Classical Conditioning week 2- pt2

MBB1

Cognition

encompasses the activities of the mind which involves he acquisition and use of knowledge includes mental processes such as: perception, attention, memory, decision making, reasoning, problem solving, imagining, planning and executing actions

The perceptual cognitive cycle

actual world: actual present environment which modifies, cognitive map of the world and its possibilities: schema of present environment which directs, locomotion and action: perceptual exploration which samples to the actual world

Learning

is the set of biological, cognitive and social processes through which organisms make meaning from their experiences, producing long-lasting changes in their behaviour, abilities, and knowledge (helps us predict the future from our past experiences and use these predictions to guide adaptive behaviours)

Foundations of learning (two fundamental forms of non-associative learning are shared by all species):

• sensitisation

• habituation

Sensitisation

is the temporary state of heightened attention and responsivity that accompanies sudden and surprising events. The learner remains alert to potentially threatening stimuli in the environment and has an increased response to subsequent stimuli

Habituation

is the gradual diminishing of attention and responsivity that occurs when a stimulus persists

Associative learning

• classical conditioning

• operant conditioning

Classical conditioning

learning a predictive relationship between an originally neutral environment event and a biologically significant event that itself naturally causes an automatic reflex response, so that the previously neutral event becomes a meaningful stimulus that produces the autonomic reflex response on its own

Three phases of classical conditioning

1. the conditions that exist before conditioning (before learning)

2. during conditioning (learning associations)

3. after conditioning

Phase 1 of classical conditioning: the conditions that exist before conditioning

• a neutral stimulus that has not yet been associated with appetitive or aversive stimuli

• the innate reflex responses of the learner that occur to stimuli that are naturally rewarding (appetitive) or punishing (aversive or threatening)

Phase 2 of classical conditioning: during conditioning

• experiencing a predictive relationship between a neutral stimulus and a biologically relevant stimulus

Phase 3 of classical conditioning: after conditioning

• the previously neutral stimulus becomes able to produce a learned reflex response in preparation for (or expectancy of) a biologically relevant stimulus

1a, before conditioning

a stimulus that does not produce the reflex = neutral stimulus (NS)

1b. before conditioning

UCS + UCR = Reflex

During conditioning: Establishing a conditioned response

• present the sound of the bell just before giving the food to produce the UCR

• Repeat a few trials in one session, and again after delay (e.g., after a day, and then after a week)

After conditioning

Classical conditioning has occurred when:

• the reflex salivation response occurs in response to the formerly neutral stimulus when presented on its own

Learning

predictive relationship between an originally neutral environment and a biologically significant event that itself naturally causes an autonomic reflex response, so that the previously neutral event becomes a meaningful stimulus that produces the autonomic reflex response on its own

stimulus generalization

pavlov demonstrated that the classically conditioned salivation response would generalise (transfer) to other similar stimuli (where the sound of other bells would trigger the same reaction)

Stimulus discrimination

trains the trigger of the response to a specific stimulus without generalisation

Extinction

to stop producing a certain response to a certain stimulus (which was a previous neutral stimuli)

Spontaneous recovery

even after a few trails of extinction, the presenting of the conditioned stimulus may cause the condition response to occur (this is why extinction trails are spaced out over multiple sessions)

Rapid reacquistion

even after extinguishing the behaviour when relearning it, it will be learnt a lot quicker