Classical Conditioning

What is classical conditioning?

• a type of learning where a response produced naturally by a certain stimulus becomes associated with another stimulus not normally associated with that particular response

• learning by association

What is an unconditioned stimulus?

• a natural trigger that leads to an automatic response

• e.g. the food being presented

What is an unconditioned response?

• an automatic response that occurs when an unconditioned stimulus is present

• e.g. the dog salivating

What is a neutral stimulus?

• a stimulus that doesn’t initially trigger a response on it’s own

• e.g. the bell ringing (before conditioning)

What is a conditioned stimulus?

• a stimulus that was once neutral (didn’t trigger a response) but now triggers a response

• e.g. the bell ringing (after conditioning)

What is a conditioned response?

• an automatic response that occurs when paired with a conditioned stimulus

• e.g. salivating when hearing bell