Behaviorism CLASSICAL CONDITIONING Introduction to Learning Theory

Behaviorism CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Introduction to Learning Theory and Behavioral Psychology Learning can be defined as the process leading to relatively permanent behavioral change or potential behavioral change. In other words, as we learn, we alter the way we perceive our environment, the way we interpret the incoming stimuli, and therefore the way we interact, or behave.

John B. Watson (1878 -1958) Was the first to study how the process of learning affects our behavior, and he formed the school of thought known as Behaviorism. The central idea behind behaviorism is that only observable behaviors are worthy of research since other abstraction such as a person’s mood or thoughts are too subjective. This belief was dominant in psychological research in the United Stated for a good 50 years.

Introduction to Learning Theory and Behavioral Psychology Behaviorism is the science of behavior that focuses on observable behavior only that must be directly seen and measured. Behavioral Psychology is basically interested in how our behavior results from the stimuli both in the environment and within ourselves.

The two main forms of Behaviorism we will study are: Classical Conditioning, and Operant Conditioning

Classical Conditioning was proposed by John B. Watson Classical Conditioning focuses on: REFLEXIVE behavior; physiological functions of the Autonomic Nervous System. Remember the ANS from the Biology Chapter?

Imagine I spray each of you in the face with water while reading a list of words… What would be your physiological reaction?

Most likely, you would Flinch!! Or, squint your face in some reflexive manner to avoid being sprayed.

Next, imagine that I spray you consistently just before saying the word “can”. You would make the link before the word “can” followed by the water spray. It would look like this: “can” spray flinch

Class Demo Such that, even if I stopped spraying you after saying the word “can”, you would still flinch. Like this: “can” flinch, etc. Unless, I, of course, try to extinguish your flinching response by never spraying you with water after saying the word “can” again. You might, eventually, stop flinching after I say the word “can. ”

Let’s examine what happened in this class demo: We have the water spray, flinching, and word “can. ” Would you agree?

Classical Conditioning Next, we are going to look at the definition of classical conditioning and five concepts critical to understanding the classical conditioning process. Then we will relate the water demo to the terms. Followed by applying the definitions to other examples as well.

Definition of Classical Conditioning A stimulus that does not produce a response (neutral stimulus) is linked with one that does, (so that neutral stimulus will eventually elicit same response).

Definition of Neutral Stimulus (NS) A stimulus that does not naturally evoke a response. In our water experiment, this would be the word “can. ”

Definition of Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) A stimulus innately or naturally capable of eliciting a response (reflexive or emotional). In our water experiment, this would be the “water spray. ” You normally, reflexively flinched to the water; In other words, no one had to teach you to flinch to being sprayed with water in the face.

Definition of Conditioned Stimulus (CS) A stimulus that evokes a response because of repeated pairing with the unconditioned stimulus (UCS). In our water experiment, this would be the word “can” after repeatedly paired with H 20. In other words, “can” does not naturally illicit a flinch response, it has to be conditioned or learned, hence CS.

Definition of Unconditioned Response (UCR) An innate response elicited by UCS. In our water experiment, the UCR is “flinch” to being sprayed with water. Why? Because you don’t have to learn to flinch to water being sprayed in your face. Unconditioned really means “no learning required. ”

Definition of Conditioned Response (CR) A learned response elicited by conditioned stimulus (CS). In our water experiment, the CS is the word “can” after repeated pairings with the water. So, the CR would also be “flinch. ” Only this time, instead of flinching due to the UCS or water spray, you are flinching to the word “can. ” Which means that the conditioning process was successful!!

Do you notice that… The UCR and the CR are ALWAYS THE SAME!!!!!!! It just depends on which stimulus caused the response. The UCS always causes the UCR The CS always causes the CR The UCS is never paired with the CR and the CS is never paired with the UCR. Knowing this will help you down the line as you identify the different variables for different scenarios.

Ivan Pavlov (1849 -1936) Watson based much of his work from that of Ivan Pavlov who demonstrated that a reflex could be conditioned (learned). Pavlov was a Russian physiologist interested in studying digestion. He is most famous for his experiment with his dog. At first, he repeatedly pairs the bell with the meat powder, and then he noticed, even when the meat powder is not present, the dog still salivates to the sound of the bell.

Let’s take a look at 3 equations that will help us to identify the variables that allow classical conditioning to occur. 1) Before Conditioning UCS => UCR 2) During Conditioning NS + UCS => UCR 3) After Conditioning CS => CR

For every scenario that you are presented with, I want you to identify the three main variables: One variable will be the UCS. One variable will be the Response (remember, the UCR and CR are the same). This means that you will look for TWO stimuli (S) and ONE response (R).

Going back to the Water Experiment, the 3 variables are: Water – S “Can” – S Flinch – R

Let’s apply these 3 variables to the classical conditioning equations: 1) Before Conditioning UCS => UCR water flinch 2) During Conditioning NS + UCS => UCR “can” water flinch 3) After Conditioning CS => CR “can” flinch

Now let’s identify the 3 variables from Pavlov’s salivating dog experiment: Bell – S Meat powder – S Salivate – R

Applying these 3 variables to the equations looks like this: 1) Before Conditioning UCS => UCR meat powder salivate 2) During Conditioning NS + UCS => UCR bell meat powder salivate 3) After Conditioning CS => CR bell salivate

Basically, the findings support the idea that we develop responses to certain stimuli that are not naturally occurring. For example: when we touch a hot stove, our reflex pulls our hand back. It does this instinctually, no learning involved. It is merely a survival instinct. But why now do some people, after getting burned, pull their hands back even when the stove is not turned on? Pavlov discovered that we make associations which cause us to generalize our response to one stimuli onto a neutral stimuli it is paired with. In other words, hot burner = ouch, stove = burner, therefore, stove = ouch.

Many of our behaviors today are shaped by the pairing of stimuli. Have you ever noticed that certain stimuli, such as the smell of a cologne or perfume, a certain song, a specific day of the year, results in fairly intense emotions? It's not that the smell or the song are the cause of the emotion, but rather what that smell or song has been paired with. . . perhaps an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend, the death of a loved one, or maybe the day you met you current partner. We make these associations all the time and often don’t realize the power that these connections or pairings have on us. But, in fact, we have been classically conditioned!!

Let’s take a look at a couple more examples: Imagine you are walking throw Macy’s perfume section and get a whiff of your ex-lover’s cologne. All of a sudden you become nostalgic of your ex-lover. Note: Keep in mind that your ex-lover wore this cologne everyday so that now those two stimuli have been repeatedly paired. What are the 3 variables?

3 variables: Ex-lover’s cologne – S Ex-lover – S Nostalgia – R

Putting these 3 variables into the equations looks like this: 1) Before Conditioning UCS => UCR ex-lover nostalgia 2) During Conditioning NS + UCS => UCR cologne ex-lover nostalgia 3) After Conditioning CS => CR cologne nostalgia

Let’s take another example, this time dealing with your pet dog: You live in an apartment just above the parking structure. After getting out of the car, you slam the door more or less the same way each day. Your dog has become accustomed to how you slam your car door that she becomes excited even before you enter the apartment. What are three variables?

The 3 variables are: Car door slam – S You, the dog owner – S Dog excited - R

Again, putting these variables into the 3 equations looks like this: 1) Before Conditioning UCS => UCR dog owner dog excited 2) During Conditioning NS + UCS => UCR Car door dog owner dog excited slam 3) After Conditioning CS => CR Car door dog excited slam

So far, we have discussed situations where two stimuli have been repeatedly paired with each other to classically condition a person or animal. You might be wondering if there are other situations that can also illicit the conditioning response, and there are!

Four Factors that Affect Conditioning 1) How reliably the conditioned stimulus predicts the unconditioned stimulus. A tone that is always followed by food will elicit more salivation than one that is followed by food only some of the time

The Second Factor: The number of pairings of the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus In general, the greater the number of pairings, the stronger the conditioned response.

The Third Factor: The intensity of the unconditioned stimulus If a conditioned stimulus is paired with a very strong unconditioned stimulus, the conditioned response will be stronger and will be acquired more rapidly then if the conditioned stimulus were paired with a weaker UCS. For example, rape and a car accident only have to happen once for a person to develop tremendous anxiety and fear.

The Fourth Factor: The temporal relationship between the CS and UCS. Conditioning takes place fastest if the CS occurs shortly before the UCS. The ideal time between presentation of CS and UCS is about ½ second. Conditioning takes place more slowly or not at all when the two stimuli occur at the same time. Conditioning rarely takes place the CS follows the UCS.

The two final concepts we will go over are: Stimulus generalization, and Extinction

Stimulus Generalization This phenomenon demonstrates that we tend to develop aversions even to types of food that resemble the foods which cause us illness. For example, if one eats an orange and gets sick, one might also avoid eating tangerines and clementines because they look similar to oranges, and might lead one to think that they are also dangerous. Likewise, you might be driving on the highway and look in your rearview mirror. Your hear starts to beat faster, not because you are certain you see a cop, but because you are not sure whether the car behind you has a siren or bike rack.

Extinction Is when one ceases to respond to a conditioned stimulus by no longer presenting the CS before the UCS. For example, children hear the sounds of an ice cream truck’s melody and become excited. How could you extinguish the children’s excited response to ice cream truck melody?

You could… Have broccoli or some other vegetable presented to the children instead of ice cream. Show the children the empty ice cream bins, Among other examples.

John B. Watson did a famous experiment with a baby named “Little Albert” Where, Watson taught Little Albert, who originally did not fear furry animals, to fear a white rat by pairing a loud clanging of metal bars just prior to the presentation of furry objects. You will watch the video on Watson for this week. We will also explore how Watson brought his principles of classical conditioning to the U. S. advertising industry.

Advertisements The main premise of advertisements is to link product recognition with an emotional response. The emotional response is one of the ANS, such as arousal, fear, calmness, etc.

Advertisements For example, SEX SALES. It doesn’t matter what the product is (ie. soda, cigarettes, car, phone), they are all usually paired with someone partially nude in a sexy position. When you go to the store to buy the product, you won’t get that sexy model, however, the advertising companies want you to believe that the product will give you that feeling of, ie. arousal!! Which is why it is important for us to become more mindful consumers. What is driving us to buy the product…a real need? Or, desire to fulfill a deeper emotional or psychological craving?

In what ways, have you perhaps been classically conditioned? You can think of stereotypes, fears of people, objects, experiences, likes, dislikes, etc. The more we are aware of how we have been conditioned, the more conscious choices we can make regarding our own lives!! Another important question, who is in the driver’s seat of your life, the media, advertisements, other people, and experiences, or yourself?