DO NOW In your own words, define:

Learning Associative learning Conditioning

It is okay to guess, but use the words to make an educated guess.

Learning

AP Psychology Ms. Desgrosellier2.24.2010

LEARNINGObjective: SWBAT define learning, and identify two forms of learning.

LEARNINGlearning: a relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience.

associative learning: learning that certain events occur together.

conditioning: the process of learning associations.

CLASSICAL CONDITIONINGObjective: SWBAT define classical conditioning and behaviorism, and describe the basic components of classical conditioning.

CLASSICAL CONDITIONINGclassical conditioning: a type of learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli. A neutral stimulus that signals an

unconditioned stimulus (US) begins to produce a response that anticipates and prepares for the unconditioned stimulus.

Also called Pavlovian or respondent conditioning.

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING Ivan Pavlov and John B. Watson were famous behavioral psychologists.behaviorism: the view that

psychology:1. should be an objective science that

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING Ivan Pavlov and John B. Watson were famous behavioral psychologists.behaviorism: the view that

psychology:2. studies behavior without reference to mental processes.

Most research psychologists today agree with 1, but not 2.

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING Ivan Pavlov and John B. Watson were famous behavioral psychologists.behaviorism: the view that

psychology:2. studies behavior without reference to mental processes.

Most research psychologists today agree with 1, but not 2.

Pavlov’s ExperimentsPavlov started his research when he noticed that dogs salivated when he put food in their mouths. He also noted that while working

with the same dog, eventually the dog began salivating when they just saw food.

Pavlov’s ExperimentsAt first, he tried imagining what the god was thinking and feeling as it drooled in anticipation of the food, but this only led to pointless debates.

Pavlov’s ExperimentsTo be more objective, they decided to do experiments. They first would show the dog food or

put meat powder in its mouth. Then they would pair the meat

stimulus with a neutral stimulus, like a sound.

They found that if the neutral stimulus regularly signaled the arrival of food, the dog would associate the two stimuli and begin salivating.

Pavlov’s Experimentsunconditioned response (UR): in classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (US). e.g. salivating when food is in the

mouth.

Pavlov’s Experimentsunconditioned stimulus (US): in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally (naturally and automatically) triggers a response. e.g. food stimulus in Pavlov’s

experiments.

Pavlov’s Experimentsconditioned response (CR): in classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus. e.g. salivation in response to the

sound.

Pavlov’s Experimentsconditioned stimulus (CS): in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response. e.g. the sound Pavlov used when

showing food to the dogs.

Pavlov’s Experiments

Pavlov’s ExperimentsRemember: conditioned = learned

unconditioned = unlearned

DO NOW:Briefly recap Ivan Pavlov’s experiments with dogs and classical conditioning.

What was the unconditioned response?What was the unconditioned stimulus?What was the conditioned response?What was the conditioned stimulus?

HAVE YOUR READING NOTES READY TO BE CHECKED!

AcquisitionObjective: SWBAT describe the timing requirements for the initial learning of a stimulus-response relationship.

Acquisitionacquisition: the initial stage in classical conditioning. The phase associating a neutral

stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned response.

Acquisition In general, half a second between presenting the neutral stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus works best.

However, conditioning seldom occurs when the conditioned stimulus follows the unconditioned stimulus.

Extinction and Spontaneous RecoveryObjective: SWBAT summarize the processes of extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination.

Extinction and Spontaneous RecoveryAfter conditioning occurs, what happens if the CS occurs repeatedly without the US?

Pavlov found that when he sounded the tone again and again without presenting the food, the dogs salivated less and less.

Extinction and Spontaneous Recoveryextinction: the diminishing of a conditioned response. Occurs when an unconditioned

stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS).

Extinction and Spontaneous Recoveryspontaneous recovery: the reappearance after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response.

e.g. Pavlov waited several hours before sounding the tone and then he noticed that the salivation to the tone would start again.

Generalization & DiscriminationObjective: SWBAT discuss the survival value of generalization and discrimination.

Generalizationgeneralization: the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for a stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses.

e.g. dogs that would salivate to one tone also responded somewhat to the sound of a different tone never paired with food.

DiscriminationDiscrimination: in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stiumuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus.

e.g. being able to recognize these differences is adaptive (how?).

EXTENDING PAVLOV’S UNDERSTANDINGCognitive ProcessesObjective: SWBAT discuss the importance of cognitive processes in classical conditioning.

Cognitive ProcessesResearchers have argued that when two events happen close together in time, an animal learns the predictability of the second event. The more predictable the association,

the stronger the conditioned response.Conditioning without considering cognition is usually unsuccessful.

Biological PredispositionsObjective: SWBAT describe some of the ways that biological predispositions can affect learning by classical conditioning.

Biological PredispositionsResearch has shown that animals are predisposed to learn some things rather than others.

People who might get food poisoning from a particular food may learn a dislike for that flavor, but they probably won’t have an aversion to seeing the restaurant.

Biological PredispositionsRemember that natural selection favors traits that aid survival. This might explain why it’s easier

to learn a fear of snakes or spiders than flowers.

Learning enables animals to adapt to their environment.

Pavlov’s LegacyObjective: SWBAT summarize Pavlov’s contribution to our understanding of learning.

Pavlov’s LegacyToday, most researchers still agree that classical conditioning is a basic form of learning. However, they also recognize the

importance of mental processes.

Pavlov’s LegacyMany responses to many other stimuli can be classically conditioned in many other organisms (worms to fish to dogs to monkeys to people). It is one way virtually all organisms

learn to adapt to their environment.

Pavlov’s LegacyPavlov’s experiments also showed us how a process such as learning can be studied objectively.

Applications of Classical ConditioningObjective: SWBAT describe some uses of classical conditioning to improve human health and well-being.

Applications of Classical ConditioningThere are many ways that classical conditioning can by used to improve human health and well-being. For example: Drug counselors advise addicts to

avoid settings and paraphernalia associated with the euphoria of previous drug use.

Applications of Classical ConditioningThere are many ways that classical conditioning can by used to improve human health and well-being. For example:Counselors sometimes provide alcohol abusers with aversive experiences that may partly reverse their positive associations with alcohol.

Applications of Classical Conditioning There are many ways that classical

conditioning can by used to improve human health and well-being. For example: Classical conditioning even works on

the body’s immune system. When a particular taste accompanies a drug that influences immune responses, the taste by itself may come to produce an immune response.

Applications of Classical Conditioning There are many ways that classical

conditioning can by used to improve human health and well-being. For example: Classical conditioning is often used

to treat people with phobias. For example, one person with a fear of elevators was forced to go into one 20 times a day. After 10 days, his fear had almost vanished.

Applications of Classical Conditioning John B. Watson based his work on Pavlov. His conducted a famous study on

conditioning with a boy called “Little Albert”

Watson claimed that given any healthy child, he could raise them to become anything he wanted no matter his genetics or history.

Applications of Classical Conditioning John B. Watson based his work on Pavlov.Like most children, Little Albert was scared of loud noises, but not white rats.

Watson would show Little Albert the white rat and then scare him with a loud noise, causing him to cry.

Applications of Classical Conditioning John B. Watson based his work on Pavlov.Eventually, Little Albert would start to cry at the sight of the white rat alone.

What is the UR? US? CR? CS?

Applications of Classical Conditioning John B. Watson based his work on Pavlov.Little Albert then began to show generalization of his condition – he would cry at the sight of a rabbit, dog, even a seal-skin coat, but not to dissimilar objects like toys.