Topic 3.7 Notes – Classical Conditioning

Classical Conditioning and the Behaviorist View

Classical conditioning is learning by association between two stimuli. One stimulus starts out neutral, then becomes a signal that predicts another stimulus and triggers a response.

A quick foundation:

• A stimulus is any event or object that affects an organism.
• A response is the organism’s reaction.

This idea fits the behavioral perspective, which grew out of behaviorism. Behaviorists cared most about observable behavior and how the environment shapes it. They did not center their work on hidden mental processes like thoughts or feelings.

Classical conditioning usually involves responses that are:

• automatic like salivation or blinking
• emotional like fear
• physiological like sweating or increased heart rate
• reflexive rather than chosen on purpose

That helps you separate it from operant conditioning. In classical conditioning, you link stimulus with stimulus. In operant conditioning, you link behavior with consequence.

Key names to know:

• Ivan Pavlov studied dogs and salivation.
• John B. Watson helped build behaviorism and showed emotional conditioning.

The Core Parts of Classical Conditioning

The four terms together

These terms only make sense as a set, so keep them connected. Pavlov’s dog setup is the classic way to see how they fit together:

• UCS = unconditioned stimulus
  Naturally triggers a response.
• UCR = unconditioned response
  Automatic, unlearned response to the UCS.
• NS = neutral stimulus
  Starts out not causing the target response.
• CS = conditioned stimulus
  Formerly neutral stimulus that gains meaning through association.
• CR = conditioned response
  Learned response to the CS.

Pavlov’s dogs

The diagram breaks the process into before, during, and after conditioning:

1. Before conditioning

   • Food = UCS
   • Salivation to food = UCR
   • Bell = NS

2. During conditioning

   • Bell comes before food
   • Repeated pairings build the association

3. After conditioning

   • Bell becomes CS
   • Salivation to bell becomes CR

A common trap is mixing up UCR and CR. They may look the same, but the label depends on what caused them.

Fast identification rule

When you see an example, ask:

• What naturally causes the response? That is the UCS.
• What is the automatic response to it? That is the UCR.
• What used to be neutral but now predicts the UCS? That is the CS.
• What is the learned response to that cue? That is the CR.

How Conditioning Is Learned and Changed

Acquisition is the learning phase. The NS becomes a CS because it predicts the UCS. The key detail the AP exam likes is order. The CS should come before the UCS and signal it. You do not need the labels delayed, trace, simultaneous, or backward conditioning for AP Psych.

A data pattern for acquisition shows the CR rising across trials, then leveling off.

Extinction happens when the CS is presented without the UCS over and over, so the CR weakens. The original UCS → UCR relationship still exists.

Spontaneous recovery means the CR comes back after extinction if there is a rest period and the CS appears again. It usually returns weaker.

Higher-order conditioning means an already learned CS can help condition a new neutral stimulus. If tone predicts food, and then light predicts tone, the light may also trigger salivation.

How Responses Spread or Become Selective

Stimulus generalization means stimuli similar to the CS also trigger the CR. A dog conditioned to one tone may respond to similar tones too. This is adaptive because similar cues may mean the same thing.

Stimulus discrimination means learning to respond only to the specific CS. If only one tone predicts food, the organism responds mainly to that tone.

Little Albert as the classic emotional example

Watson and Rosalie Rayner showed that emotions can be classically conditioned:

• Loud noise = UCS
• Fear/startle to noise = UCR
• White rat = NS, later CS
• Fear of rat = CR

Little Albert experiment

In the well-known image from the study, Albert reacts with distress in the presence of a furry animal. He also feared other furry objects, which showed generalization. This study is also a major ethics problem and would not meet modern standards.

Special Cases and Why This Matters

Counterconditioning replaces an unwanted CR with a new, incompatible response. A feared object might be paired with relaxation, which is why this idea matters for therapy.

Taste aversion is a special kind of classical conditioning shown by John Garcia. If a flavor is followed by illness, an organism may avoid that flavor after just one pairing. This is one-trial conditioning.

Taste aversion also shows biological preparedness. Organisms are biologically ready to learn some associations faster than others, especially ones with survival value like avoiding poison.

Habituation is different. It means a reduced response to a repeated or constant stimulus, like stopping notice of a background hum. There is no pairing of two stimuli, so it is not classical conditioning, and it is also not extinction.

Common data patterns:

• rising CR = acquisition
• falling CR with CS alone = extinction
• return after break = spontaneous recovery
• response to similar stimuli = generalization
• response mainly to one specific cue = discrimination