Chapter 7 Study Notes: Learning and Conditioning

Chapter 7: Learning

Overview of Learning and Conditioning

  • Learning: A relatively permanent acquisition of information or behavior.

  • Conditioning: The process of learning associations between events and behavioral responses.

Part 1: Learning & Conditioning

  • Associative Learning: Involves linking two events that occur close together in time.

    • Example: Responding to a command, such as "Sit Fido!"

    • Stimulus 1: Visual input of lightning

    • Stimulus 2: Auditory input of thunder

Vocabulary Definitions

  • Learning: The process through which behaviors and information are acquired.

  • Associative Learning: Learning that involves the association between stimuli and responses.

  • Conditioning: A method of learning where associations are made between stimuli and responses.

  • Classical Conditioning: A type of learning through which an organism learns to associate a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a reflexive response.

  • Operant Conditioning: Associating a behavior and its consequences; behaviors are learned or avoided based on the outcomes they produce.

Part 2: Pavlov’s Experiments & Legacy

  • Ivan Pavlov (1849 – 1936):

    • Russian physiologist who won the Nobel Prize for Physiology in 1904.

    • Known for discovering classical conditioning through studies on dog salivation.

    • Emphasized that experimental investigation should form a basis for psychology.

Key Concepts in Classical Conditioning

  • Unconditioned Stimulus (US): A stimulus that naturally triggers a response.

    • Example: Food

  • Unconditioned Response (UR): A naturally occurring response to the US.

    • Example: Salivation in response to food

  • Neutral Stimulus (NS): A stimulus that has not been paired with the US and elicits no response.

    • Example: A bell before conditioning

  • Conditioned Stimulus (CS): A previously NS that, after being paired with the US, triggers a conditioned response (CR).

    • Example: A bell after conditioning

  • Conditioned Response (CR): A learned response to a previous NS that is now a CS.

    • Example: Salivation in response to the bell

Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Process

  • Before Conditioning:

    • Neutral Stimulus (NS): Bell - No response

    • Unconditioned Stimulus (US): Food - Unconditioned Response (UR): Dog salivates

  • During Conditioning:

    • Pairing NS (Bell) with US (Food) leads to UR (Dog salivates).

  • After Conditioning:

    • CS (Bell) leads to CR (Dog salivates).

Key Components of Classical Conditioning

  • Acquisition: Initial learning of the stimulus-response (S-R) relationship.

    • Condition: NS must come before US for effective conditioning.

  • Extinction: The diminished CR when the US is no longer paired with the CS.

    • CR weakens without reinforcement from US.

  • Spontaneous Recovery: The reappearance of a weakened CR after a pause, indicating that extinction suppresses rather than eliminates the CR.

Higher-Order Conditioning

  • Definition: A procedure where the CS from one experience is paired with a different NS to create a second CS.

  • Example: Money can become a CS through associations with other values.

Generalization and Discrimination

  • Generalization: Once a response has been conditioned, responding similarly to stimuli that resemble the CS.

    • Example: Salivating at a doorbell if conditioned to salivate at a dinner bell.

  • Discrimination: The ability to distinguish between a CS and other stimuli that do not signal a US.

    • Example: Infants can differentiate between their mother’s voice and other women’s voices.

Biological Constraints & Applications

  • Classical conditioning serves as a model for psychological learning and adaptation.

    • Objective study of learning provides a scientific basis for psychology.

Applications of Classical Conditioning

  • Pavlov's principles applied in therapeutic contexts:

    • Example: Drug cravings triggered by environmental cues (CSs).

    • Robert Ader’s Study: Demonstrated that immune responses can be classically conditioned.

    • Taste paired with a drug creating a CS that triggers an immune response.

  • Exposure Therapy: This method uses classical conditioning to alter responses toward stimuli, particularly useful in treating fears or phobias.

John Watson and Little Albert Experiment

  • John B. Watson (1878 – 1958): Applied classical conditioning to human emotions and behavior’s concept.

    • Conditioned emotional responses (CERs) can explain human behavior.

    • The famous experiment involved conditioning a child named Little Albert to fear white rats by pairing them with loud noises (US).

Little Albert Experiment Explained

  1. Before Conditioning:

    • Neutral Stimulus (NS): Rat - No fear

    • Unconditioned Stimulus (US): Steel bar hit with hammer - Unconditioned Response (UR): Fear

  2. During Conditioning:

    • NS (Rat) paired with US (Hammer noise) resulting in UR (Fear).

  3. After Conditioning:

    • NS (Rat) becomes CS that triggered conditioned response (Fear).

Additional Vocabulary

  • Exposure Therapy: A method that helps patients confront fears by using classical conditioning techniques.

  • Conditioned Emotional Reactions (CERs): Emotional responses developed through classical conditioning.

Fact or Falsehood Section

  • Statements regarding learning and conditioning concepts:

    • True/False statements regarding instincts in primitive animals, psychology's focus on thoughts and feelings, and the work of Ivan Pavlov.