LEARNING
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Classical Conditioning (CC)
-Ivan Pavlov’s Experiment
Classical Conditioning & Advertisement
Classical conditioning in marketing is a valid
way to promote products.
Advertisers pair their product with other
positive stimuli, such as sex, pleasant music,
humour, attractive colours and celebrities.
Learning to Fear
Research suggest that we acquire fobias
through association.
Watson and Raynor conditioned ―Little
Albert‖ to be afraid of white rats by pairing
the neutral stimulus (rats) with an
unconditioned stimulus (loud noise).
Learning to Fear (Cont..)
Unlearning Fear
(How) can we unlearn to fear?
Counterconditioning conditioning new responses to
emotion-arousing stimuli
The process of pairing a conditioned stimulus with a
stimulus that elicits a response that is incompatible
with an unwanted conditioned response
Another child’s fear of rabbits was removed by pairing
the stimulus which elicited fear with a stimulus that
elicited happiness.
Unlearning Fear (Cont..)
Examples of Classical Conditioning
(Zimbardo, 1999)
1. "When I was in the first grade, we went outside every day
for recess. To get to the playground, I had to pass by the
"territory" of a bully who was in the fourth grade. This
bully took great pleasure in punching me in the stomach
which caused me great pain, sweating, and anxiety. One day
the bully was out of school. Although the bully wasn’t
there, when I walked by his "territory" I still got a full-
blown anxiety response! I was sweating and my heart was
racing. When I got home that night, I told my parents what
happened and my mother found her old psychology
textbook and explained to me that my experience was the
result of Classical Conditioning."
Can you see how this story fits the CC
model?
The UCS is?
a. a full-blown anxiety response
b. the ―territory‖ of the bully
c. being punched in the stomach by the bully
d. going to the library
The CS is?
a. a full-blown anxiety response
b. the ―territory‖ of the bully
c. being punched in the stomach by the bully
d. going to the library
The UCR is?
a. a full-blown anxiety response
b. the ―territory‖ of the bully
c. being punched in the stomach by the bully
More Examples of CC (acquisition)..
2. While caring for a friend’s dog, you notice that it displays a
fear-like posture as you roll up a newspaper. You try this
several times more and become convinced that this dog is
generally afraid of rolled up newspapers.
UCS – hitting the dog with a rolled up newspaper
UCR – dog’s fear-like posture
CS – rolled up newspaper
CR – dog’s fear-like posture
Dog’s fear-like posture is a natural response to being hit and
an acquired response to the sight of various objects.
More Examples of CC (extinction)..
3. Joan, an animal trainer, has been phobic about monkeys since an
earlier attack. However, because of the money, she has agreed to
work with monkeys for a movie studio. At first, just going anywhere
near cages used to make Joan tense, sweaty, and apprehensive.
Lately, though, things have changed. Working with such cuddly,
affectionate, human-like creatures is causing Joan to wonder why she
ever felt such extreme distress.
UCS – monkey attack
UCR – fear of monkey attacks
CS – monkeys
CR – fear of monkeys
Extinction is occurring as contact continues without further
incident; i.e., presenting the CS (monkeys) without the US (the
attack).
More Examples of CC (discrimination)..
4. At a red light, Bob and Fred automatically tensed and felt
chills when they heard the screech of tires behind them. Later,
while watching a car race, Bob remarked how the screeching
of tires was having little effect then. Fred agreed and wondered
why they reacted at all, because neither had as much as a dent
on his driving record.
Screeching tires (CS) often cause people to tense up and flinch
(CR). The lack of this response during a car race suggests
stimulus discrimination may be present. Because neither
person has had an accident, higher-order conditioning may
account for their learning. Specifically, screeching tires (CS)
often give rise to mental images of accidents. These mental
images are already established CSs, providing the basis for the
CS-CR pairing.
More Examples of CC (spontaneous
recovery)..
5. Early in their relationship, mere presence of Donna excited
Jack. This gradually died out, however, as Donna behaved
tolerantly but indifferently. When the relationship ended, Jack
was bored with Donna and didn’t even think about her during
the next year. Now, he was surprised at how excited he was
becoming as he saw Donna laughing with her friends through
the window of a bus.
The sight of Donna (CS) elicits romantic excitement (CR).
The response was extinguished when Donna failed to
stimulate her partner (the UR). The reaction one year later
suggests spontaneous recovery—the reappearance of the
conditioned response after an apparent extinction.
More Examples of CC (generalization)..
6. Bill couldn’t ever remember being so sick and nauseated. He
would never go to that restaurant again, and he would never
again eat chicken. All he could think about was the good
dinner his mother would prepare for his homecoming. As he
entered the kitchen, be became flushed and felt nauseated
when he saw the golden brown turkey sitting on the table.
UCS – poisoned chicken
UCR – being sick and nauseated
CS – appearence of turkey
CR – feeling nauseated
In the example, stimulus generalization is taking place. Because turkey is
very similar to chicken, responses originally elicited by chicken are now
also elicited by turkey.
Little albert example: fear of all the white fury object
Operant Conditioning
(B. F. Skinner)
Is the organism passively learning associations
between neutral stimuli and important stimuli that
produce responses?
CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING
Or is it learning associations between behaviors and
and their consequences?
OPERANT
CONDITIONING