Classical Conditioning - 1

Learning: change in behavior that is due to experience

How do we learn?

Classical conditioning: learning to respond to a new stimulus that has been associated with another stimulus that normally produces the response

take on new automatic response to things that we didn’t do (new response) but now we have it because we associate it to something we already did (old behavior)

  • Pavlov studied digestion
  • Noticed that dogs salivated at mere sight of food dish - learned to associate dish with food
    • Could dog be taught to associate food with other things?
    • Presented food with neutral stimulus (bell)
    • Measured salivation in response to neutral stimulus (bell) presented alone

Unlearned

Unconditioned stimulus (US) - stimulus that automatically elicits response without prior conditioning

Ex) food

Unconditioned response (UR) - innate response to unconditioned stimulus

Ex) salivation

Learned

Conditioned stimulus (CS) - previously neutral stimulus that now elicits a con due to its association with an unconditioned stimulus

Ex) bell

Conditioned response (CR) - learned response to a stimulus that did not originally elicit the response

Ex) salivation

Acquisition - stage of condition in which the association between the 2 stimuli (US and CS) is being alarmed

  • Timing (US and CS separated for a few seconds)
  • Ex) Dr. Brylindsen brother chasing JJ with red blanket; JJ afraid

Generalization - conditioned response to stimuli that are not the conditioned stimulus (but are similar to the CS)

  • Ex) JJ afraid of all blankets and coats
  • More common cuz it happens first

Discrimination - conditioned response occurs only to a specific stimulus

Extinction - Not showing the conditioned response anymore cuz the conditioned stimulus is not again paired with the unconditioned stimulus

Spontaneous recovery - reappearance of the CR to the original CS after extinction

  • Tends to be short-lived

Second order (higher oder) conditioning - new neutral stimulus becomes associated with previously conditioned stimulus - becomes new CS

  • Tends to be weaker than 1st order conditioning
  • Ex) bell → light (less saliva) → food

Conditioned aversion - classically conditioned association between a CS and a US that causes an unpleasant response

  • John Garcia (1996) - discovered conditioned aversions to flavored water in rats → saccharin solution, nausea

Difference between this and normal classical conditioning:

  • Just once vs buncha times
  • Separated by a few secs vs long time
  • Limited to food and smell

Learning to fear

  • Watson & Raynor (1920) - little albert
  • Paired louse noise with rat → fear
  • Albert generalized fear to other fuzzy objects

Operant learning: learning behaviors due to experiences with their consequences

Observational learning - learning via observation and imitation