Classical Conditioning

Question 1

Define Classical Conditioning

Answer 1

learning by association. Occurs when a NS is repeatedly paired with an UCS. The NS eventually produces the same response as the UCS.

Question 2

Define UCS

Answer 2

Stimulus that produces a response without any learning taking place.

Question 3

Define UCR

Answer 3

Unlearned response to and UCS.

Question 4

Define NS

Answer 4

Stimulus that does not produce the target response. Becomes CS after being paired with UCS.

Question 5

Define CS

Answer 5

Stimulus that only produces target response after pairing with UCS.

Question 6

Define CR

Answer 6

Response elicited by CS.

Question 7

Define Extinction

Answer 7

When CS and UCS have not been paired for a while and CS ceases to elicit the CR.

Question 8

Define Spontaneous Recovery

Answer 8

An extinct response activates again so that the CS once again elicits the CR.

Question 9

Define Stimulus Generation

Answer 9

When someone has acquired a CR to one stimulus begins to respond to similar stimuli in same way.

Question 10

Process of CC - Before Conditioning

Answer 10

UCS triggers a reflex response such as salivation, anxiety or sexual arousal. This is UCR, an unrelated NS does not produce this response.

Question 11

Process of CC - During Conditioning

Answer 11

UCS and NS are experienced close together in time, called pairing. Effect of pairing is greatest when NS occurs just before UCS. Pairing normally has to take place multiple times.

Question 12

Process of CC - After Conditioning

Answer 12

After pairing, NS produces same response as the UCS. NS is now CS and response is now CR.

Question 13

Example of CC

Answer 13

Wrapper is NS until paired with chocolate, an UCS.
After pairing wrapper is CS and salivating is CR

Question 14

What value does Extinction have?

Answer 14

Survival value as it means our learning is flexible - we can learn to stop fearing something that has been conditioned as a fear stimulus, but poses little danger.

Question 15

Strength

Answer 15

Supported by many studies conducted on humans and animals.

Pavlov demonstrated CC on salivation response in dogs, Watson and Rayner demonstrated that a fear can be conditioned in a human baby.

This means there is firm evidence supporting existence of CC in human and animal learning.

Question 16

Competing

Answer 16

Pavlov’s details of CC are open to question as he believed the factor linking NS to UCS was contiguity.

Rescorla found evidence that contiguity is less important than contingency (extent to which NS reliably predicts UCS

Question 17

Weakness

Answer 17

Can only explain how a limited range of behaviours can be acquired.

CC only explains acquisition of simple reflex responses like salivation, anxiety and sexual arousal, cannot account for more complex chains of learned behaviour.

e.g. explain how we can fear dogs but not the maintenance of this fear overtime.

CC is only a partial explanation for learning of a behaviour.