Psychological Principles and Conditioning

Psychologists use specific terms in ways that can differ from everyday language.

Everyday understanding of learning involves linking ideas together.
Responses to stimuli often follow predictable patterns.
- Example: The word "cat" does not elicit a rhyming word or phonetically similar word, but rather a word associated in meaning.

Definition: A theory originating from Aristotle that suggests learning is accomplished through associations between ideas.
Key principle: Contiguity
- Contiguity: Refers to the nearness of events in time and space.
- Frequent co-occurrence of ideas leads to stronger associations.
- Example: Greater frequency of association between lightning and thunder strengthens their connection, which informs how we judge the distance of a storm.
Relationship between thunder and rain has a looser association.
- Can hear thunder before rain arrives, and rain can occur without thunder.

Aim: To deconstruct perceptual experiences to understand their structure.
Techniques involved:
- Participants might listen to tones or view images and describe their sensations.
- Procedure known as introspection.
- Definition: A method where participants communicate their inner experiences to researchers.

Behaviorists criticized introspection for its lack of objectivity and verifiability.
They aimed to establish psychology as an objective science, akin to biology, chemistry, or physics.
- Emphasis on observable behavior rather than subjective experiences.
Example: In a controlled experiment, when a rat is placed in a maze, the outcomes (left or right turns) should yield consistent results regardless of internal motivations of observers.
Importance lies in measuring observable behaviors and outcomes rather than speculating about motivations.
- Example: Money donated to charity can be objectively measured without assessing the donor's intentions (whether altruistic, faith-based, or for tax incentives).

Conditioning is classified under associated learning, suggesting that individuals learn through associations.

When a stimulus (like a phone ringing) occurs, a predictable physiological response may follow, such as salivation when food is anticipated.
Example: Just placing food in the mouth produces salivation as part of the digestive reflex.

Pavlov, a physiologist, studied digestion with dogs, which led to the observation of salivation responses.
Pre-conditioning phase: The bell rings as a neutral stimulus, eliciting no predictable behavior from the dog.
During conditioning: The unconditioned stimulus (food) is paired with the neutral stimulus (bell), allowing dogs to learn the association.
Results in a conditioned stimulus (bell) and a conditioned response (salivation).

Differentiating between neutral, conditioned, and unconditioned stimuli requires observing the stimulus paired with its corresponding response.

Acquisition: Initial phase of learning where the association is established between the two stimuli.
Extinction: The conditioned response diminishes over time if reinforcement ceases.
- Example: A dog that previously salivated at the sound of a bell may stop after the bell alone rings repeatedly without food being presented.
Spontaneous Recovery: If a pause follows extinction, the conditioned response may spontaneously reappear when the original stimulus is presented again; however, it will likely be diminished in strength compared to initial acquisition.

Conducted by John Watson and Rosalie Rayner to investigate whether fears and phobias are learned or innate.
Experiment involved conditioning fear in a child (Albert) with white fluffy animals while introducing loud sounds (bangs) to create an association.
Outcomes reported suggested that fears can be conditioned and generalized to similar stimuli.
Ethical considerations arose as the child was supposedly lost to follow-up, leaving questions about the long-term effects of the conditioning unaddressed.