Famous Psychology Experiments Over the next few decades, Pavlov continued his experiment to learn more about how the dogs became conditioned to the external stimuli. He identified the following additional aspects of classical conditioning: Acquisition: There should be very little time between the presentation of the external stimulus (the bell) and the food. Also, if the food is presented before the bell rings, the dog does not become conditioned to salivate upon hearing the bell. Extinction: Once the dog has been conditioned, its conditioned salivation response will not last forever. The conditioned response (CR) gradually becomes less pronounced until it becomes “extinct.” Spontaneous Recovery: Interestingly, when Pavlov extinguished the conditioned response by not providing food with the bell, after a few hours the dogs would salivate at a weakened level upon hearing a bell, even if no food was presented. Generalization: The dogs salivated upon hearing the sound of bells that were similar to, but not the same as, the one to which Pavlov conditioned them to respond. Discrimination: Pavlov was also able to train his dogs to discriminate one sound from another and to respond to only one type of bell. Pavlov’s studies have had a significant impact on theories of learning in humans. Think about how each of Pavlov’s findings might relate to the ways in which people learn and react to their environment.

Learning... What is involved in the process of learning? If you want to train a dog to retrieve a frisbee how would you do it? Why do we sometimes say “ouch” after we stub our toe even though we come to realize that it didn’t actually hurt?

Observational Learning Theory Learning The process by which experience or practice results in a relatively permanent change in behavior or potential behavior We are here Classical Conditioning The type of learning in which a response naturally elicited by one stimulus becomes to be elicited by a different formally neutral stimulus Operant Conditioning The type of learning in which behaviors are emitted to earn rewards or avoid punishments Observational Learning Theory The type of learning in which behaviors are learned by observing a model Pavlov and Watson B.F. Skinner Albert Bandura UCS, UCR, CS, CR Reinforcement and Punishment Modeling and Vicarious Learning

Essential Task Terms: unconditioned stimulus (UCS) Outline unconditioned stimulus (UCS) unconditioned response (UCR) neutral stimulus pairing acquisition conditioned stimulus (CS) conditioned response (CR) stimulus generalization stimulus discrimination extinction spontaneous recovery contingency higher-order learning (in classical conditioning)

Key Psychologists John B. Watson – Founder of behaviorism (Observe measurable behaviors)

Ivan Pavlov Classical Conditioning Learning through associating an automatic stimulus w/ a neutral stimulus. Dog

Pavlov & Classical Conditioning Pavlov observed that dogs salivated when he placed food into their mouths. He also noted that a dog would often salivate even if it just saw some food. The dog appeared to anticipate the feeling and taste of the food in its mouth. At first, Pavlov lamented that this salivation got in the way of his research on the dogs’ digestive systems. After thinking about the dogs’ reaction to the sight of food, however, he decided to focus his research on this phenomenon and to experiment with the dogs to see how their salivation response formed and changed. Pavlov hypothesized that dogs could learn to associate external stimuli, such as a sound or a touch, with food and would therefore salivate upon sensing those external stimuli.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) A stimulus that invariably causes an organism to responds in a specific way

Unconditioned response (UCR) A response that takes place in an organisms whenever an unconditioned stimulus occurs

Neutral Stimulus A stimulus that does not naturally cause a response in the organism.

Pairing Presenting the organism with the CS and then the UCS multiple times.

Acquisition refers to the first stages of learning when a response is established. In classical conditioning, it refers to the period of time when the stimulus comes to evoke the conditioned response.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS) An originally neutral stimulus that is paired with an unconditioned stimulus an eventually produces the desired response in an organism when presented alone.

Conditioned Response (CR) After conditioning, the response an organism produces when only a conditioned stimulus is presented.

Classical Conditioning Components CS-Conditioned Stimulus Learned trigger (initially neutral) UCS- Unconditioned Stimulus Automatically triggers a response Which one was the neutral stimulus? UCR- Unconditioned Response Naturally occurring response CR- Conditioned Response Learned response

Pavlov’s Conclusions Unconditioned Response (UCR) Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) Conditioned Response (CR) Conditioned Stimulus (CS) Present external (neutral) stimulus (bell) immediately before giving food. Order is important Results: After a few trials, the dog salivates upon hearing the bell Works with other stimuli as well Pavlov placed a dog in a small room and harnessed it so it couldn’t move around. He then attached a collection device to the dog’s mouth to measure how much the dog salivated. He began the experiment by ringing a bell and then immediately placing some food into the dog’s mouth. He measured the amount of saliva the dog excreted after each feeding. After repeating this bell-and-feeding sequence several times, Pavlov found that the dog would begin to salivate before it actually received the food. This confirmed his hypothesis. Pavlov achieved similar results when he tried other external stimuli, including a buzzer, a light, and touching the dog’s leg. because of because of Is it necessary to present the CS before the UCS? Explain.

Continuing Pavlov’s Experiment Other Aspects of Classical Conditioning Acquisition Learning the pairing CS+ UCS Making the association Extinction Represses CR (not eliminated) Spontaneous Recovery After extinction, time passes, reappearance of the CR w/o UCS Generalization CR to stimuli that are similar Discrimination CR to a particular stimulus only

Stimulus Generalization the transfer of a learned response to different but similar stimulus. Example: Scared of a rat leads to fear of all white furred fuzzy creatures

Stimulus Discrimination learning to respond to only one stimulus and to inhibit the response to all other stimuli.

John Watson and Rosalie Rayner: Baby Albert: Classical Conditioning Conditioned fear into an infant Presented a rat immediately followed by a loud noise, startling the baby + = After a few tries, Albert was afraid of the rat Following up on Pavlov’s work, in 1920 John Watson and Rosalie Rayner hypothesized that humans could be conditioned to have certain fears. In particular, they hypothesized that a human child could be conditioned to fear a rat. The child they studied was an 11-month-old boy named Albert B., or “Little Albert.” Before the experiment, Little Albert was not afraid of rats, but he was afraid of loud noises. Watson and Rayner began the experiment by showing Little Albert a white rat. As Albert reached for the rat, the experimenters pounded a hammer directly behind his head, startling Albert. After doing this several times, Albert became frightened and began to cry simply upon seeing the rat without any accompanying noise. Watson and Rayner had therefore successfully conditioned him to fear the rat. A few days after conditioning Little Albert to fear the rat, Watson and Rayner found that Albert had generalized his fears to other furry creatures, including a rabbit, a dog, a sealskin coat, or Santa Claus mask. He did not express fear when exposed to non-furry toys. Albert generalized his fears to other furry objects

Examples of Classical Conditioning Phobias After the attacks, cats become a warning stimulus for pain causing fear when the child sees cats. After this botched photo, 6 ft bunny becomes warning stimulus for someone trying to capture you.

Examples of Classical Conditioning Taste Aversion After throwing up a food, it becomes a warning stimulus for getting sick.