Ch. 17 Respondent and Operant Conditioning

Respondent Conditioning
- Involves pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus (US).
- If the neutral stimulus is presented closely in time with the US, it becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) and elicits a conditioned response (CR).
- Example: The sound of a bell (CS) followed by food (US) elicits salivation (UR), eventually the sound of the bell alone elicits salivation (CR).
Operant Conditioning
- Behavior modification occurs through reinforcement or punishment.
- Example: A student studies (behavior) to receive good grades (positive reinforcement).

Daily experiences often involve both types of conditioning occurring simultaneously.
Understanding behaviors may require considering both conditioning types together.

Incident of procrastination leading to anxiety:
- Janice delayed starting her paper until a week before its due date.
- As the deadline approached, her anxiety (a CR) increased as she recognized the imminent deadline (a CS).
- She completed the paper, leading to a feeling of relief.

Components of Emotions
1. The initial reaction during the experience
2. External expressions of the emotion
3. Awareness and description of emotions
4. Causes of emotional responses
Respondent Component of Emotions
- Reflexive bodily responses linked to emotional experiences:
- Digestion, Circulation, Respiration controlled by Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
- The effect of respondent conditioning on bodily reactions.
Case of Little Albert
- A study by Watson demonstrated that fear can be conditioned in infants.
- Albert was exposed to a white rat and subsequently conditioned to fear it by pairing it with a loud noise.
- Despite generalization to other stimuli, Watson did not extinguish the fear response before Albert left.
Elimination of Fear
- Mary Carver Jones demonstrated that fear responses can be extinguished (opposite of conditioning).

Emotions are learned behaviors often shaped by operant conditioning.
Causes of Common Emotions:
- Happiness: Arrival of positive reinforcers.
- Anger: Absence of reinforcers.
- Anxiety: Presence of aversive stimuli.
- Relief: Removal of adverse conditions.

Imagery (Respondent)
- Thinking can evoke sensory experiences and physiological reactions in the body.
Self-Talk (Operant)
- Verbal thinking often begins around ages 5-6, involving private speech learned through reinforcement.

Both respondent and operant conditioning principles can apply to internal thoughts and emotions.

Reflect on a frequently experienced emotion and analyze it through the lens of both respondent and operant responses.
Consider strategies for improving issues related to the emotion evaluated.

This is when a neutral thing is paired with something that naturally causes a reaction.
If the neutral thing is presented close in time with the natural thing, it becomes something that triggers a response.
Example: A bell (neutral thing) rings before giving food (natural thing) and eventually just the bell makes someone salivate (response).

In daily life, we often see both types of conditioning happening at the same time.
To understand why people behave a certain way, we should consider both types together.

Janice felt anxious because she waited until the last week to start her paper.
As the due date got closer, her anxiety increased when she thought about the deadline.
She eventually finished the paper, which made her feel relief.

Components of Emotions:
1. The initial reaction when something happens.
2. How we show our feelings outside.
3. Understanding and describing our feelings.
Respondent Conditioning of Emotions:
- Automatic body reactions linked to feelings.
- Things like heart rate and breathing can be controlled by our nervous system.
Example: Little Albert learned to be scared of a white rat by hearing a loud noise at the same time.

Emotions can be learned through rewards and punishments.
Common emotions and what causes them:
- Happiness: Getting something good.
- Anger: Not getting what you want.
- Anxiety: Being in a scary situation.
- Relief: Getting rid of something bad.

Imagery: Thinking can create feelings and body reactions.
Self-Talk: Talking to yourself often starts around ages 5-6 and is learned from rewards.

Think about a feeling you often have and look at it from both conditioning sides.
Think of ways to improve that feeling.