EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY (7th Edition in Modules) David Myers PowerPoint Slides Aneeq Ahmad Henderson State University Worth Publishers, © 2008

Classical Conditioning Module 26

Learning How Do We Learn? Classical Conditioning Pavlov’s Experiments Extending Pavlov’s Understanding Pavlov’s Legacy

Learning: a relatively permanent change in an organisms behavior due to experience 18-1 Learning examples Associative learning: Learning that certain events occur together. --may be two stimuli (classical) or a response and its consequence (operant) Conditioning: Process of learning associations. Two types-classical and operant. Observational Learning: learning from others experiences and examples. How do we learn?

Classical Conditioning Ideas of classical conditioning originate from old philosophical theories. However, it was the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov who elucidated classical conditioning. His work provided a basis for later behaviorists like John Watson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPp9Ej5Ip5Mn. Preview Question 2: How does classical conditioning demonstrate learning by association? Sovfoto Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)

Pavlov’s Experiments Before conditioning, food (Unconditioned Stimulus, US) produces salivation (Unconditioned Response, UR). However, the tone (neutral stimulus) does not. Preview Question 3: How does a neutral stimulus become a CS, and what are the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination in classical conditioning?

Pavlov’s Experiments During conditioning, the neutral stimulus (tone) and the US (food) are paired, resulting in salivation (UR). After conditioning, the neutral stimulus (now Conditioned Stimulus, CS) elicits salivation (now Conditioned Response) https://vimeo.com/35754924 esponse) nse, CR) Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): A stimulus that automatically and naturally triggers a response. Unconditioned Response (UCR): A unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus, like salivation in the dog when food is in the mouth. Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Originally a neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response. Conditioned Response (CR): A learned response to a previously neutral conditioned stimulus.

Timing is very important to successful in Classical Conditioning Studies have shown that the CS must precede the US by about ½ to 1 second in order to bring about the CR. Other types of timing include: Delayed Conditioning Trace Conditioning Simultaneous Conditioning Backward Conditioning Timing

Components of Classical Conditioning Unconditioned Stimulus (US): the US is a stimulus that triggers a response reflexively and automatically, just as scalding water makes someone jump away Hot shower water is a US for jumping away. Classical conditioning cannot happen without a US. The only behaviors and emotions that can be classically conditioned are those that are reliably produced by a US Components of Classical Conditioning

Components of Classical Conditioning Unconditioned Response(UR): the unconditioned response is the automatic response to the US. If hot water is the US, jumping away is the UR. This relationship is reflexive, not learned. Jumping from hot water Components of Classical Conditioning

Components of Classical Conditioning Conditioned Stimulus (CS): a previously neutral stimulus that, through learning, gains the power to cause a (conditioned) response. The word flush provokes a neutral response, before conditioning. It is a neutral stimulus before learning Components of Classical Conditioning

Components of Classical Conditioning Conditioned Response (CR): The CR is the response to the CS (conditioned stimulus). It is usually the same behavior that is identified as the UCR (unconditioned response) Jumping away Components of Classical Conditioning

For each: identify the UCS, UCR, CS, and CR Your romantic partner always uses the same shampoo. Soon, the smell of that shampoo makes you feel happy. The door to your house squeaks loudly when you open it. Soon, your dog begins wagging its tail when the door squeaks. The nurse says “Now this won’t hurt a bit” just before stabbing you with a needle. The next time you hear “This won’t hurt” you cringe in fear. You have a meal at a fast food restaurant that causes food poisoning. The next time you see a sign for that restaurant, you feel nauseous. For each: identify the UCS, UCR, CS, and CR

For each: identify the UCS, UCR, CS, and CR While George was having a cavity filled by his dentist, the drill hit a nerve that had not been dulled by anesthetic, a couple of times.  Each time he cringed in pain.  George now gets anxious each time he sees the dentist. Every time a psychology instructor enters the classroom, she goes straight to the board to write an outline on it.  Unfortunately, she has long finger nails and each time she writes the outline, her nails screech on the board, making students cringe.  After a few weeks of this, students cringe at the sight of the teacher entering the classroom For each: identify the UCS, UCR, CS, and CR

Make up your own examples! How would you experiment to prove learning? You need: UCS UCR CS CR *Can anybody think of some we could test in the classroom? Make up your own examples!

Acquisition Acquisition is the initial learning stage in classical conditioning in which an association between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus takes place. In most cases, for conditioning to occur, the neutral stimulus needs to come before the unconditioned stimulus. The time in between the two stimuli should be about half a second.

Acquisition The CS needs to come half a second before the US for acquisition to occur. Timing-(delayed, trace, Simultaneous, backward)

Higher-Order Conditioning When a new NS becomes a new CS. It just needs to become associated with a previously conditioned stimulus. So…if tone produces salivation then a light associated with the tone will also become a CS. Tends to be weaker than the original. Higher-Order Conditioning

Extinction When the US (food) does not follow the CS (tone), CR (salivation) begins to decrease and eventually causes extinction.

Spontaneous Recovery After a rest period, an extinguished CR (salivation) spontaneously recovers, but if the CS (tone) persists alone, the CR becomes extinct again.

Stimulus Generalization Tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the CS is called generalization. Pavlov conditioned the dog’s salivation (CR) by using miniature vibrators (CS) on the thigh. When he subsequently stimulated other parts of the dog’s body, salivation dropped.

Stimulus Discrimination Discrimination is the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus. Ex. A child discriminating between 2 dogs.

Extending Pavlov’s Understanding Pavlov and Watson considered consciousness, or mind, unfit for the scientific study of psychology. However, they underestimated the importance of cognitive processes and biological constraints. Preview Question 4: Do cognitive processes and biological constraints affect classical conditioning?

Cognitive Processes Early behaviorists believed that learned behaviors of various animals could be reduced to mindless mechanisms. However, later behaviorists suggested that animals learn the predictability of a stimulus, meaning they learn expectancy or awareness of a stimulus (Rescorla & Wagner, 1972).

Biological Predispositions Pavlov and Watson believed that laws of learning were similar for all animals. Therefore, a pigeon and a person do not differ in their learning. However, behaviorists later suggested that learning is constrained by an animal’s biology.

Biological Predispositions: Taste Aversions Garcia showed that the duration between the CS and the US may be long (hours), but yet result in conditioning. A biologically adaptive CS (taste) led to conditioning but other stimuli (sight or sound) did not. Courtesy of John Garcia John Garcia

Biological Predispositions Even humans can develop classically to conditioned nausea.

Garcia and Taste Aversion Garcia Effect: People get sick after eating at a restaurant so they won’t eat at that restaurant, even if they know the food was safe. Learning to avoid a food that makes you sick. The signal or CS is the taste of a food. The reflex that follows it is sickness. Organisms quickly learn to associate taste with sickness. Examples? Can use nausea producing drugs as a UCS to condition an aversion to a particular taste Garcia and Taste Aversion

Application of Taste Aversion treating alcoholism, using the drug Antabuse causes nausea and violent vomiting when combined with alcohol attempts to create a taste aversion to alcohol Problem: alcoholics tend to stop taking Antabuse so they can drink again but when used properly, Antabuse does reduce total amount of alcohol consumed (Brewer et al., 2000; Chick et al., 1992) Application of Taste Aversion

Pavlov’s Legacy Pavlov’s greatest contribution to psychology is isolating elementary behaviors from more complex ones through objective scientific procedures. Preview Question 5: Why is Pavlov’s work important? Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)

Applications of Classical Conditioning Former crack cocaine users should avoid cues (people, places) associated with previous drug use. Through classical conditioning, a drug (plus its taste) that affects the immune response may cause the taste of the drug to invoke the immune response.

Applications of Classical Conditioning Watson used classical conditioning procedures to develop advertising campaigns for a number of organizations, including Maxwell House, making the “coffee break” an American custom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= K2fVYkBbA88 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= Xt0ucxOrPQE Brown Brothers John B. Watson

Operant & Classical Conditioning 1. Classical conditioning forms associations between stimuli (CS and US). Operant conditioning, on the other hand, forms an association between behaviors and the resulting events. Preview Question 6: What is operant conditioning, and how does it differ from classical conditioning?

Operant & Classical Conditioning Classical conditioning involves respondent behavior that occurs as an automatic response to a certain stimulus. Operant conditioning involves operant behavior, a behavior that operates on the environment, producing rewarding or punishing stimuli.