Biological Constraints in Classical Conditioning

Our understanding of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning has allowed us to unlock many of the answers we sought to learn about human behavior. Classical conditioning is a technique of behavioral training, coined by Ivan Pavlov, which basically states that an organism learns through establishing associations between different events and stimuli. This helps us understand human behavior in an assortment of ways. It makes it clear that almost everything we do is based on patterns of stimulus and response. For example, if you were bitten aggressively by a dog as a child, you may be still scared of dogs today. That is because the dog caused you pain, which in turn caused you have anxiety towards dogs.

I learned to feel nauseous when I ate broccoli and cheese soup through classical conditioning. It’s an example of classical conditioning because a connection was created between two stimuli, bacteria and broccoli and cheese soup, that resulted in a response, nausea, that was biologically out of my control (text, p. 254). Furthermore, operant conditioning involves an existing behavior being either encouraged or discouraged, and in this case, there was not a preexisting behavior (text, p. 263).

a) Define Classical Conditioning and Behaviorism. b) Identify the two major characteristics that distinguish classical conditioning from operant conditioning.

Classical conditioning effects everyday life especially in relation to phobias and addiction which will be discussed in this essay. Classical conditioning was founded by Ivan Pavlov. He believed that if a behaviour can be learned, it can also be unlearned too. This essay will highlight the importance of conditioning principles in explaining and treating problem behaviours. Classical conditioning has revolutionised behavioural therapies, such as flooding and systematic desensitisation to treat phobias, and aversion therapies to treat addictive behaviour.

Classical conditioning is a form of learning that is taught to us through experiences we encounter in our lives. It involves outside stimuli to trigger the condition we have learned to expect. For example, the sound of a lunch bell would trigger our stomach to start growling soon after hearing the bell ring. The expectation of food to come soon after hearing the bell and satisfy our hunger is what makes our stomach growl. This is something learned over time. Expectations can be both good and bad. Sometimes these negative experiences cause us to have certain behaviors when we are reminded of such an event.

Is it possible to rouse fear from a stimulus that at first caused no such response? Classical conditioning is a type of learning where a response is produced from combining a conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to produce an unconditioned response. Ivan Pavlov did a famous study, pairing the sound of a bell with food to produce salivation. After a while, just the sound alone would produce salivation. “Little Albert”, an infant that belonged to a wet nurse at the Harriet Lane Home was experimented on by John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner. Watson and Rayner claim that “Little Albert” was a healthy, unemotional, and stable child. The experiment began with the introduction of a white rat, which alone, produced no fear response. At 11 months and 3 days, the rat was paired with a loud noise. The loud noise frightened “Little Albert”. He began to associate the fear he experienced with the white rat since it was paired with the loud noise.

David Myers’ Psychology textbook states that classical conditioning “is biologically adaptive because it helps humans and other animals prepare for good or bad events.”

For this Psychology Field Journal, you will demonstrate your understanding of the components of classical conditioning by labeling two classical conditioning scenarios and reflecting on examples of classical conditioning in everyday life.

Classical conditioning is a form of basic learning the body automatically responds to a stimulus. One stimulus takes on the properties of another. The Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) is credited for discovering the basic principles of classical conditioning whilst he was studying digestion in dogs. He developed a technique for collecting dog’s salivary secretions. Pavlov (cited in Eysneck M.W 2009) noticed that the dogs would often start salivating before they were given any food or saw the feeding bucket or even when they heard the footstep of the laboratory assistant coming to feed them. Quite by accident Pavlov had discovered that the environmental control of behaviour can be changed as a result

Organisms throughout many generations have evolved and developed adaptations that allow them to survive in their given environment. Additionally, these organisms are capable of increasing their chances of survival by learning new behaviors throughout their lifetime. The process of learning requires the organism to properly assess the environment and then appropriately respond to future conditions. A common form of learning is association in which a specific stimulus is associated with a particular response creating a relationship between the two. The stimulus can be classified as either an unconditioned stimulus (US), a stimulus that causes a response without prior exposure, or a conditioned stimulus (CS), a neutral stimulus at first but then stimulates a

Classical conditioning is the theory that involves a subject learning a new behavior by the process of association. A naturally occuring stimulus (the unconditioned stimulus) is paired with a response (the unconditioned response). Then, a neutral stimulus (the conditioned stimulus) is paired with the unconditioned stimulus and eventually the conditioned stimulus produces the initial response of the unconditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus being present. The response, therefore, becomes the conditioned response. This study had a major influence on the psychological study of behaviorism. “Behaviorism is based on the assumption that learning occurs through interactions with the environment” (Cherry 1). Classical conditioning

Researchers sought out to explore the details of dopamine neuron responses to stimuli related to learning complex behaviors within various types of behavioral conditioning (Schultz, Apicella, Ljungberg, 1993). Based on results from previous studies, it was hypothesized that DA neuron responses would be strongest during the initial learning stages versus after the monkeys had been trained for that

The brain’s ability to learn, to change in response to experience and to store/retrieve learning through memory it is a fascinating process fundamental to one’s existence. The first scientific study of animal learning demonstrated a form of associative learning - classical conditioning; it can be described as a process of learning where a neutral stimulus (e.g. bell) is paired with an unconditional stimulus (e.g. food) and as a consequence, the neutral stimulus becomes conditioned and comes to elicit the same

Classical conditioning says that we learn behaviours by associating the response to the stimulus. An example of this can be found from the work of Ivan Pavlov. In the 1890s Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, carried out some experiments with a dogs. He noticed that when a dog eats food, they salivate: this is an unconditional response to an

Using examples of both classical and operant conditioning, discuss the contributions and limitations of learning theory for the understanding of behaviour (Schacter et al., 2nd Ed, Chapter 6, also see Chapter 1 for historical context)