning- a form of learning (animals and humans) come to respond to a
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previously neutral stimulus that had been paired with another stimulus that elicits an
automatic response
●Involves fire primary components
○Neutral stimulus (NS)
■Does not elicit any particular response (ex. metronome)
○Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
■Stimulus that elicits automatic response (ex. meat powder)
○Unconditioned response (UCR)
■Automatic response to UCS (ex. salivation)
○Conditioned stimulus (CS)
■Previously neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a CR as a result of its
association with a UCS (ex. metronome)
○Conditioned response (CR)
■Response previously associated with a non-neutral stimulus that comes to
be elicited by a neutral stimulus (ex. salivation)
CC Steps ^^^^
●Start with a neural stimulus, which does not elicit a particular response
○ex. metronome
●Pair the NS again and again with the unconditioned stimulus, which elicits an
unconditioned response
○ex. meat power and salivation
●Eventually, the NS becomes a conditioned stimulus, eliciting a conditioned response
○ex. metronome and salivation
●The organism reacts the same way to the previously NS as it did to the UCS
CC Principals
●Acquisition- the phase during which a CR is established
●Extinction- the reduction and elimination of the CR after the CS is presented repeatedly
without the UCS
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●Spontaneous Recovery- when a seemingly extinct CR reappears if we represent CS
again
●Renewal Effect- occurs when we extinguish a response in a different setting in which it
was acquired
●Stimulus Generalization- when similar CS’s elicit a CR
○ex. driving a new car
●Stimulus Discrimination- when we exhibit a CR only to certain stimuli, not similar
others
○ex. movie about tornado vs. tornado in real life
Higher Order Conditioning
●Process where organisms develop classically conditioned responses to CS’s associated
with the original CS
●Becomes weaker the farther from the original CS
●“Want a Coke?” makes us feel thirsty
Applications of CC
●Advertisers repeatedly pair their products with stimuli that elicit positive emotions
○ex. Carrie Underwood and Covergirl products
●Can show latent inhibition- experienced CS alone many times, making it difficult to
condition to a classical stimulus
●Helps to explain how and why we acquire some fears and phobias
○Little Albert (stimulus generalization & discrimination)
●Can also help treat phobias
○Little Peter
Behaviorism
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Document Summary
Instinct- innate behaviors triggered by a broader range of events. Reflex- a motor or neural reaction to a specific stimulus in the environment. Simple (ex. put something in palm of newborn, they grasp the item) Learning- change is an organism"s behavior or thought as a result of experience. Many different kinds, most basic are habituation and sensitization. Responding to stimuli less or more over time. Habituation- process by which we respond less strongly over time to repeated stimuli. Simplest and earliest form of learning to develop (ex. infants) Sensitization- responding more strongly over time to repeated exposure to stimulus (ex. alarm clock) Large amounts of learning occur through association. The british associationists believed we acquired most knowledge via conditioning. Simple associations provide the mental building blocks for more complex ideas. Russian physiologist and 1904 nobel prize winner. Most famous for work on digestion of the dog. This included the first work on classical conditioning.
