Classical Conditioning

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to classical conditioning as described by Pavlov and its applications in everyday life.

Classical conditioning

A type of learning in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus.

Stimulus

An object, behavior, or event that triggers a response.

Unconditioned association

A natural, unlearned association between a stimulus and a response.

Unconditioned stimulus (US)

A stimulus that evokes an unconditioned response without previous conditioning.

Unconditioned response (UR)

An unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus that occurs without previous conditioning.

Conditioned association

A link between a stimulus and response established through conditioning.

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that has, through conditioning, acquired the capacity to evoke a conditioned response.

Conditioned response (CR)

A learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus that occurs because of previous conditioning.

Acquisition

The initial stage of learning a new response tendency.

Stimulus contiguity

Stimuli that occur together in time and space.

Extinction

The gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response tendency.

Spontaneous recovery

The return of a conditioned association that had seemed to be extinguished.

Renewal effect

If a response is extinguished in a different environment than it was acquired, the extinguished response will reappear if the animal is returned to the original environment where acquisition took place.

Stimulus generalisation

When an organism has learned a response to a specific stimulus, and now responds in the same way to new stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus.

Stimulus discrimination

When an organism that has learned a response to a specific stimulus does not respond in the same way to new stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus.

Higher-order conditioning

A conditioned stimulus functions as if it were an unconditioned stimulus.

Evaluative conditioning

Changes in the liking of a stimulus that result from pairing that stimulus with other positive or negative stimuli