Classical conditioning and pavlov’s research

what does the behaviourist approach state ?

• Everyone is born as a blank slate which life writes upon

• All behaviour is learned from the environment

• Behaviour can be understood via classical conditioning and operant conditioning

• Behaviours which can be directly observed only can be measured

what is classical conditioning ?

Classical conditioning is learning via association

when does classical conditioning conditioning occur ?

it occurs when a neutral stimulus is substituted for the original unconditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response. An unconditioned stimulus produces a natural unforced response

Who discovered the mechanisms of classical conditioning ?

Pavlov (1897) a physiologist

What did Pavlov discover ?

• Pavlov had been working with dogs in his lab the dogs were attached to an apparatus which held them in place and collected their saliva

• Pavlov noticed that the dogs began to salivate before they saw or smelt food when they heard the footsteps of the lab assistants approaching

What procedure did Pavlov carry out test his discovery ?

1. The dog is given food as usual (UCS)

2. The dog salivates whe it sees and smells the food (UCR)

3. A bell is sounded (NS) every time the dog is given food (UCS)

4. A bell is sounded every time the food is presented (pairing the NS and UCS)

5. After repeated pairings the dog salivates when it hears the bell

6. The bell becomes the CS

7. The dog salivating to the sound of the bell has become the CR

8. The dog continues to salivate to the bell however when Pavlov stopped pairing the bell and the food he found that the CR decreased and gradually disappeared (extinction)

Strengths

• The use of scientific methods- reliability is based on the use of a testable hypothesis and this takes place in controlled conditions using standardised, replicable procedures

• Thus the research has good reliability

• Behaviourism takes a nomothetic approach which is a strength as is seeks to establish general laws of behaviour which can be applied universally to all people

Limitations

• Whilst classical conditioning may explain some forms of behaviour it cannot explain all behaviour. Behaviour which is spontaneous and behaviour which resists conditioning. This mean that classical conditioning has limited external validity