3.7- Classical Conditioning

Learning

a relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience

Classical Conditioning

A type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

Associative Learning

Learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning)

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

A stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response

Unconditioned Response

The unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivation when food is in the mouth

Neutral Stimulus

A stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning

Conditioned Stimulus

An originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response

Conditioned Response

The learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)

Acquisition Phase

The period in the learning process when an individual is learning a new behavior

Extinction

The diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

Stimulus Generalization

The tendency to respond to a stimulus that is only similar to the original conditioned stimulus with the conditioned response

Stimulus Discrimination

A differentiation between two similar stimuli when only one of them is consistently associated with the unconditioned stimulus

Higher-Order Conditioning

A procedure in which a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus through association with an already established conditioned stimulus

Counterconditioning

A behavior therapy procedure that uses classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors; includes exposure therapies and aversive conditioning

Taste Aversion

A type of classical conditioning in which a previously desirable or neutral food comes to be perceived as repugnant because it is associated with negative stimulation

One-Trial Conditioning

Learning with only one pairing of stimulus and response

Biological Preparedness

A propensity for learning particular kinds of associations over others

Habituation

An organism's decreasing response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it