Classical Conditioning: From Basics to Higher Orders

Learning Study Materials Due Date Extension: The due date for learning study materials (including consent and debriefing forms, stimulus materials, pictures, words, text, and questions) has been extended by 24 hours to allow for more time to piece together the components.
Importance of Early Submission: Students are encouraged to submit their progress, even if incomplete, to receive feedback that can aid in finishing the remainder of the work.
Literature Reviews Reminder: Keep literature reviews on your radar. If aiming to divide the 10 studies across the semester, this period is roughly halfway. Taking notes now will prevent re-reading the entire texts later.

The class is still focused on the basics of classical conditioning, building a strong foundation before adding complexities found in the real world.
Real-World vs. Laboratory: The real world is not as straightforward as the laboratory setting, necessitating an understanding of these complexities.
Think-Pair-Share Activity: An in-class activity involving classical conditioning examples was conducted using a Canvas handout. The goal was to practice identifying and classifying conditioning situations.
- Activity Objectives: For each example, classify:
  - Temporal Condition: The timing of the conditioning (e.g., delayed, trace, simultaneous, backward).
  - Type: Appetitive (desired) or Aversive (undesired).
  - Stimuli and Responses: Identify the Conditioned Stimulus (CS), Unconditioned Stimulus (US), Conditioned Response (CR), and Unconditioned Response (UR).

Scenario: Tom drinks decaf coffee for 20 years, experiencing alertness, then switches to regular coffee for 5 years and gets the same feeling.
Stimuli/Responses:
- US: Caffeine/Arousal from regular coffee (explicitly, the physiological effect of caffeine).
- UR: Alertness/Attentiveness (natural physiological response to caffeine).
- CS: Smell/Taste of coffee (specifically decaf in the initial phase, generalized from previous experience with regular).
- CR: Alertness/Attentiveness (learned response to the decaf coffee).
Type: Appetitive (Tom desires to be alert).
Timing: Delayed conditioning.
- Explanation: Assuming Tom sips his coffee over 20 minutes, the smell/taste of the coffee (CS) overlaps with the onset of the caffeine's effect (US) in his system. If he 'chugged' it, a trace conditioning might occur, where the smell dissipates before the caffeine's full effect.
Extinction: The 20 years mentioned when Tom drinks only decaf represents an extinction process, where the CS (smell/taste of coffee) is experienced without the US (caffeine), gradually reducing the CR.

Scenario: Alex is bitten by a dog and now cries and runs away whenever he sees a dog.
Stimuli/Responses:
- US: Dog bite/Pain.
- UR: Fear, crying, running away (natural, instinctive reaction to pain/threat).
- CS: Sight of the dog (before the bite).
- CR: Fear, crying, running away (learned reaction to the sight of a dog).
Type: Aversive (being bitten by a dog is undesirable).
Timing: Delayed conditioning.
- Explanation: The sight of the dog (CS) likely precedes and overlaps with the actual bite (US). It's plausible that Alex would see the dog, hear growling/barking, and then be bitten.

Scenario: Robert works at an airport after a plane crash, helping with the aftermath. Now, he experiences cold sweats and an upset stomach whenever he hears a low-flying plane.
Stimuli/Responses:
- US: Seeing the aftermath/carnage of the plane crash (e.g., wounded people, body parts, luggage, smell of burning fuel).
- UR: Vomiting (instinctive, hardwired physiological response to extreme trauma/carnage).
- CS: Sound of a low-flying plane.
- CR: Cold sweats, upset stomach (learned physiological responses, similar to flashback symptoms).
Type: Aversive (a plane crash disaster is undesirable and traumatic).
Timing: Delayed or Trace conditioning.
- Explanation: The determination depends on the