Transcript Classical Conditioning

Classical Conditioning
An Introduction to Pavlov
Principles of Classical
Conditioning
Have you ever heard a song that you really liked from
a few years back and it “took you back” to that time?
Mouth Watering because of Food Picture
Classical Conditioning: A simple form of learning in
which one stimulus calls forth the response of
another stimulus.
Pavlov’s Dogs
Russian Physiologist Ivan Pavlov
Stimulus and Response
Unconditioned Stimulus- Stimulus that provides the
response even though it is unlearned. (Meat)
Unconditioned Response- The response that is
natural and unlearned (Salivation)
Conditioned Response- Learned response to a
stimulus that was previously neutral (Bell)
Conditioned Stimulus- A previously neutral stimulus
that, because of association with an unconditioned
stimulus, now produces a conditioned response.
Adapting to the
Environment
Classical Conditioning helps us adapt to our
environment
Associate certain smells and sights with danger
Taste Aversion-leaned avoidance of particular foods
Adaptations of Classical
Conditioning
Classical Conditioning can help people overcome
fears of objects and situations
Many fears, such as spiders, snakes and heights are
our of proportion to the danger they represent
Two methods of reducing fears are flooding and
systematic desensitization
Flooding
A person is continuously exposed to harmless stimuli
until fear is diminished.
Person afraid of snakes put in room full of harmless
snakes
Fear of heights taken to rooftops of many tall
buildings
Systematic
Desensitization
People are taught relaxation techniques, and then,
while they are relaxed, they are gradually exposed to
the stimulus they fear.
Fears Snakes:
First Relaxed
Shown picture of snake
Shown snake from a distance
Gradually brought closer
Holding the Snake
Counterconditioning
Pairing a pleasant stimulus with a feared stimulus,
counteracting the fear.
Operant Conditioning
Learning to do something, or not to do something
based on the results.
In Classical Conditioning, responses are often
involuntary behaviors that are spurred by secondary
stimuli.
In Operant Conditioning the subject has more control
over the responses.
Reinforcement
Operant Conditioning works because of
Reinforcement. The process by which a stimulus
increases a specific behavior.
Types of Reinforcers
Primary and Secondary
Primary-Reinforcers that work due to the biological
makeup of the subject. (food, water, etc)
Secondary-reinforcers whose value must be learned.
(money, attention, social approval)
Positive and Negative
Reinforcers
Positive Reinforcers- Increase the frequency of the
behavior they follow when they are applied
Behavior is reinforced because the subject receives
something they want.
Negative Reinforcers- Increase the frequency of the
behavior because they remove an unwanted
experience.
Rewards and
Punishments
Many people believe that being positively reinforced
is the same as being rewarded and being negatively
reinforced is the same as being punished. There are
some differences, however, particularly between
negative reinforcement and punishment
Rewards
Rewards, like reinforcers increase the frequency of
the behavior.
For Skinner, this is just a matter of language
formality.
Preferred the term Reinforcement because it can be
concluded scientifically rather than getting “in the
head” of what subjects find rewarding
Punishments
Negative Reinforcers increase behavior by being
removed.
Punishments increase behavior by being applied.
Sports and Grades
When Punishment is a
Problem
Punishment can create anger and hostility
Punishment doesn’t in itself teach alternative
acceptable behavior
Severely punished people may try to leave the
situation rather than change behavior
Punishment may have broader effects than desired
Problems with
Punishment
Punishment is sometimes accompanied by unseen
benefits that make behavior more, not less, likely
Punishment may be imitated as a way of solving
problems