UNIT 4 BRAIN, BEHAVIOUR & EXPERIENCE AREA OF STUDY 1 LEARNING

THEORIES OF LEARNING CLASSICAL CONDITIONING OPERANT CONDITIONING The process of learning associations between a stimulus in the environment (one event) and a behavioural response (another event) CONDITIONING = LEARNING CLASSICAL CONDITIONING OPERANT CONDITIONING OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING KK 3 – PAGE 378-463

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING STIMULUS RESPONSE A type of learning that occurs through the repeated association of two (or more) different stimuli Learning is only said to have occurred when a particular stimulus consistently produces a response that it did not previously produce KK 3A – PAGE 398-420

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING KEY ELEMENTS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS (UCS): any stimulus that consistently produces a particular, naturally occurring, automatic response UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE (UCR): the response that occurs automatically when the UCS is presented (reflexive, involuntary) CONDITIONED STIMULUS (CS): the stimulus that is ‘neutral’ at the start of the conditioning process and does not normally produce the unconditioned response. Through repeated association with the UCS the CS triggers a similar response CONDITIONED RESPONSE (CR): the learned response that is produced by the CS KK 3A – PAGE 401-405

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING KEY ELEMENTS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING KK 3A – PAGE 401-405

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING OTHER EXAMPLES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING KK 3A – PAGE 401-405

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY CLASSICAL CONDITIONING OF AN EYE-BLINK LEARNING ACTIVITY 11.1 (pg.402-403) KK 3A – CLASSROOM ACTIVITY – LEARNING ACTIVITY 11.1 (PAGE 402-403)

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING KEY PROCESSES IN CLASSICAL CONDITIONING KK 3A – PAGE 405-407 5 KEY PROCESSES IN CLASSICAL CONDITIONING: ACQUISITION EXTINCTION SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY STIMULUS GENERALISATION STIMULUS DISCRIMINATION

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING KEY PROCESSES IN CLASSICAL CONDITIONING ACQUISITION: the overall process during which an organism learns to associate two events (the CS and the UCS). The UCS is always presented before the CS. This timing must be short (half second) EXTINCTION: the gradual decrease in the strength or rate of a CR that occurs when the UCS is no longer presented. Extinction occurs when a CR no longer occurs following presentation of the CS SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY: the reappearance of a CR when the CS is presented, following a rest period, after the CR appears to have been extinguished STIMULUS GENERALISATION: the tendency for another stimulus that is similar to the original CS to produce a response that is similar to the CR STIMULUS DISCRIMINATION: a person or animal responds to the CS only, but not to any stimulus that is similar to the CS KK 3A – PAGE 405-407

APPLICATIONS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING WATSON’S ‘LITTLE ALBERT’ EXPERIMENT KK 3B – PAGE 413-415

APPLICATIONS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING WATSON’S ‘LITTLE ALBERT’ EXPERIMENT JOHN B. WATSON (1920) Research participant was Albert B., the 11 month old son of a woman who worked in the same clinic as Watson Classically conditioned a fear response to a white rat (see previous slide) Tested if fear response could be generalised to other stimuli Albert produced fearful responses to a white rabbit, a dog and a sealskin coat Less fearful reactions to cotton wool balls and a Santa Claus mask ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS Reported that Albert’s mother was not aware of the nature and purpose of the experiment (informed consent?) Not clear whether there was any allowance of withdrawal rights Fear response was not extinguished (long term emotional trauma?) KK 3B – PAGE 413-415

APPLICATIONS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING GRADUATED EXPOSURE Graduated exposure involves presenting successive approximations of the CS until the CS itself does not produce the conditioned response De-sensitises the participant to the fear or anxiety-producing event: - fear of flying - fear of heights - public speaking anxiety - fear of spiders Therapist and patient will develop a hierarchy of increasingly difficult encounters Imaginal exposure = using visual imagery In Vivo exposure = real-life exposure KK 3B – PAGE 416-418

APPLICATIONS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING FLOODING Flooding involves bringing the client into direct contact with the anxiety or fear-producing stimulus and keeping them in contact with it until the conditioned response is extinguished KK 3B – PAGE 418

APPLICATIONS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING AVERSION THERAPY Aversion therapy is a form of behaviour therapy that applies classical conditioning processes to inhibit (block) or discourage undesirable behaviour by associating (pairing) it with an aversive (unpleasant) stimulus such as a feeling of disgust, pain or nausea KK 3B – PAGE 418-420