Module 26: How We Learn and Classical Conditioning

Learning

the process of acquiring through experience new and relatively enduring information or behaviors.

classical conditioning (involuntary)

a type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli

A learning process in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, resulting in a learned response.

operant conditioning (voluntary)

a type of learning in which a behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer or less likely to recur if followed by a punisher.

association

the process of linking stimuli together, which is fundamental in classical conditioning.

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to a stimulus

associative learning

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

stimulus

any event or situation that evokes a response

respondent behavior

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus.

operant behavior

behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences.

cognitive learning

the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language.

Classical condition in POV of behaviorism

a type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli; as a result, to illustrate with Pavlov’s classic experiment, the first stimulus (a tone) comes to elicit behavior (drooling) in anticipation of the second stimulus (food).

Ivan Pavlov

Ivan Pavlov’s work on classical conditioning laid the foundation for behaviorism, the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes. The behaviorists believed that the basic laws of learning are the same for all species, including humans.

John B. Watson

In searching for laws underlying learning, Watson (1913) urged his colleagues to discard reference to inner thoughts, feelings, and motives. The science of psychology should instead study how organisms respond to stimuli in their environments, said Watson: “Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior. Introspection forms no essential part of its methods.” Simply said, psychology should be an objective science based on observable behavior.This view, which Watson called behaviorism, influenced North American psychology during the first half of the twentieth century. Pavlov and Watson both came to share a disdain for “mentalistic” concepts (such as consciousness) and a belief that the basic laws of learning were the same for all animals—whether sea slugs or dogs or humans. Few researchers today agree that psychology should ignore mental processes, but most do agree that classical conditioning is a basic form of learning by which all organisms adapt to their environment.

behaviorism

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

neutral stimulus (NS)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning.

unconditioned response (UR)

in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (US) (such as food in the mouth).

unconditioned stimulus (US)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers an unconditioned response UR).

conditioned response (CR)

in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS).

conditioned stimulus (CS)

in classical conditioning, an originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR).

acquisition

in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.

higher-order conditioning

a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. For example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone. (Also called second-order conditioning.)

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.

generalization

the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses. (In operant conditioning, 7 generalization occurs when responses learned in one situation occur in other, similar situations.)

discrimination

in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus. (In operant conditioning, the ability to distinguish responses that are reinforced from similar responses that are not reinforced.)

Why does Pavlov’s work remain so important?

Pavlov taught us that significant psychological phenomena can be studied objectively, and that classical conditioning is a basic form of learning that applies to all species.

Drug cravings

Former drug users often feel a craving when they are again in the drug-using context—with people or in places they associate with previous highs. Thus, drug counselors advise their clients to steer clear of people and settings that may trigger these cravings (Siegel, 2005).

Food cravings.

Classical conditioning makes dieting difficult. We readily associate sugary substances with an enjoyable sweet sensation. Researchers have conditioned healthy volunteers to experience cravings after only one instance of eating a sweet food (Blechert et al., 2016). Eating one cookie can create hunger for another. People who struggle with their weight often have eaten unhealthy foods thousands of times, leaving them with strongly conditioned responses to eat the very foods that will keep them in poor health (Hill, 2007).

Immune responses

Classical conditioning even works on the body’s disease-fighting immune system. When a particular taste accompanies a drug that influences immune responses, the taste by itself may come to produce an immune response (Ader & Cohen, 1985).

Little Albert

t In Watson and Rayner’s experiments, “Little Albert” learned to fear a white rat after repeatedly experiencing a loud noise as the rat was presented.