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Classical Conditioning is one of the indicators of the story’s driving plot. Humans have been conditioned to harm out of fear throughout history, seen when Mr. Morgan mutilates and murders an ant with a golf club (3). This theory was discovered by Ivan Pavlov, as a learning procedure through pairing a biologically potent stimulus (e.g.

_____________ disputed Pavlov’s ideas in the early 20th century and established that the associations between stimuli and responses mold or shape learning and associations through repetition.

In order to fully evaluate the behaviour of an individual it is vital to be able to identify different personality traits. It is believed that two different processes are involved within the behavioural approach, these are operant conditioning and classical conditioning, although these theories are very different, they all stem from the initial all behaviour is learned and not innate. Ivan Pavlov developed the theory

* Ivan Pavlov (behaviorist) – Started the idea of conditioning, where an inherited reflex comes to be triggered by a stimulus that has nothing to do with that reflex. He showed that even inherited reflexes could be influenced dramatically by learning experiences.

Behavioral theory is the idea that human behavior can be learned, while learning stems from experience. An individual’s experiences can lead to their behavior. Ivan Pavlov developed the concept of classical conditioning, which helped in developing behavioral theory. Pavlov developed classical condition with experiments run with animals, finding that behavioral responses “can be produced by pairing consequences with stimuli” (Lehmann & Coady, 2001). This idea can be carried over from animals to humans, as noted in individuals suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, who may have physiological or emotional responses from stimuli that remind them of the traumatic event (Lehmann & Coady,

A biological constraint in learning theory refers to an inherited tendency to learn and create certain relationships, and it has been said that some species are much more readily than others in learning such behaviour. Therefore it involves the factors which make populations resistant to evolutionary change and the animals biological make up. In this paper I will attempt to explain the bases of the original biological approaches to learning in classical conditioning in humans and animals, make comparison between animals and the association of fears

Two forms of non-associative conditioning are habituation and sensitization. Habituation involves a no US and a novel stimulus being continuously presented to the organism. Organisms will learn that the novel stimulus will not predict another stimulus after repeated occurrences, and subsequently the organism will form this in their memory and decrease or cease its response to that stimulus. This is beneficial to survival because it helps the organism filter out insignificant repetitive stimuli and therefore save energy and improve its efficiency [3]. The second form of non-associative learning is sensitization, in which a strong stimulus that is presented will increase the organism’s responses to different stimuli in the future. In other words, the organism will be more alert and have an enhanced response to the stimulus. This allows the organism to be alert of dangerous constituents in their environment [4]. Overall, non-associative learning improves selective attention and response to important stimuli which is crucial to survival and

Behaviourism proposes that we are born a tabula rasa and that all subsequent behaviour is a result of learning from the environment. Classical conditioning was founded by Ivan Pavlov in the 1890s who discovered that by pairing meat powder (the unconditioned stimulus) with a neutral stimulus repeatedly, he could condition the dogs to salivate every time the bell rang. It is possible that Anna learned to fear snakes through a

Curiosity that struck Ivan Pavlov with the idea of reflexes that all organisms possess led to the beginning of classical conditioning. It became the very first concept of learning, which consequently inspired other behaviorist psychologists to come up with more learning theories. As a result, Ivan Pavlov is considered one of the first people to establish behaviorist psychology and define its position and beliefs. Over time, behaviorist psychologists together modified the existing learning theories and introduced new learning theories and techniques with significantly increased efficiency and practicality. Therefore, behaviorist therapists now use different types of learning methods to reinforce an individual to behave in a certain way. Moreover, psychology now shares key features with modern science and asks powerful and critical questions that may influence the entire world.

In the presented review, I aim to critically discuss this paper. I start with criticising Mackintosh’s approach of treating cognitive and associative processes as two distinct. Then, I examine Mackintosh’s point of view on animal learning. I conclude that Machintosh’s (1997) main claim about the importance of the associative learning is supported by subsequent research. Nevertheless, it is important not to neglect either associative, or cognitive approach, because they are not fundamentally different, and, at least in humans, both of them play a significant role.

Classical conditioning is often associated with physiologist Ivan Pavlov’s experiment with the salivating dog (Hutchinson, 2015). This experiment focused on conditioning the dog to associate food with the bell while salivating, and eventually salivates when the bell is rung even without the presence of food. Operant conditioning theory is changed behavior as the result of a reinforcement (Hutchinson, 2015). In our society, we associate positive reinforcements with compliments, smiles, high-fives in order to encourage a behavior more. Negative reinforcement involves jail, detention, and grounding, and this is to stop a behavior from continuing. A cognitive social learning theory states that behavior can be learned through observations, beliefs, expectations, and imitation of others (Hutchinson, 2015). A major difference between cognitive social learning theory and the others, is a lack of manipulation to encourage the individual to follow through with a behavior. Rather, cognitive social learning theories suggest that a change in thinking can ultimately result in a change in behavior (Hutchinson, 2015).

Stimulus generalisation is the tendency for stimuli similar to an original stimulus involved in a learning situation to produce the response originally acquired. Behavioural psychologists suggest that a person produces a fear reaction to the trauma situation; this fear is then produced again in response to a similar stimulus, due to classical conditioning. Evidence for this theory was produced by Pavlov (1927) who conducted experiments were dogs were presented with stimuli that elicited fear responses. The dogs associated these stimuli with particular environmental cues. When these stimuli were produced in front of the dogs the fear response was expressed.

Windholz, G. (2009). Pavlov's conceptualization of learning. The American Journal of Psychology, 105(3), 459. Retrieved from

Furthermore, the Pavlovian system is also advantageous for survival. The Pavlovian actions are often emotional responses, of which the processes are prewired contingent on the conditioned stimuli. In other words, in the Pavlovian system, the actions are not learned but the cues to elicit the responses are. For animals, reproduction is crucial for survival. In Japanese quails, for instance, the male needs to approach a female to have a chance of copulation in naturalistic environment. Domjan and colleagues (1986) conducted an experiment to pair the approach behavior of the male with the conditioned stimulus such as a light. Thus, the male learned that the light was associated with the approach behavior and the access to a female quail. Thus, whenever the light was turned on, the male could demonstrate approach behavior. This Pavlovian action-selection system facilitates the reproductive responses that are crucial for survival purposes.