1. Learning Long lasting, relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience.

2. Learning is a relatively permanent change in a person’s behavior to a given situation brought about by his/her repeated experiences in that situation, provided that the behavior change cannot be explained on the basis of native response tendencies (i.e., reflexes, instincts), maturation (biological changes that occur in sequential order and give us new abilities), or temporary states of the person or other animal (e.g., fatigue, drugs, etc.) (Hilgard and Bower) 2

3. 3 How Do We Learn? By association Our minds naturally connect events that occur in sequence (Aristotle; Locke; Hume)

4. 4 Associative Learning Type 1: Learning to associate one stimulus with another.

5. 5 Associative Learning Type 2: Learning to associate a response with a consequence.

6. Classical Conditioning Ivan Pavlov Studied Digestion of Dogs. Dogs would salivate before they were given food (triggered by sounds, lights etc…) Dogs must have LEARNED to salivate.

7. Classical Conditioning Is passive learning (automatic…learner does NOT have to think). First need an unconditional relationship. Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS or US)- something that elicits a natural, reflexive, unlearned response. Unconditioned Response (UR or UCR)- automatic, unlearned response to the UCS.

8. Classical Conditioning Next you find a neutral stimulus (NS) - something that by itself elicits no response. You present the NS with the UCS repeatedly. After a while, you begin associate the NS with the UCS.

9. Classical Conditioning Learning = when the previously neutral stimulus (NS) now elicits a response. At this point the neutral stimulus is called the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the response to this becomes the conditioned response (CR). The CR is similar, if not identical, to the UCR.

10. Major Classical Conditioning Terms: Acquisition When NS becomes the CS; the association between the NS and the UCS taken place.

11. 11 Acquisition In most cases, for conditioning to occur, the neutral stimulus needs to come before the unconditioned stimulus. The CS needs to come half a second before the US for acquisition to occur.

12. Timing Matters Forward conditioning : fastest learning; CS precedes UCS Delay(ed) Conditioning: present CS, while CS is still there, present UCS. Trace Conditioning: present CS, short break, then present UCS. Simultaneous Conditioning: CS and UCS are presented and terminated at the same time. Backward Conditioning: UCS is presented, then CS is presented.

13. Terms: Extinction When the CS is no longer associated with the UCS. When the US (food) does not follow the CS (tone), CR (salivation) begins to decrease and eventually causes extinction.

14. Spontaneous Recovery Sometimes, after extinction and a rest period occur, the extinguished CR still randomly appears after the CS is presented.

15. Reconditioning What is reconditioning? How does reconditioning differ from spontaneous recovery?

16. Generalization Something is similar enough to the CS that you get a CR.

17. 17 Stimulus Generalization Tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the CS is called generalization. Pavlov conditioned the dog’s salivation (CR) by using miniature vibrators (CS) on the thigh. When he subsequently stimulated other parts of the dog’s body, salivation dropped.

18. Discrimination Something is different enough to the CS so you do not get a CR.

19. 19 Stimulus Discrimination Discrimination is the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus.

20. Classical Conditioning and Humans John Watson brought Classical Conditioning to psychology with his Baby Albert experiment.

21. First-Order and Second-Order (Higher Order) Conditioning First Order Conditioning. Bell + meat = salivation. Bell = Salivation. Second Order Conditioning (After first order conditioning has occurred) Light + Bell = Salivation. Light = Salivation.

22. Learned Taste Aversions When it comes to food being paired with sickness, the conditioning is incredible strong. Even when food and sickness are hours apart. Food must be salient (noticeable.)

23. Garcia and Koelling Study Studied rats and how they make associations. Some associations seem to be adaptive. CSUCSLearned Response Loud NoiseShockFear Loud NoiseRadiation (nausea)Nothing Sweet WaterShockNothing Sweet WaterRadiation (nausea)Avoid Water

24. 24 Extending Pavlov’s Understanding Pavlov and Watson considered consciousness, or mind, unfit for the scientific study of psychology. However, they underestimated the importance of cognitive processes and biological constraints.

25. 25 Cognitive Processes Early behaviorists believed that learned behaviors of various animals could be reduced to mindless mechanisms. However, later behaviorists suggested that animals learn the predictability of a stimulus, meaning they learn expectancy or awareness of a stimulus (Rescorla & Wagner, 1972).

26. 26 Biological Predispositions Pavlov and Watson believed that laws of learning were similar for all animals. Therefore, a pigeon and a person do not differ in their learning. However, behaviorists later suggested that learning is constrained by an animal’s biology.

27. 27 Biological Predispositions John Garcia Garcia showed that the duration between the CS and the US may be long (hours), but yet result in conditioning. A biologically adaptive CS (taste) led to conditioning but other stimuli (sight or sound) did not.

28. 28 Biological Predispositions Even humans can develop classically to conditioned nausea.