chapter 6: What sort of learning does classical conditioning explain?

Little Albert

Watson and Rayner; conditioned an infant to react fearfully to white lab rat; presented with loud sound USC (loud sound) -> CS (rat) -> UCR (crying)

learning

a lasting change in behavior or mental processes that results from experience

mere exposure effect

a learned preference for stimuli to which we have been previously exposed

neutral stimulus

any stimulus that produces no conditioned response prior to learning; becomes conditioned stimulus

taste-aversion learning

biological tendency in which an organism learns, after a single experience, to avoid a food with a certain taste if eating it is followed by illness

stimulus discrimination

change in responses to one stimulus but not to stimuli that are similar

UCS-UCR

connection that involves no learning

acquisition

initial learning stage in classical conditioning during which the conditioned response comes to be elicited by the conditioned stimulus

coyote taste aversion

lamb burger toxins; coyotes stopped eating sheep; back away from them in same cage

habituation

learning not to respond to the repeated presentation of a stimulus

experimental neurosis

pattern of erratic behavior resulting from a demanding discrimination learning task, typically one that involves aversive stimuli

Ivan Pavlov

physiologist; studying digestive system, discovered classical conditioning with saliva

CS

previously neutral stimulus; comes to elicit conditioned response

spontaneous recovery

reappearance of an extinguished CR after a time delay

CR

response elicited by a previously neutral stimulus that has become associated with the UCR

UCR

response elicited by the UCS without prior learning

UCS

stimulus that elicits the UCR

counterconditioning

teaches patients to respond in a relaxed manner to the conditioned stimulus; deal with phobias well

extinction

weakening of a conditioned response in the absence of a UCS

explain acquisition

1. UCS -> UCR, CS -> no response 2. CS -> UCS -> UCR 3. CS -> CR UCR becomes CR, neutral stim. becomes CS

classical conditioning

form of behavioral learning in which a previously neutral stimulus acquires the power to elicit the same innate reflex produced by another stimulus

behavioral learning

forms of learning such as classical and operant conditioning that can be described in terms of stimuli and responses

taste aversion and chemotherapy

give patients odd foods before chemo to avoid them associating healthy, favorite foods with food poisoning and preventing taste aversion

stimulus generalization

giving CR to stimuli that are similar to the CS