Transcript Biological Limitations to Classical Conditioning

Biological Limitations to
Classical Conditioning
Remember Watson’s conditioning of Albert?
Could he have just as easily conditioned
that fear response to a flower or a piece
of ribbon?
Probably not
• Humans and animals have certain
biological predispositions that aide or
hinder conditioning.
• Humans have an adaptive fear of things like
snakes or other threatening animals
“Snakes. I hate snakes.” - Indiana Jones
Biological Predispositions
• Martin Seligman (1972): most common
fears "are related to the survival of the
human species through the long course
of evolution“
• Taste Aversion
• the intense dislike and/or avoidance of
particular foods that have been
associated with nausea or discomfort
• biologically adaptive for survival
Biological Predispositions
• Garcia & Koelling
• Exposed rats to 3-way conditioned
stimulus:
• bright light, clicking noise, flavored water
• One group was exposed to US
producing nausea and vomiting
several hours after exposure.
Biological Predispositions
• Garcia & Koelling
• Rats formed an association between
nausea and flavored water ingested
several hours earlier.
• contradicted the principle that CS must be
presented shortly before the US
• Animals are biologically predisposed to
make associations: taste & food in rats,
sight & food in birds, etc.
• Taste aversion works in humans
Biological Predispositions
• Scapegoat effect
• People undergoing chemotherapy
sometimes associate food they ate
before treatment, or the place they
receive treatment with nausea.
• Bernstein (1982) came up with a
novel-tasting, maple-flavored ice
cream before chemo.
• Patients less likely to associate
nausea with healthy food or place.
Biological Predispositions
• What about Operant Conditioning?
• Condition hamsters to dig or rear-up
using food as a reinforcer
• natural food-searching behavior
• not as successful face washing or other
non-food searching behaviors
• Pigeons flap wings to avoid shock or
peck to get food
Biological Predispositions
• Bottom line
Biological constraints predispose
organisms to learn associations that
are naturally adaptive.
Classical Conditioning in
Everyday Life
• Why can diet soda make people
hungry?
• The sweet taste of soda becomes a
CS.
• elicits insulin increase (UR)
• leads to feelings of hunger
• The pancreas pumps out insulin
(lowers blood sugar) in response to
any sweet taste such as diet soda.
Classical Conditioning in
Everyday Life
Can you identify:
NS
US
UR
CS
CR
Vocabulary Assignment
In preparation for the next modules,
please define the following terms using
the Frayer graphic organizer.
(Pages 297 – 301 in green book)
• Cognitive map
• Insight
●
●
• Intrinsic motivation
●
• Extrinsic motivation
●
learned helplessness
external locus of
control
internal locus of
control
self control