Theories of learning- classical conditioning

Response

A reaction by an organism to a stimulus

5). Conditioned response CR

Is the learned response that is produced by the CS -salivation in response to the bell

Before conditioning Neutral stimulus (NS) Bell Unconditioned stimulus Food During conditioning NS +UCS Bell+food Repeated pairings of these two stimuli After conditioning Conditioned stimulus (CS) Bell

--->no response --->unconditioned response (UCR) Salivation: due to food --->UCR --->salivation due to food ---> conditioned response ---> salivation due to bell

Applications of classical conditioning

-Classical conditioning is a systematic procedure through which associations between stimuli, or events in the environment, are learned, resulting in a conditioned response. -considered to be a relatively simple type of learning -behaviours that have been classically conditioned may occur so automatically that they appear to be reflexive. -conditioned responses are reflexive in the sense that they are automatic, involuntary and involve little conscious though or awareness on the part of the organism. -classically conditioned responses are now described as involving anticipatory behaviour -by learning to associate stimuli through everyday experience, we gain information about our environment, some of which we take for granted but which is nevertheless valuable. -sometimes, an emotional reaction such as fear or anger to a specific stimulus is learned through classical conditioning. -a conditioned emotional response is an emotional response that usually occurs when the autonomic nervous system produces a response to a stimulus that did not previously trigger that response.

5 key elements of classical conditioning

1). Neutral stimulus 2). Unconditioned stimulus 3). Unconditioned response 4). Conditioned stimulus 5). Conditioned response

Aversion therapy

A form of behaviour therapy that applies classical conditioning processes to inhibit ('block') or discourage undesirable behaviour by associating (pairing) it with an aversive (unpleasant) stimulus such as a feeling of disgust, pain or nausea. Aim of it is to suppress or weaken the undesirable behaviour. extinction may occur when the UCS and CS are no longer repeatedly paired. Another limitation of aversion therapy is that the learned aversion often fails to generalise to situations other than those under which the learning took place.

1). Neutral stimulus NS

A stimulus that does not naturally elicit any specific/ relevant response -the sound of the bell

5 key processes of classical conditioning

Acquisition: the overall process during which an organism learns to associate two events (the CS and UCS). During acquisition, the presentations of the CS and the UCS occur close together in time and always in the same sequence. The duration of the acquisition stage is said to occur when the CS alone produces the CR. At this point, conditioning is said to have taken place.

Stimulus

Any object or event that elicits (produces) a response from an organism.

2). Unconditioned stimulus UCS

Any stimulus that consistently produces a particular, naturally occurring, automatic response -the food

5 key processes of classical conditioning

Extinction: a conditioned stimulus-response association is not necessarily permanent. the strength of the association may fade over time or disappear altogether. Extinction is the gradual decrease in the strength or rate of a CR that occurs when the UCS is no longer presented. Extinction is said to have occurred when a CR no longer occurs following presentation of the CS.

Flooding

Involves bringing the client into direct contact with the anxiety or fear producing stimulus and keeping them in contact with it, until the conditioned response is extinguished. It is believed that people will stop fearing the stimulus and experiencing the anxiety associated with it when they are exposed to it directly and made to realise that it is actually quite harmless.

Graduated exposure

Involves presenting successive approximations of the CS until the CS itself does not produce the conditioned response. In most cases, a conditioned response acquired through classical conditioning will extinguish if the UCS is not paired with the CS at least occasionally. The association is sometimes so strong and well-established that it persists over time and is difficult to extinguish unless there is some kind of intervention. Technique involves progressively, or gradually introducing or exposing the client to increasingly similar stimuli that produce the conditioned response requiring extinction and ultimately to the CS itself. Client is gradually 'desensitised' to the fear or anxiety producing object or event. First phase: therapist will work with the client to 'break down' then organise the anxiety or fear producing situation into a hierarchy of increasingly difficult encounters. Second phase: involves step by step exposure to each of the fear producing situations, starting with the least frightening. May involve either imagining each situation using visual imagery (imaginal exposure), real life exposure to each at producing situation (in vivo exposure) or the use of virtual reality technology. Best results appear to occur using real life graduated exposures.

3). Unconditioned response UCR

Is the reflexive, involuntary response that occurs automatically when the UCS is presented. -salivation in response to food

4). Conditioned stimulus CS

Is the stimulus that is neutral at the start of the conditioning process and does not normally produce the unconditioned response. -the bell once the dog salivates to its sound

Watson's 'Little Albert' experiment Watson and Rayner (1920)

One of the best known studies that used classical conditioning to intentionally condition an emotional fear response was first reported in 1920 by American psychologist John B. Watson and his graduate student Rosalie Rayner. Their research was designed to test the belief that fears can be acquired through classical conditioning. Watson and Rayner considered Albert to be a suitable participant for their series of experiments. Little Albert (a pseudonym) was 'borrowed' from a child-care facility at the John Hopkins University. After pre-testing Albert to ensure he was actually capable of producing a fear response (UCR), Watson and Rayner placed him on a mattress in a room where a white laboratory rate (CS) was within reaching distance. Albert showed no initial fear of the furry animal and played with it contently As he was distracted, one of the experimenters distracted him, while the other experimenter stood behind Albert and struck a hammer upon a suspended steel bar. Albert started violently, his breathing was checked and the arms were raised in a characteristic manner. On the second stimulation the same thing occurred, and in addition the lips began to pucker and tremble. On the third stimulation the child broke into a sudden crying fit, first time an emotional situation in the laboratory has produced any fear in Albert. During conditioning, Watson paired the white ray with the loud noise after 7 pairings of the rat and the noise (over 2 sessions, one week apart) Albert cried when the rat was presented without the loud noise. Albert also showed fear when presented with a dog, a rabbit, a fur coat and a Santa Claus mask.

Classical conditioning

Refers to a type of learning that occurs through the repeated association of two (or more) different stimuli. Learning is only said to have occurred when a particular stimulus consistently produces a response that it did not previously produce.

Ivan Pavlov

Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov was the first to describe classical conditioning as a learning process when he was investigating the digestive system of dogs. Knew the dogs would salivate if food was placed in their mouths, but he noticed that they would also salivate before they were given food. Noticed the dogs began to salivate to stimuli other than the food, e.g. When the lab technician entered the room, they began to salivate. Salivation was caused by the lab technician and not the food. Began to test this using other stimuli such as a bell, a musical tone, clapping, a light. Dogs had learnt to associate different stimuli e.g. The bell with another stimulus the food, which caused a response, salivation. Food itself no longer caused the dogs to salivate.

5 key processes of classical conditioning

Stimulus discrimination: occurs when a person or animal responds to the CS only, but not to any other stimulus that is similar to the CS. Pavlovs dogs, stimulus discrimination would be observed when a dog salivated only in response to the sound of the 'experimental' bell, and not in response to any other similar sound.

5 key processes of classical conditioning

Stimulus generalisation: the tendency for another stimulus that is similar to the original CS to produce a response that is similar (but not necessarily identical) to the CR. In stimulus generalisation, the greater the similarity between stimuli, the greater the possibility that a generalisation will occur

5 key processes of classical conditioning

Spontaneous recovery: the reappearance of a CR when the CS is presented, following a rest period (I.e. When no CS is presented) after the CR appears to have been extinguished. Spontaneous recovery does not always occur, and when it does it is often short-lived. The CR tends to be weaker than it was originally (during acquisition)

Watson's 'Little Albert' experiment Watson and Rayner (1920) Ethical breaches •informed consent •voluntary participation •withdrawal rights •debriefing/extinction of the CR •do no harm •not replicated therefore.

•Alberts mother left her job at the clinic and the city of Baltimore where the experiments were being conducted. Watson and Rayner reported that they were denied the opportunity: of building up an experimental technique by means of which we could remove the conditioned emotional responses. •Other psychologists have disputed this saying that W&R knew a month in advance that Alberts mother would be leaving, yet took no steps to extinguish Albert's fear response. •ethical question of whether informed consent was obtained. •not clear whether any allowance was made for participant withdrawal rights. •possible that Albert was more vulnerable to psychological harm as a result of the experimental procedures than another infant might have been. •subjected to severe anxiety and distress, experimenters made no attempt to end the experiment and appropriately attend to his distress •experiments using a human participant in this way would be considered unethical today and would not be permitted •Albert died at the age of 6 from the brain disease hydrocephalus, disease can be acquired at birth or soon after, suggesting Albert was far from the healthy boy shown.