Learning and Classical Conditioning

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Learning and Classical Conditioning

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How Do We Learn?

• Learning is defined as a relatively permanent
  change in an organisms behavior due to
  experience (nurture).
• Most learning is associative learning learning
  that certain events occur together.
• There are 3 main types of Learning
• 1. Classical Conditioning
• 2. Operant Conditioning
• 3. Observational Learning

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Associative learning learning that two events
are linked together. Both classical and operant
conditioning are types of associative learning.
Unit 5 Learning
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All Living Animals Learn Through Association
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Classical Conditioning

• Terms you must understand
• Unconditioned means it is unlearned and comes
  naturally/reflexively. Ex salivating when
  presented with food
• Conditioned means it is learned and the response
  does not come naturally. Ex getting up when
  school bell ring
• Response is an external behavior like
  salivating that occurs because of a stimulus
• Stimulus external thing, like a bell or food,
  that may cause a response (behavior)

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Father of Classical Conditioning is Ivan Pavlov

• Russian physician/ neurophysiologist
• Was studying digestive enzymes in dogs when he
  accidentally realized the importance of
  associative learning which would consume his
  research for rest of his life.

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Dog in Pavlovs Apparatus (clip)

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Classical Conditioning (Pavlovian Conditioning)

• Classical Conditioning is a type of learning in
  which a neutral stimulus (i.e. a sound) causes a
  conditioned response when that stimulus is paired
  with an unconditioned stimulus that causes an
  unconditioned response.
• Begins with a reflex which is unconditioned
  (unlearned)
• A neutral stimulus is paired with a stimulus that
  evokes the reflex.
• Eventually the neutral stimulus alone will come
  to evoke the reflex.

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Components of Classical Conditioning

• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
• effective stimulus that unconditionally-automatic
  ally and naturally- triggers a response
• ex. food
• Unconditioned Response (UCR)
• unlearned, naturally occurring automatic
  response to the unconditioned stimulus
• Ex. salivation (when food is in the mouth)

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Components of Classical Conditioning

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
• previously neutral stimulus that, after
  association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes
  to trigger a conditioned response Ex. Tone or
  bell
• Conditioned Response (CR)
• learned response to a previously neutral
  conditioned stimulus ex. Salivation (when the
  tone or bell is heard)

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Pavlovs Classic Experiment
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Can I Get A Volunteer to Be Conditioned?
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What's the Point?

• Classical conditioning helps people and animals
  to
• ?adapt to their environment
• avoid poisonous foods.
• ?deal with dangerous situations

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Pavlov's Dog in the Office
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Pavlovs Dog the Office
UCS (unconditioned stimulus)
offer of mint
UCR (unconditioned response)
put hand out
NS (neutral stimulus)
da-duh
CS (conditioned stimulus)
da-duh
CR (conditioned response)
put hand out
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Extinction

• Extinction the diminishing of a conditioned
  response.
• How would you make extinction occur?
• If the conditioned stimulus occurs repeatedly
  without the unconditioned stimulus, eventually
  the conditioned response will cease.
• ex. If Pavlov kept making the tone (CS) without
  offering the food (US), the salivation (CR) would
  eventually stop.

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Generalization vs. Discrimination

• Generalization tendency for a stimuli similar
  to CS to evoke CR. Ex doesnt have to be same
  tone to make dogs salivatethey generalize. It
  could be bell or something else similar to the CS
• Discrimination the ability to distinguish
  between a CS and other similar stimuli .
  Ex dogs wouldnt salivate to a whistle since it
  was too different from the tone.

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Lets Read About Little Albert!
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• John Watson conducted the Little Albert study in
  1920 in which he attempted to modify the behavior
  of a 9 month old infant. Started with white rat
  which infant originally did not fear.
• After experiment, Little Albert feared white
  rats, rabbits, Santa Claus, cotton wool, etc.

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Identify Components of theLittle Albert Study

• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
• Unconditioned Response (UCR)
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
• Conditioned Response (CR)
• Generalization

loud noise
fear/anxiety
white rat
fear/anxiety
Other furry animals
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Garcias Taste Aversion Studies

• Set up experiment with rats. Exposed them to
  sights, sounds, and tastes (CS) and later also
  gave them radiation or drugs that led to nausea
  and vomiting (UCR).
• Even if sickened hours later, rats avoided the
  particular flavor of water but did NOT develop
  aversions to the sights or sounds.
• Taste Aversion became known as the Garcia
  Effect.

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Importance of Taste Aversion Studies

• Shows that nature prepares the members of each
  species to learn those things crucial to their
  survival.
• One pairing (unlike many pairings for a typical
  classical conditioning experiment) is typically
  all that is necessary to bring about the CR.

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Some Real World Applications of Classical
Conditioning

• Crack cocaine users feel craving when they
  encounter cues associated with highs (people,
  places, etc). So drug and rehab counselors
  advice them to steer clear of these places and
  peoplemake new friends, move.
• Pairing alcohol with a drug that induces vomiting
  is sometimes successful in getting alcoholics to
  stop drinking.

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Country Time Salivation Activity
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Counterconditioning

• Getting rid of a fear by associating it with
  something pleasant.
• Ex. Eliminate a fear of mice by exposing the
  subject to mice while providing a pleasant
  stimulus like cookies or candy.