Learning Chapter 6

Case Study: The Little Albert Experiment The Little Albert experiment showed that emotional reactions such as fear can be taught through classical conditioning. The Experiment Eleven-month-old Albert was conditioned to fear a white rat rather than be amused by it. Psychologists achieved this by pairing the rat with something that Albert would find instinctively frightening. The Results After they paired the rat with loud noises, Albert showed a fear of the rat even when there was no noise. Albert’s fear spread to similar objects. By today’s standards, the experiment was unethical.

What is Classical Conditioning? Classical Conditioning: a form of learning that involves the use of a stimulus to generate a specific response. Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov pioneered research into a form of learning known as classical conditioning. In classical conditioning, one stimulus causes a response that is usually caused by another stimulus. Classical conditioning can help people adapt to the environment and can help eliminate troubling fears or other behaviors.

Principles of Classical Conditioning Conditioning is a type of learning that involves stimulus-response connections. Classical conditioning is a simple form of learning in which one stimulus calls forth the response that is usually called forth by another stimulus. Pavlov’s Dogs Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov used dogs in his studies of classical conditioning. He trained the dogs to associate the sound of a bell with food. They learned that the sound of the bell meant food was coming.

Principles of Classical Conditioning, cont’d Stimulus and Response Unconditioned stimulus: a stimulus that causes a response that is automatic, not learned Unconditioned response: caused by an unconditioned stimulus Conditioned response: a learned response to a neutral stimulus Conditioned stimulus: a previously neutral stimulus that causes a conditioned response

Pavlov’s Experiment

Key Concepts of Classical Conditioning

Adapting to the Environment Taste Aversions Taste aversion: learned response to a particular food One-trial learning https://youtu.be/Q8skzjsaJc8 Spontaneous Recovery Spontaneous recovery: Reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after some time has passed https://youtu.be/COMaG7pObgE https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ Extinction Extinction: Disappearance of conditioned response when unconditioned stimulus no longer follows conditioned stimulus Generalization and Discrimination Generalization: The tendency to respond in the same way to stimuli that have similar characteristics EX. Scared of a big dog that growled, so a child generalizes all dogs are scary and avoids them Discrimination: The act of responding differently to stimuli that are not similar to each other EX. Fear of snakes but will visit reptile houses at the zoo; fear of heights but will jump out of an airplane

Applications of Classical Conditioning Flooding and Systematic Desensitization In flooding, a person is exposed to the harmless stimulus until fear responses to that stimulus are extinguished. https://youtu.be/O346Rqdj2Uk With systematic desensitization, people learn relaxation techniques and then, while they are relaxed, they are gradually exposed to the stimulus they fear. https://youtu.be/NpyBTB2aq9s Counterconditioning In counterconditioning, a pleasant stimulus is paired repeatedly with a fearful one, counteracting the fear. https://youtu.be/IhcQj_QAQig Conditioning in a Nutshell https://youtu.be/qaOC_3KA3P8