Classical Conditioning Study Notes

Learning Overview

  • Lecture Overview

    • Basic concepts of classical conditioning

    • Applications of classical conditioning

    • Counterconditioning

Classical vs. Operant Conditioning

  • Classical Conditioning

    • Organism is passive

    • Responses are reflexes

    • Responses are elicited

    • Reinforcement is unrelated to learning the association

  • Operant Conditioning

    • Organism is active

    • Responses are voluntary

    • Responses are emitted

    • Reinforcement is contingent on desired response

Classical Conditioning Definition

  • Definition

    • A neutral stimulus produces a response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally produces a response.

    • Pioneered by

    • Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)

Key Components of Classical Conditioning

  • Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

    • Something that reliably produces a naturally occurring reaction.

  • Unconditioned Response (UCR)

    • Reflexive reaction that is reliably produced by a UCS.

  • Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

    • Initially neutral stimulus that produces no reliable response, paired with a UCS.

  • Conditioned Response (CR)

    • Reaction that resembles a UCR but is produced by a CS.

Pavlov's Classical Conditioning Example

  • UCS: Food

  • UCR: Salivation in response to food

  • Pairing: Bell with food

  • CS: Bell

  • CR: Salivation in response to bell

Classical Conditioning: Key Concepts

  • Acquisition

    • The phase when CS and UCS are presented together.

  • Extinction

    • Gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when UCS is no longer presented.

  • Spontaneous Recovery

    • Tendency of a learned behavior to recover from extinction after a rest period.

Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery Diagram

  • Diagram Elements:

    • Drops of saliva elicited by CS

    • Acquisition phase (CS-US pairings)

    • Extinction phase (CS alone)

    • Two periods of spontaneous recovery (CS alone)

Classical Conditioning Advanced Concepts

  • Second-Order Conditioning

    • A previously neutral stimulus (e.g., a light) is paired with a CS (e.g., a tone that has been paired with food to produce salivation - first order) and produces the same conditioned response as the conditioned stimulus.

Classical Conditioning in Real Life

  • Taste Aversion

    • Example: If a person experiences nausea after eating a food, they may develop an aversion to that food even if it was not the cause of their sickness.

  • PTSD Triggers

    • Previously neutral stimuli can trigger emotional responses due to classical conditioning.

  • Conditioned Emotional Response (CER)

    • An emotionally charged conditioned response elicited by a previously neutral stimulus.

Examples of Conditioned Emotional Responses (CER)

  • Example 1:

    • Child bitten by a cat experiences fear upon seeing cats.

  • Example 2:

    • Person in a car accident was listening to a song; now that song induces fear.

Modifying Conditioned Emotional Responses

  • Flooding

    • Presenting an overwhelming amount of the fear-inducing stimulus to help the person/animal calm down as the adrenaline response diminishes.

    • The idea is that the individual learns the fear response is unwarranted.

Flooding in Practice

  • Professor Gallagher's Technique (1986)

    • Controversial method of confronting fears of heights, snakes, and the dark simultaneously.

Challenges of Flooding

  • Potential Problems

    • Discussion needed on the ethics and psychological safety of flooding.

Alternative to Flooding: Counterconditioning

  • Counterconditioning Overview

    • Related term: Systematic desensitization

    • Aims to change conditioned emotional responses from negative to neutral/positive.

Process of Counterconditioning

  • Steps of Counterconditioning:

    1. Begin with the animal in a calm, relaxed state.

    2. Work with the animal below the threshold.

    3. Pair high-value rewards (e.g., food) with a low level of a ‘scary’ stimulus.

  • Gradual Exposure:

    • Short sessions that gradually increase the level of the scary stimulus (e.g., having a person approach closer to the dog) as the animal remains calm.

Counterconditioning Process Diagram

  • Diagrams include:

    • Triggers before, during, and after counterconditioning phases showing UR, US, CS, and CR.

Credits

  • Special thanks to the individuals and organizations that contributed materials for this lecture, including presentation templates by SlidesCarnival and photographs by Unsplash.