BEHAVIOURISM: LEARNING APPROACH PAVLOV

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING: PAVLOV

• This theory states that we learn via association

• Both humans and animals can be classically conditioned

How many stages of classical conditioning are there

3

WHAT ARE THE 3 STAGES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

• Before conditioning

• During conditioning

• After conditioning

BEFORE CONDITIONING what does the unconditioned response do

• before conditioning an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) produces an unconditioned response (UCR),

What is an example of an unconditioned stimulus being an unconditioned response

• eg, being with our friend makes us happy.

What in an example of a neutral stimulus producing no response

• e.g, our friends new perfume

Before conditioning, what does a neutral stimulus do

• A neutral stimulus (NS) produces no response,

WHAT HAPPENS DURING CONDITIONING

• The NS is paired with the UCS resulting in an unconditioned response (UCR)

How often does the

AFTER CONDITIONING

• NS becomes the conditioned stimulus (CS) resulting in the conditioned response (CR)

• E.g. when we smell our friends perfume we feel happy even if the friend isnt there

• CS = CR

NEUTRAL STIMULUS

Means nothing until paired with something else

UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE

Becomes conditioned response

NEUTRAL STIMULUS

Becomes conditioned stimulus - a learned stimulus, that after being associated with unconditioned stimulus , comes to trigger a conditioned response (learnt)

CONDITIONED RESPONSE

The learned response after association

ADDITIONAL FEATURES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

• one trial learning

• Extinction and spontaneous recovery

• Generalisation

ONE TRIAL LEARNING

Sometimes animal or human can obtain new behaviour in single pairing of NS and UCS. This happens if response is severe and failing to learn could be fatal, e.g. if we eat something that makes us sick we associate the food with being ill and develop aversion to it

EXTINCTION AND SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY

If CS is often presented in absence of UCS, the strength of the CR gradually declines and becomes extinct. If the pairing occurs again, the response reappears

GENERALISATION

Stimuli similar to CS can trigger CR - perfume can be generalised if its a similar perfume

STRENGTH- SUPPORTING EVIDENCE, PAVLOV’S DOGS 1927

• BEFORE experiment dogs would salivate in reponse to food but NOT to a bell when it was rung

• DURING conditioning, bell was rung whenever food was presented

• AFTER many trials, dogs salivated at sound of bell alone; bell was associated with food = salivation

PAVLOV EVIDENCE STATS BEFORE CONDITIONING

• UCS = food

• NS = bell

• UCR = salivation

PAVLOV EVIDENCE STATS DURING CONDITIONING

• UCS (FOOD) + NS (BELL) = UCR (SALIVATING)

PAVLOV STRENGTH - HIGHLY CONTROLLED CONDITIONS

• Ensured there were no other stimuli present to induce salivation in dogs

• Dogs kept in social isolation

• Researcher administered stimuli from outside room

• This ensured dogs didnt associate researcher with stimuli

• STRENGTH BECAUSE: greater control over extraneous variables, enhanced validity, easier to repeat - reliable

PAVLOV WEAKNESS

• heavily criticised

• Dogs had salometer surgically implanted in oesophagus - couldnt swallow food

• Many died

PAVLOV WEAKNESS

• unable to generalise to humans as was only completed on dogs

• Behaviourists argue that humans and animals brains are the same via processes of conditioning

• BUT human brain is more complex than dogs; we have more complex cognitive processes e.g. problem solving and decision making

• Therefore assuming humans and animals process info the same is weakness as it oversimplified human behaviour

EVIDENCE FOR CLASSICAL CONDITIONING: LITTLE ALBERT - WATSON AND RAYNER 1920

• they aimed to see if humans learn through classical conditioning

• Specifically can a phobia be successfully conditioned in a human child

• Participant = little albert

• Albert given white rat to play with

• Initially he wasnt scared

• As he reached out for rat, metal bar was hit making loud noise which scared him

• Procedure repteated 3x a day for 3 months

• Eventually Albert would cry and crawl away when he saw rat

• This response was generalised to white rat; anything white and fluffy e.g. cotton wool, white rabbit, santa beard

LITTLE ALBERT STATS

• BEFORE - UCS = noise, NS = rat, UCR = crying/fear

• DURING - UCS + NS = UCR of crying and fear

• AFTER - CS = white rat, CR = fear