Mary Keith

7/7/2010
Malcolm X College
Professor Peoples
Chap. 5 Learning

5.1-5.3 Classical Conditioning

Learning is a permanent change in behavior brought on by experience or practice. A person
must be able to remember in order to learn. People are less likely to repeat such behavior which
guarantees a painful consequence. People are more likely to repeat a behavior which guarantees a
pleasurable consequence. Maturation is controlled by genetics physical growth where milestones are
possible to achieve.
Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist(studies workings of the body) studied dogs and salivatory
response with classical conditioning. The food was the stimulus (the object that caused the response),
and the salivation was the response (involuntary reflex, reaction of person or animal). Classical
conditioning is learning to make an involuntary (reflex) response to a stimulus other than the original
natural stimulus that normally produces the reflex. Several important elements must be present for
conditioning to occur which includes: the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) is the naturally occurring,
unlearned stimulus that causes the involuntary response[In the case of Pavlov's dog- food], the
unconditioned response (UCR) is unlearned, and our involuntary response to the UCS [In Pavlov's dog-
the dog's salivation], A neutral stimulus (NS) a stimulus that by its self has no effect or a weaker
response on intended person [the dog bowl or bell without association with food], conditioned stimulus
(CS) is when the NS after being paired with the UCS so many times will then elicit the same response
as UCS then NS becomes CS, a leaned stimulus [the dog bowl, the bell], conditioned response (CR)
comes from learned reflex after exposure to CS.
In order for classical conditioning to work: CS must come UCS, CS and UCS must be close
together in time no more than 5 secs apart otherwise there will be no association, NS must be paired
with UCS at least several times or more, the CS is distinctive (different) from competing stimuli.
Stimulus generalization is the tendency to respond to a stimulus which is similar to CS and brings
about a weaker CR. Stimulus discrimination to stop making a generalized response to the competing
similar stimulus because its not the correct response to bring on the unconditioned stimulus.
Extinction happens when the disappearance or weakening of a learned following the removal or
absence of the unconditioned stimulus (classical conditioning) or removal of a reinforcer ( operant
conditioning), the reiforcer is the event or object that following a response increases the likelihood of
that response occurring again. Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a learned response after
extinction has occurred. Higher order conditioning occurs when a strong conditioned stimulus is paired
with a neutral stimulus, causing the NS to become a 2nd conditioned stimulus.
John B. Watson is the founder of behaviorism, he also believes phobias (irrational fear
responses) can be learned. An example includes his experiment “Little Albert” where Watson placed a
baby in a room with a white rat (with the white rat alone the baby was not afraid), but then little Albert
associated anything “white” with the loud scary noise which in turned scared him. Conditioned
emotional response (CER) is an emotional response that has become classically conditioned to occur to
learned stimuli, such as fear of dogs or the emotional reaction that occurs when seeing an attractive
person. Vicarious conditioning is being conditioned to respond a certain way to a stimulus after seeing
the reaction of another person.
Conditioned taste aversion occurs when a certain taste is followed by nausea or an undesired
response (aversive) occurs after one pairing. This happens after one time because of biological
preparedness is the way humans and animals learn that if we eat something that taste smell of look bad
we will get sick, and we will make that association to avoid it to prevent death. Why does classical
conditioning works: Pavlov- Stimulus Substitution occurs where the CS comes to activate the same part
of the brain that was originally activated by the UCS, and Rescorla's Cognitive Perspective organism
consciously expects something to occur; CS provides info about the coming of the UCS.
5.4-5.6 Operant Conditioning- If I do this whats in it for me?
Operant conditioning is the learning of voluntary behavior through the effects of pleasant and
unpleasant consequences to responses . Edward L. Thordike developed the Law of Effect: If an action
is followed by a pleasurable consequence, it will tend to be repeated; and if followed by an unpleasant
consequence it will tend not to be repeated. Thordike began the study of voluntary learning when he
placed a hungry cat in a puzzle box with the escape being the cat had to press a lever and there was
food outside the box. The lever= the stimulus, pushing lever= response, escape= good consequence,
food= better consequence. B.F. Skinner coined the act of learning of voluntary behavior as operant
conditioning, the effect of consequences on behavior. Reinforcement is any event of stimulus that when
following a response increases the probability that the response would occur again. Primary reinforcers
satisfy basic biological needs (hunger, thirst, touch). Secondary reinforcers gain reinforcing properties
through previous association with primary reinforcers. Positive reinforcement is the addition or
experiencing a stimulus we like or desire. Negative reinforcement is removal, escape, or avoidance of
unpleasant stimulus.
Punishment is any event or stimulus that when following a response, decreases the probability
that the response will occur again. Two types of punishment include: punishment by application
something unpleasant being added to situation (spanking), punishment by removal something
pleasurable being taken away (grounding). For punishment to work it must be immediate, consistent,
and paired with reinforcement of actual behavior desired. Some behaviors can be shaped by reinforcing
small steps, each successive approximation to ultimate goal. Also as in classical conditioning,
extinction, generalization, and spontaneous recovery can occur.