Chapter 7 PSYCH 101 NOT FINISHED

Learning

The acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or understanding. Aquired through experience

Behavioral Changes in Learning

Focuses on how learning produces observable, relatively permanent changes in an organism's behavior.

Key Features of Learning

Focus on the essential criteria of learning (experience-driven, long-lasting, and reflected in observable actions).

Classical Conditioning

When a stimulus is used to predict a biologically significant outcome

Ivan Pavlov

Studied the digestive process in animals

Pavlov's Classical Conditioning Experiment (Setup)

Paired a neutral stimulus (ringing a bell/tone) with an unconditioned stimulus (food) right before feeding dogs.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

A natural trigger that automatically causes a response (e.g., Food).

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

The automatic, unlearned reaction to the UCS (e.g., salivating to food).

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

The previously neutral stimulus that, after repeated pairing with the US, eventually triggers the response (metronome

Conditioned Response (CR)

The learned response to a previously neutral stimulus that was repeatedly paired with the US (salivating in response to he metronome)

Key Findings of Pavlov's Experiment

Demonstrated classical conditioning—proving that an involuntary biological response can be trained to trigger from a neutral, learned cue.

Classical Conditioning Phenomena

Extinction & Recovery

Extinction

The CR fades if the CS (bell) is repeatedly played without the UCS (food).

Spontaneous Recovery

The sudden reappearance of a suppressed CR after a rest period.

Second- Order conditioning

Pairing a new neutral stimulus with a previously established conditioned stimulus (CS) to trigger the same conditioned response, without using the original unconditioned stimulus (UCS).

What are the basic principles of classical conditioning?

Acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, stimulus generalization, stimulus discrimination and blocking

Acquisition

Gradual appearance of the CR in response to the CS without representation fo the US

Extinction

loss of the conditioned response caused by repeated presentation of the CS without the US

Spontaneous Recovery

return of a previously extinguished CR in response to the CS after a period of rest

Stimulus generalization

When the subject displays a CR to stimuli that are similar to, but not exactly identical to, the CS used in training

Stimulus discrimination

The ability to determine that a frequency is different from the frequency associated with food

Blocking

Development of an association between a CS and a US is blocked if the new CS is paired with a second (old) CS that already predict the US

Blocking in Fear in Rats study

The rat doesn’t learn about the new CS because it already knows about the old CS

Conditioned Stimulus (CS) (Fear Conditioning in Rats)

form of classical conditioning where an organism learns to associate a neutral stimulus (e.g., a tone or light) with an aversive stimulus (e.g., a mild foot shock), resulting in a learned fear response (e.g., freezing

Pavlovian Fear Conditioning: Key Stimuli

Unconditioned Stimulus (US): Mild foot shock (naturally causes fear/pain).

Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Neutral tone or light.

Conditioned Response (CR): Freezing behavior or increased heart rate in response to the tone alone.

The Fear Conditioning Process (Phases)

Habituation, Acquisition, and Testing

Habituation

Rat is exposed to the neutral tone (CS) to confirm no baseline fear.

Acquisition

one (CS) plays and immediately ends with a foot shock (US). Repeated a few times.

Testing

Rat is placed in a new context and played the tone (CS) alone—it displays freezing (CR).

Measuring Fear in Rats (Freezing Behavior)

Freezing is the primary behavioral measure of learned fear in rodents, defined as the complete absence of body movement except for breathing.

Neural Circuitry of Fear Conditioning

The amygdala is the key brain structure responsible for processing and storing fear memories. The lateral nucleus receives the CS and US sensory input, while the central nucleus drives the physiological and behavioral fear responses (freezing, heart rate spike).

John Watson

Believed that relatively complex reactions such as fear could be conditioned using classical conditioning techniques

What did John Watson test?

Fear Conditioning in Humans

Watsons “ Little Albert” Experiment

Designed to test whether complex emotional responses, like fear, could be classically conditioned in humans.

Little Albert Experiment: Stimuli Setup

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US): Loud noise (hammer hitting a steel bar).

• Unconditioned Response (UR): Fear / Crying in response to noise.

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): White rat (initially neutral).

• Conditioned Response (CR): Fear / Crying in response to the white rat alone.

Little Albert Experiment: Findings

fter seven pairings of the white rat with the loud noise, Albert showed immediate fear toward the rat alone and generalized this fear to other white, furry objects (e.g., rabbits, fur coats, Santa mask)

Little Albert Experiment: Conclusion

Classical conditioning can be used for complex reactions and emotional responses are learned