Transcript Learning - Classical Conditioning

Learning:
Classical Conditioning
Psychology
November 11, 2010
Learning
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Definition: a relatively permanent change in
behavior that occurs because of experience
What can affect learning?
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Biology/Genetics/Heredity
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Physical States
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Maturation
Sleep/Fatigue/Emotion/etc
Experience
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Observation/Practice/Rehearsal
Classical Conditioning
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Pavlovian Conditioning
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Learning through associations
CC Terminology
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Terms to be familiar with
 Unconditioned Stimulus (US)
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Unconditioned Response (UR)
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An unlearned, inborn reaction to a US
Salivation
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
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A stimulus that can elicit a response without any learning
Meat
A stimulus that comes to elicit a response as a result of being paired
with the US
Bell
Conditioned Response (CR)
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A response that is similar or identical to the UR that comes to be
elicited by a CS
Salivation
Classical Conditioning Definition
A
form of learning in which a
previously neutral stimulus
(CS) is paired with a US to
elicit a CR that is identical to,
or very similar to, the UR.
CC Phenomena
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Acquisition: rate of conditioning
 The more often the CS is paired with the US, the quicker it will be
learned
 The CS must come before the US
Extinction
 Process of unlearning a learned response because the US has been
removed for a period of time.
 Spontaneous Recovery: sudden reappearance of CR after apparent
extinction
Generalization
 Tendency for similar stimuli to elicit the same response
 “Little Albert”
Discrimination
 Tendency for an organism to distinguish between varieties in the CS
 Dogs won’t salivate to different tones of a bell
CC Applications
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Rescorla & Wagner (1972)
 Predictability: learned association when two events occur close together
 Expectancy: awareness of the likelihood of a US
 Alcohol & Nausea Meds
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Garcia & Koelling (1966)
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Taste Aversions
Fear associations
Adaptation
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Supports Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection