Learning = a relatively permanent change in behaviour due to experience
Classical Conditioning: a procedure during which an animal or person learns to associate a reflex response to a new stimulus.
Reflex response: automatic response
Generalisation: the conditioned stimulus is produced when a similar stimulus to the conditioned stimulus is presented.
Unconditioned Stimulus: a stimulus which produces a reflex response
Unconditioned Response: the reflex response to an unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned Stimulus: a new stimulus presented with the UCS
Extinction: a conditioned response dies out
Discrimination: The conditioned response is only produced when a specific stimulus is presented
Pavlov’s Theory
Pavlov noticed that his dog would produce saliva when he would hear the food bucket being brought (reflex response). Pavlov realised that the dog had learnt to produce saliva when the food was being brought. Pavlov would then ring a bell (CS) each time the food bucket (UCS) was being brought and noticed the dog still produced saliva (UCR). Then Pavlov rung the bell but brought no food and still the dog produced saliva (CR). Pavlov then decided to try and use different tones of the bell and realised that his dog still produced saliva (Generalisation). So then Pavlov only brought food to a specific tone of the bell so the dog stopped producing saliva to the other tones of the bell and only produced saliva to that certain tone (Extinction + Discrimination). After a while Pavlov tried the other tones of the bell and the dog produced saliva again (Spontaneous Recovery).
Watson and Rayner (1920)
Aim: To see if the emotional response of fear could be conditioned in a human being.
Method: Albert was 11 months old. He seemed to like a white laboratory rat and had no fear of white furry animals. In the conditioning trials the rat was shown to Albert and as he reached for it, a metal bar was hit very hard with a hammer several times.
Results: after...