Module 4 - Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning is a learning process that occurs through associations between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus. This type of conditioning is closely associated with Ivan Pavlov's experiments with dogs, where he demonstrated that a neutral stimulus, when paired with an unconditioned stimulus, can eventually lead to a conditioned response.

Chapter 3: Elicited Behaviors and Classical Conditioning

  • Key Topics:

    • Elicited Behaviors

    • Simple Mechanisms of Learning

    • Classical Conditioning
      *Story: Uma witnesses her boyfriend flirting, experiences strong attraction after his apology, feels manipulated.

Learning Objectives

  • Define elicited behavior and give examples.

  • Distinguish habituation and sensitization.

  • Explain reactions to extreme events using the opponent-process theory.

  • Explain classical conditioning with examples.

  • Distinguish appetitive and aversive conditioning.

  • Distinguish excitatory and inhibitory conditioning.

  • Explain how temporal order affects conditioning strength.

3.1 Elicited Behaviors

  • Elicited behavior is drawn out by a preceding stimulus; also known as respondent behavior.

  • Involuntary responses: startle to gunshot, salivation to lemon.

Reflexes

  • Reflex: simple, automatic response to a stimulus.

  • Examples:

    • Salivation to lemon juice.

    • Blinking to a puff of air.

    • Startle response: tightening of skeletal muscles, hormonal and visceral changes.

    • Orienting response: positioning to attend to a stimulus.

  • Survival-related reflexes:

    • Food consumption: salivation, peristalsis, digestive juices.

    • Vomiting reflex: expelling poisonous substances.

    • Flexion response: withdrawal from hot or sharp objects.

    • Startle reaction: preparing for fight or flight.

  • Newborn reflexes: facilitate survival (e.g., turning head to touch on cheek).

  • Reflex arc: neural structure for simple reflexes (sensory neuron, interneuron, motor neuron).

  • Flexion response: hand withdrawal before feeling pain thanks to reflex arc. Figure 3.1 schematic diagram of a reflex arc underlying a flexion response.

Quick Quiz A

  1. Simple, involuntary response to a stimulus is called a reflex.

  2. Reflexes are elicited by stimuli that precede their occurrence.

  3. Startle response is a defensive response to a sudden stimulus; orienting response facilitates attending to a stimulus.

  4. Reflex arc consists of a sensory neuron, an interneuron, and a motor neuron.

  5. Jerking away from a flame is a flexion response; pain follows the response.

Fixed Action Patterns

  • Fixed action pattern: fixed sequence of responses elicited by a specific stimulus.

  • Examples: spiders building webs, ducks flying in formation, squirrels burying nuts, dogs play bow.

  • Sign stimulus (releaser): specific stimulus that elicits a fixed action pattern.

    • Male Betta splendens aggressive posture at the sight of another male.

    • Stickleback fish attacks red underbelly.

  • Species-specific behaviors/instincts: unique to certain species.

  • Rats aggression to the pain can be modified by experience.

  • Adaptive responses: evolved to cope with consistent aspects of environment; however, sudden changes can render them useless (e.g., deer zigzagging avoids predators but not cars).

  • Learning enables better adaptation to environment changes.

Quick Quiz B

  1. A fixed action pattern is a fixed sequence of responses in reaction to a specific stimulus.
    The specific stimulus that elicits this behavior is called a sign stimulus or releaser.

  2. Web spinning is a species-specific behavior, once called instincts. Some researchers dislike the term instinct because it implies inflexibility.

3.2 Simple Mechanisms of Learning

Habituation and Sensitization

  • Repeated presentation of eliciting stimulus alters elicited behavior strength.

  • Habituation: decrease in response strength with repeated stimulus presentations.

    • Example: ignoring clock ticking or distant traffic.

  • Sensitization: increase in response strength with repeated stimulus presentations.

    • Example: soldiers under attack becoming more startled, contributing to stress.

  • Effects disappear if stimulus not presented for a time; behavior returns/recovers to original level when stimulus is presented again. *Types

    • Short-term habituation: the response quickly decreases, the ability to respond then quickly recovers.

    • Long-term habituation: The response slowly decreases; the ability to respond then slowly recovers.

  • Long-term habituation: widely spaced stimulus presentations.

  • Short-term habituation: narrowly spaced or continuous stimulus presentations.

  • Repeated short-term habituation can lead to long-term habituation.

  • Sensitization often generalizes to other stimuli; habituation is more stimulus specific (minor changes can cause response reappearance).

  • Coolidge effect: enhanced sexual arousal with different partners.

  • Dishabituation: habituated responses reappear after a novel stimulus.

Quick Quiz C

  1. Sensitization is an increase in the strength of behavior following stimulus presentations.

  2. Habituation is a decrease in the strength of behavior following stimulus presentations.

  3. Learning to ignore dripping water is habituation; becoming aware of jackhammer sound is sensitization.

  4. Months since noticing factory whistles is long-term habituation. It builds up slowsly, recovers slowly, so one would notice it after a long vacation.

  5. Sensitization is more stimulus specific than habituation and more likely to generalize.

  6. In dishabituation, a novel stimulus during habituation can result in the reappearance of the habituated response.

*Factors influencing habituation vs. sensitization:
* Stimulus intensity:
* Low intensity = habituation.
* High intensity = sensitization.
* Moderate intensity = sensitization followed by habituation.
* Evolutionary significance.
* Harmless, we habituate; potentially dangerous, we sensitize.

  • Prior learning influences habituation and sensitization: assessment of risk affects response.

  • Individual differences also play a role.
    *Habituation & Sensitization impact on the understanding of neurological processes in learning.

Quick Quiz D

  1. Low-intensity stimulus results in habituation; high-intensity stimulus results in sensitization.

  2. Intermediate intensity results in initial sensitization followed by habituation.

  3. If a stimulus is safe, we tend to become habituated to it; if potentially dangerous, we become sensitized to it.

Opponent-Process Theory of Emotion

  • Dual mechanism: weaker vs. stronger reactivity.

  • Explains aftereffects of strong emotional responses.

  • Example: injured boy euphoric after lightning strike; lottery ticket disappointment.

  • Shock leads to heart rate rise, then below normal when removed.

*Key principle: an event elicits a strong emotional response, but when it is withdrawn, an opposite response is elicited and vanishes.

*Process:
* Emotional event elicits two processes:
* A-process (primary): directly elicited by the event.
* B-process (opponent): elicited by the a-process and counteracts it.
*Presentation of shock directly elicits heart rate increase that elicits compensatory reaction to decrease heart rate, maintaining internal balance (homeostasis).
*Emotion = balance of a-process reduced by b-process.

Quick Quiz E

  1. accounts for why a strong emotional response often followed by opposite emotional response.

  2. A-process is elicited by the emotional event, eliciting the b-process to maintain homeostasis.

  3. A-process is the primary process, the b-process is the opponent process.

*Characteristics of A-Process and B-Process
* A-process correlates with emotional event. When the shock is turned on, heart rate immediately increases; when the shock is turned off, heart rate immediately decreases.
* B-process is slow to increase and decrease. The immediate peak happens during the early moments of shock, when the b-process is not yet strong enough to counteract the a-process, thereby allowing the a-process free rein to increase heart rate; emotional response weakens from the outset.
*With repeated presentations of emotional event, the b-process increases in both strength (the increase in heart rate during each shock becomes less and less extreme) and duration (the shock is turned off, the dog’s heart rate plunges further and further and takes increasingly longer to return to normal).
* A- and b-processes are hedonically opposite (pleasant vs. unpleasant).
E.g., Eptein finds military parachutist becomes elited after the jump due to painful fear.
Revictimization: A contributing factor may be that the person has become hooked on the powerful feelings of pleasure that occur during the “honeymoon period” of forgiveness that often follows an abusive episode.

Quick Quiz F

  1. With repeated presentations of the emotional event, the b process increases in both strength and duration.

  2. A process is tied to the presence of the emotional event, whereas the b-process is slow to increase and slow to decrease.

  3. Feeling elated while someone with who you are in love is an example of the a-process, feeling lovesick after you hang up is an example of the b-process.

  4. hThe previous example is an illustration of how the a- and b-processes are hedonically opposite to each other; for example, if the a-process is pleasurable, then the b-process is unpleasant.

3.3 Classical Conditioning

  • Appreciate how nonassociative learning differs from associative learning.

  • Associative learning: relating one event to another, allowing us to anticipate the future, facilitating our chances of survival. The first type of associative learning we will examine is classical conditioning.

  • In classical conditioning, a stimulus comes to elicit a response because it has been paired (or associated) with another stimulus; also known as Pavlovian Conditioning.

Pavlovs Discovery of Classical Conditioning

  • Ivan Pavlov: responsible for much of what we now know about digestion and won the Nobel Prize for his discoveries.
    *Pavlov observed salivary responses to food were also triggered by psychic factors.

  • Pavlov shifted focus to what would be known as classical conditioning, discovering most of its basic principles.

Basic Procedure and Definitions

  • Pavlov trained dogs to salivate to the sound of a metronome, Figure 3.6 conditioning apparatus.

  • Before conditioning:

    • Food (US) -> Salivation (UR)

    • Metronome (NS) -> No salivation

  • During conditioning:

    • Metronome (NS) : Food (US) -> Salivation (UR)

  • After conditioning:

    • Metronome (CS) -> Salivation (CR)
      *Each pairing of the NS and US during conditioning = conditioning trial. In general, conditioning is more effective when the trials are spaced far apart.

Measuring the level of conditioning

*Intersperse trials with test trials e.g every so often present the metronome alone.
*Alternatively.
*Observe salivation during interval between start of metronome and food presentation.

*General Classical Conditioning Setup
*Dog (NS): Bite (US) -> Fear (UR)
*Dog (CS) -> Fear (CR)
*Unconditioned stimulus (US): naturally elicits inatere response e.g. food naturally elicits salivation.
*Unconditioned Stimulus (UR): is the unlearnt response that is naturally elicited by the US, e.g bite naturally elicits the response of fear and pain.
*Conditioned stimulus: any stimulus that, although initially neutral, comes to elicit learneresponse i.e metronome.
*Conditioned response (CR): Learned response elicited by CS (metronome).

Quick Quiz G

1.Classical/Pavlovian conditioning is also known as respondent conditioning.
2.In the metronome example, the metronome is initially a neutral stimulus that doesn't elicit salivation. The food is an unconditioned stimulus that naturally elicits the unconditioned response of salivation.
3.Following conditioning, the metronome is a conditioned stimulus, and the salivation elicited by the metronome is a conditioned response.

  1. Pairing of the metronome and the food is a conditioning trial. Conditioning is most efficient with trials are spaced far apart
    5.In the basic classical conditioning procedure, the non-CS or the neutralstimulus is followed by the US, which elicits the UR.

  2. Wasp: Painful sting -> Fear
    Wasp-> Fear

  3. Nurse : Painful injection-> Anxiety
    Nurse ->Anxiety

  4. Innate response to NS/CS/US. Is The learned response to NS/CS/US
    9.CS is original. A NS/.the CR is often,similar to the UR

Appetitive and Aversive Conditioning

*Appetitive
*Event an organism seeks out
*Addictive drugs/ food/ water.
*Conditioned sexual responses e.g. boots/pennies.
*Aversive:
*An even an animal avoids
*E.g. Shock / Pain or unpleasant odour
*Often occurs with few trials e.g. learning to fear something following bite
*Condition emotional response.
* Animal first trained to press leaver for food -steady rate of presses established.
* Fear conditioning introduce e.g tone for 30s and then1s shock - animal becomes fearful an stops pressing.
*Indirect measure for the extent to which the tone elicit fear.
CER
*Suppression ration = # CS responses = # pre- CS repsonses
# CS REPSONSES + # Pre - CS rsposnes
* 0 = entire suppression, lower results more effects

Pain stimulus can be turned to a pleasurably stimulus - account for development of massocistic tendencies
Quick Quiz H

1.In conditioning US is an aversion to. in appetitive it s something organ seeks out
2.Associating local Cafe= appetitive, REGERATOR- aversive

  1. In CER paradigm the Lever for feed decreases with stimulus

  2. CER Paradim is CONDITINAL suppression

  3. Ratio is number of CS responses DIV BY + pre +post CS REPOSSNE.
    SUPPRESSION RATIONS

  4. INTENSE FEAR =0 , ABOUT,5 - NO FEAR

Classical conditioning may play an important role in interpersonal attraction

  • Reinforcement and effect module on affect 9 Byne+ CLORE 1970).

  • Extent that we are attract to to someone can be affectd significantly by degree
    associated that elicit positive emotion.

Excitatory and Inhibitory conditioning

*, Excitatorial e.g metrome + food.
**Inhibitory conditioning E.g. always bit except when other party is present- party signals absence
*CS -> Response LESS LIKELI OCCUR
*e.g. rate always shocked when the tone is resented but not when the tone and light together
*Then the ligtht is associated CS =-
*Traditionallhy the focus is Excitory, but currently inhibitoru is attractng more attention

Quick Quiz I
QUICK QUIZ-
1. Conditioning triasl with STIMULU FOLLOWED By us - > excitory. .followed by remove leads to exhibittory
2. Your Grandmake always cooks but not when sister around.. CS , table .  inhibotry
3. Most principles involved excitory
4. excitory assoc presentation, inhibitory removal
5. excitory Elcitaes  .. inhibirty represses
6.  Berlin, sirena += anxiety and cleaer cs -
7.Click follows buzz never follow buzz-> clcik is + while  minus for bazzz.
Temporal Factor in Conditioning
* The NS is always Presented Before the Us. There are 4 ways NS and Us presents and note their effectiveness in produceing conditioning. We then consider a form of conditioning, temporual condiritojng, in which the

NS (CS) is not a external stimulus but is itself the passage of time

  • 4 - Temporal -NS,US arrangement
    *1. Delayed Considing
    ** onset of the NS Percides the onset of the US, overlape e.g if want ate-> to associate -> the ns is often best arragenemtn . Optimal ISI (insterstimulus interval, between NS and US onset) range, 30seconds, eyeblink reflex = 1.5
    *2.Trace Conditoning is where set and offset if NS presides and the 2 don't overlap
    ** trace INtervall = Time offset and onset of uS.
    , * Organ must REMEMBER to associate.

    • Best is interval is relative short with few seconds
      *3.simulatneous conditions

    • Onset of NS onset of us are are same time! poor connection!

    • ns no longer a greato [redicitor

    • I. 4.bacward conduitojn0

    • INNS is US AND THNE NS

    • Regarded least effective for exciting-> can resilt inn inhibitorut

    • TONE SOUND BEFORE to END a shcok - becomes safety C signal that inhiutrrs fear!!!1
      Alll arrangemenst can Impact BHEVIOUR.
      *- TIME IS OFTEN USAGE IN NS!!!!, TIMING!

    *4. Tempurl conditoning the passgae of time in the dog
    *,city who expericne attack every 200 in AM
    INterNALL CUES IS sfficenr
    \":\"Quick Quiz K\"\

  • Quick Quiz J

*   1. The most efficient tempoaral-> delayed - > perscides- >  overlap
*2. IN delayed - inteverval is ISI - inteverval
*3 In trace - NS and onset is preceded
IN trace, OFFSET  TO onsetis call traces and is most effective w short!!
    *,simulantous -> Is the same time.
*   6 . backward ,US then NS - removes + US
*   Simlatnoues and bakcward is

a less than deallAYED .TRACC3 ;

  • , 8 Sneezing -> follow a ns to flower and US-> POWELL
    A.. Delaysed condition -F then P
    B .. Race conditoning - f-> // p//
    C -> smulatneuous = f/p

  • D -> backwrd - p - ./. f

    • .9. in timuing, nS IS, US a
      t reugleAR. passage then Becomes CS'

  • .
    Pesdudo c ondionion
    **- elicit response that that appears to b CR ITS senitati0om n to not cindution. Suppose examaplw, we try condifion, the light fols with shock then leg flicks
    ligh flick -s shock then -> leg flexs
    *but what if insteasd a beep and findo that its also eleicjt 1!!!!!
    *Well sensitaions cn redilst also the responset being by by stimuli.

    • For exampe0, soldieris wwitw h wsar trsumaas ewzhuzbutsn strtle , responsento to exploding morutss, doorws smlling,, cars backfiring .. or even an unexpected tp 0no shulders.
      *, SO theough the were we had c re (CS0 - IN REALITY SIM[LY A hyp ersnaitive of almost any sudden!

    • SO FALSE EXAMPLE !!
      *Pesdiuco probelbm for emotionally aorisujing
      *one way - CONTROL CONDTION > IN WHICH presentation IS septrwly . Examle subjcts recive paires wlight and shock and ocntrol recif light separate + shock

  • Experiment -> light strong

    • Control Lighht we
      *the responder sho wby cotnlr refelct to amt of sensitizing by setting as us'
      *experierment -> sensitizatioon + conidt
      ,cotnal= set
      *the differntie ebtween 2 -indicte amt of cindiotr

    Quiz

  • 1. is when elicit the result serniatio

  • 2 Penoemnontion probem in repson with EM
    **-> 3.
    speartly and then repson =
    A- SENSITATOON. RATHER THAN CONDIOTONINS

To create a summary for this chapter, and to help you build further test-taking
skills, include a paragraph about acquisition and extinction and another paragraph
about how factors like context and personality can affect learning processes.
Another paragraph should focus on generalization and discrimination. You’ll likely
need at least two additional paragraphs to summarize the variations on classical
conditioning and to explain how we now know that contiguity alone is not sufficient
for acquisition to occur.

Other ways to test yourself on concepts from this chapter include creating
diagrams of the various versions of classical conditioning and creating examples
of each from your own experiences. Can you think of situations where you
were more affected by one cue than another? Or are particular stimuli more
noticeable in some situations than others? Try to diagram those examples as well.

Further Exploration

Habituation is a real problem for people and organizations focused on wildlife conservation. Review this statement about habituation from the U.S. National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/nature/wildlife-habituation.htm

Do you have an allergy? You might be interested in this discussion from the British Society for Immunology of how the process of sensitization is important for the development of allergies: www.immunology.org/policy-and-public-affairs/briefings-and-position-statements/allergy

Most people think about operant conditioning for animal training (and we will cover that soon!) but classical conditioning can be equally important. Here’s a great example of how horse training is partly dependent on classical conditioning: www.equinebehaviorist.ca/post/classical-conditioning-and-horses.

Study Questions

  1. What is a reflex? Diagram the sequence of events in a reflex arc that underlies a flexion response when one’s hand touches a sharp object.

  2. Define fixed action pattern. What is a sign stimulus or releaser? Give an example of a fixed action pattern and its releaser.

  3. Define habituation and sensitization. What is the effect of stimulus intensity on habituation and sensitization?

  4. Distinguish between long-term and short-term habituation. Describe the phenomenon of dishabituation.

  5. Define the opponent-process theory of emotion. What are four characteristics of opponent processes?

  6. Define classical conditioning. What other terms are used for this type of conditioning?

  7. Diagram an example of a classical conditioning procedure. Be sure to label each component using the appropriate abbreviations.

  8. Define the terms unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, and conditioned response.

  9. Distinguish between appetitive and aversive conditioning. Describe the conditioned suppression (or CER) procedure.

  10. How do excitatory conditioning and inhibitory conditioning differ from each other? Give an example of each.

  11. Name and diagram (or describe) four temporal arrangements of the NS and US. Which two arrangements are traditionally considered to be most effective? What is temporal conditioning?

  12. What is pseudoconditioning and how is it assessed?

Concept Review

  • appetitive conditioning.

  • aversive conditioning.

  • backward conditioning.

  • classical conditioning.

  • conditioned response (CR).

  • conditioned stimulus (CS).

  • delayed conditioning.

  • dishabituation.

  • elicited behavior.

  • excitatory conditioning.

  • fixed action pattern.

  • flexion response.

  • habituation.

  • inhibitory conditioning.

  • opponent-process theory.

  • orienting response.

  • pseudoconditioning.

  • reflex.

  • reflex arc.

  • sensitization.

  • sign stimulus (or releaser).

  • simultaneous conditioning.

  • startle response.

  • temporal conditioning.

  • trace conditioning.

  • unconditioned response (UR).

  • unconditioned stimulus (US).

Chapter Test

  • A sudden loud noise is likely to elicit a(n) _ response, which is a reflexive defensive response to a sudden, unexpected stimulus.

  • With repeated presentations of the emotional event, the b-process (increases/ decreases) in both and .

  • Seeing an insect on your arm and then watching it bite you is an example of a(n) conditioning procedure; noticing the insect at the same moment that you feel the bite is an example of a(n) conditioning procedure. The (former/latter) scenario is likely to result in a stronger fear of the insect.

  • When a subordinate dog submits to a threatening display from a dominant dog, it will often roll over on its back and display its belly. This type of action sequence is called a(n) , and the threatening display from the dominant dog is called the stimulus or _ for these actions.

  • The faint sound of a jackhammer several blocks away will likely result in, but the extremely loud sound of a jackhammer right outside your window might result in . The moderately loud sound of a jackhammer half a block away might result in a period of followed by .
    In general, aversive conditioning occurs (more/less) readily than appetitive conditioning.
    According to the opponent-process theory of emotion, b-processes are (slow/quick) to increase and (slow/quick) to decrease.
    Imagine an eyeblink conditioning procedure in which the sound of a click is paired with a puff of air to the eye. Each pairing of the click and air puff during conditioning is referred to as a(n) .
    During an eyeblink conditioning procedure, you blinked not only in response to the sound of the click but also when someone tapped you on the shoulder. Your response to the tap on the shoulder may be indicative of     conditioning, which means that the elicited eyeblink may be indicative of _ rather than classical conditioning.