INTRODUCTI

ON
Learning is a process that depends on experience and leads to long-term changes in behavior potential.
Behavior potential designates the possible behavior of an individual, not actual behavior. The main
assumption behind all learning psychology is that the effects of the environment, conditioning,
reinforcement, etc. provide psychologists with the best information from which to understand human
behavior.
As opposed to short term changes in behavior potential (caused e.g. by fatigue) learning implies long term
changes. As opposed to long term changes caused by aging and development, learning implies changes
related directly to experience.
Learning theories try to better understand how the learning process works. Two of the main forms of
learning are Connectionism and Classical Conditioning.
Edward Thorndike was the psychologist who first proposed that connectionism is key to learning.
Thorndike, who was popular in the first half of the 20th century, was the first educational psychologist.
That is, he was the first person to bring together what psychologists had studied about how the human
mind works and what educators knew about how to teach.
Connectionism was Thorndike's main philosophy. He said that learning is about responding to stimuli.
Believe it or not, much of his theory is still used in classrooms today, almost a hundred years later!
Thorndike was a contemporary of Pavlov and Watson. Classical conditioning is a type of learning that
had a major influence on the school of thought in psychology known as behaviorism. Discovered by
Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, classical conditioning is a learning process that occurs through
associations between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus.
Behaviorism is based on the assumption that learning occurs through interactions with the environment.
Two other assumptions of this theory are that the environment shapes behavior and that taking internal
mental states such as thoughts, feelings, and emotions into consideration is useless in explaining behavior.
Connectionism and Classical Conditioning that will cover in this term paper are just one of the major
forms of learning, as the definition of learning that is a relatively permanent change in behavior that
occurs as the result of practice.

DEFINITIO
N OF
TERMS

Acquisition

Is the initial learning that takes place. It is determined by how much

time elapses between the presenting the neutral stimuli (NS) and the
unconditioned stimuli (UCS).

Behaviorism

refers to the school of psychology founded by John B. Watson based on

the belief that behaviors can be measured, trained, and changed.

Classical Conditioning

A type of learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to bring about a

response after it is paired with a stimulus that naturally brings about that
response.

Conditioned Response

(CR) A response that, after conditioning, follows a previously neutral

stimulus (e.gg., salivation at the ringing of bell).

Conditioned Stimulus

(CS) A once neutral stimulus that has been paired with an unconditioned
stimulus to bring about a response formerly caused only by the
unconditioned stimulus.

Discrimination

Is the learned ability to differentials between similar stimuli (the dog

learns eventually to tell the difference between the bell and the buzzer).

Extinction

Is how long it takes to forget or eliminate the conditioned response (CR)

Generalization

Is the tendency to respond to stimuli that is similar to the conditioned

stimuli (CS). For example Pavlovs dog would drool upon hearing a
buzzer as well as the bell.

Neutral Stimulus

A stimulus that, before conditioning, does not naturally bring about the
response of interest.

Unconditioned Response

(UCR) A response that is natural and needs no training, reflexes response

. (e.g,, salivation at the smell of food)

Unconditioned Stimulus

(UCS) A stimulus that naturally brings about a particular response

without having been learned.

Spontaneous Recovery

Happens after the conditioned response (CR) reappears after a long

period of time. It proved that Extinction only suppressed the conditioned
response (CR), not completely eliminated it.

Stimulus

stimulus is an energy change (such as light or sound) which is registered

by the senses. In behaviorism and related stimulusresponse theories, a
stimulus constitutes the basis for behavior, whereas it constitutes the
basis for perception in perceptual psychology.

RESEARC
H

PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING

Connectionism and Classical Conditioning Learning Theory

Connectionism
Edward Lee Thorndike (1874-1949). Thorndikes Connectionism, is a learning
theory which it bonds between a stimulus and a response. Thorndike was a contemporary
of Pavlov and Watson. He introduced the concept of reinforcement, which Watson and
Guthrie ignored. Thorndike's work frequently has not received the attention it deserves
because so many aspects of his thinking became associated with B.F.Skinner.
Connectionism is closely related to the word 'connect,' which is just what happens in this
theory. The stimulus and its response are connected in a person's mind, like associating
chocolate cake with drooling. This connection between stimulus and response is called
stimulus-response bond, or an S-R bond. The stronger the S-R bond, the better a person has learned the
lesson. Learning involves the "stamping in" of connections, forgetting involves "stamping out"
connections.
Thorndike's early studies with animal behavior led him to declare the three laws of learning:
Law of Readiness:
"When a bond is ready to act, act gives satisfaction and not to act gives annoyance. When a bond which is
not ready to act, is made to act, annoyance is caused." If the child is ready to learn, he can learn quickly. If
the child is not ready to learn, he cannot learn effectively. If the teacher teaches his students when their
minds are set, learning will take place. Otherwise all his teaching will fall flat.
The law of readiness is explained by the statement, "When an individual is ready to act or to learn, he acts
or learns more effectively and with greater satisfaction than when not ready." Thus readiness is mental set
which means that a child can learn his lessons when he is inclined to work at them. It is the most
important duty of the teacher to develop in citizens a readiness to learn their lessons.
A teacher, who is specific in his assignment and gives interesting problems to the students to solve,
arouses their curiosity and creates in then a favorable mental setup for learning, he has to adopt
interesting methods and use suitable audio-visual aids for making his lesson well- received by the pupils.
For example, he can take a problem or a project for teaching a subject in Social Studies. The pupils will
learn much while making preparations for the trip and will learn history directly, enjoy aesthetic aspects
of the monument and get valuable knowledge regarding its architecture and location very closely as well
as joyfully.

As the teacher neglects this important principle, much of the wastage is caused in education. When pupils'
interest is not generated, no learning takes place properly. They go through their studies in an indifferent
manner and much of the teachers work is wasted.
The resourceful teacher makes an effort to arouse pupils' interest and curiosity through a current event or
news, so that children are motivated to learn more about this. He can exploit, for example, an industrial
exhibition, a cyclone or death anniversary of national hero for teaching geography, science or history.
Moments of mental alertness are great opportunities for directing the pupils' interest and efforts into
desirable channels of learning.
Law of Exercise:
According to Thorndike this Law has two aspects and as such has two related or allied doctrines, (i) Law
of Use and (ii) Law of Disuse. The Law of Use states, "When a modifiable connection is made between a
situation and a response, that connection's strength is, other things being equal increased."
Similarly, the Law of Disuse states, "When a modifiable connection is not made between a. situation and
response, over a length of time, which connection's strength is decreased." Briefly we may say that other
things being equal, exercise strengthens and lack of exercise weakens the bond between situation and
response. The phrase "other things being equal" implies that the consequences of pleasure and pain are to
be recognized in this context. That is we repeat only the pleasant things and actions and do not repeat the
unpleasant things and activities.
It is our experience that whenever any action is repeated, it becomes easy and prompts. We read and
reread lessons a number of times to master them. We play and replay a musical tune a number of times to
be able to play it easily and accurately.
Law of Exercise: Repetitions
Repetitions of activities fix knowledge and skills to be learned. Practice makes perfect. Lack of practice
weakens our memory and skills. It may be said that longer is the period of disuse, greater is the loss of
memory as well as weakening of skills. Words which are spelled by us frequently are remembered very
well. The words which are frequently used by us in writing and conversation are not easily forgotten. That
is we remember by use and forget by disuse.
In education the doctrines of use and disuse are very familiar. We learn and retain through use or exercise
and we unlearn and forget through disuse or lack of exercise. Exercise or drilling is found more effective
when it is associated with pleasure and purpose. The teacher should therefore make the practices
purposeful and interesting in order to ensure better learning.

Law of Effect:

Edward L. Thorndike devised this puzzle box

to study the process by which a cat learns
to press a paddle to escape from the box
and receive food. This experiment proves
the theory of Thorndikes Law of Effect.

According-to Thorndike, the principle of effect is the fundamental law of teaching and learning. The law
states that "When pleasant or satisfying consequences follow or attend a response, the latter tends to be
repeated. When painful or annoying consequences attend a response it tends to be eliminated." That is the
bond between the situation and response strengthens with satisfying results and weakens-with the
displeasure and discomfort.
An action which brings a feeling of pleasure is more effectively learnt, whereas an action which brings a
feeling of displeasure is not properly learned. When an action is associated with a feeling of the
annoyance the individual tends to avoid it. If the child succeeds in doing a thing, in solving problem, in
working out a sum, he is pleased about his achievement and this feeling of satisfaction motivates him to
do better and make further efforts. Success leads to further success and failure leads to further failures.
Throndike also refer, five subordinate laws which further help to explain the learning process. These are

Law of Multiple Response

According to it the organism varies or changes its response till an appropriate behaviour is hit upon.
Without varying the responses, the correspondence for the solution might never be elicited. If the
individual wants to solve a puzzle, he is to try in different ways rather than mechanically persisting in the
same way. Throndikes cat in the puzzle box moved about and tried many ways to come out till finally it
hit the latch with her paw which opened the door and it jumped out.

The Law of Set or Attitude-

Learning is guided by a total set or attitude of the organism, which determines not only what the person
will do but what will satisfy or annoy him. For instance, unless the cricketer sets himself to make a
century, he will not be able to score more runs. A student, similarly, unless he sets to get first position and
has the attitude of being at the top, would while away the time and would not learn much. Hence, learning
is affected more in the individual if he is set to learn more or to excel.

Law of Response by Analogy

According to this law, the individual makes use of old experiences or acquisitions while learning a new
situation. There is a tendency to utilise common elements in the new situation as existed in a similar past
situation. The learning of driving a car, for instance, is facilitated by the earlier acquired skill of driving a
motor cycle or even riding a bicycle because the perspective or maintaining a balance and controlling the
handle helps in stearing the car.

The Law of Associative Shifting-

According to this law we may get an response, of which a learner is capable, associated with any other
situation to which he is sensitive. Thorndike illustrated this by the act of teaching a cat to stand up at a
command. A fish was dangled before the cat while he said stand up. After a number trails by presenting
the fish after uttering the command stand up, he later ousted the fish and the over all command of stand
up was found sufficient to evoke the response in the cat by standing up or her hind legs.

Classical Conditioning

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849 1936), a Russian physiologist, never intended to do

psychological research. In 1904 he won the Novel Prize for his work on digestion,
testimony to his contribution to that field. Yet Pavlov is remembered on basic learning
process work that he began accidentally.
Pavlov had been studying the secretion of stomach acids and salvation in dogs in
response to the ingestion of varying amounts and kinds of food. While doing that, he
observed a curious phenomenon: Sometimes stomach secretion and salivation would begin
in the dogs when they had not yet eaten any food. The mere sight of the experiment who
normally brought the food, or even the sound of the experimenters footsteps, was enough to produce
salivation in the dogs. Pavlovs genius lay in his ability to recognize the implications of this discovery. He
saw that the dogs were responding not only one the basis of a biological need (hungers), but also as a
result of learning or, as it came to be called, Classical conditioning

To demonstrate and analyze classical conditioning, Pavlov conducted a

series of experiments (Pavlov. I927). In one, he attached a tube to the
salivary gland of a dog; that would allow hint to measure precisely the
clog: salivation. He then rings a bell and, just a few seconds later,
presented the dog with meat. This pairing occurred repeatedly and was
carefully planned so that each time exactly the same amount of time
elapsed between the presentation of
Ivan Pavlov, developed the principle of Classical
the bell and the meat. At first,
Conditioning
the dog would
salivate only when the meat was
presented, but soon it began to salivate at the sound of the bell. In fact, even when Pavlov stopped
preventing the meat, the dog still salivated after hearing the sound. The dog had been classically
conditioned to salivate to the bell.
Basic Elements of Classical Conditioning
To demonstrate classical conditioning, you need at least two types of stimulus and an appropriate
procedure for pairing the stimuli. Here are some terms describing the basic elements:
The Unconditioned Stimulus (US) This is a stimulus that reflexively elicits a response. In Pavlov's
experiments the US typically was meat powder.
The Unconditioned Response (UR) This is the response to the unconditioned stimulus that the
experimenter measures. In Pavlov's experiments the UR was salivation.

Pavlov distinguished two kinds of unconditioned salivary reflex: the alimentary reflex to food, and the
defensive reflex to weak acids and other tissue irritants. Alimentary salivation tends to be thick with
mucus, giving it a lubricating quality that facilitats the mastication and swallowing of food. Defensive
salivation tends to be thin and copius, helping to dilute the irritant and wash it out of the mouth.
The Neutral Stimulus This is a stimulus that initially does not elicit the response to be conditioned, in
this example, salivation. It is important to note, however, that the initial presentations of the neutral
stimulus do produce other responses that Pavlov collectively referred to as the investigatory reflex,
or the "what is it?" reflex. The dog would turn toward the source of the stimulus, sniff at it, and so on, as
if to determine what it was, and whether it needed to be paid any further attention. The modern term for
this behavior is the orienting response.
Pavlov used a variety of stimuli as neutral stimuli in his research, including an electric light, buzzer,
spinning disk, and the ticking of a metronome.
The Conditioned Stimulus (CS) This is the neutral stimulus after it has acquired the ability, through
conditioning, to elicit a response. For simplicity, it is common to refer to this stimulus as "the CS" even
while it is still technically a neutral stimulus.
The Conditioned Response (CR) This is the response conditioned to the CS. In Pavlov's experiment, the
CR was salivation. Note that salivation was the response to both the US and the CS. Please keep in mind
that the two responses can be (and often are) different. For example, the unconditioned response to a
shock US delivered through the floor is running, whereas the conditioned response may be freezing
(Immobility).

As you can are in Figure 1. the basic processes of classical conditioning that under-lie Pavlov: discovery
are straightforward, although the terminology he chose is not simple. Consider first the diagram in Figure
l.a. Before conditioning there are two unrelated stimuli: the ringing of a bell and moat. We know that
normally the ringing of a bell does not lead to salivation but to some irrelevant response, such as pricking
up the ears or perhaps a startle reaction. The bell is therefore called the neutral stimulus because it is a
stimulus that, before conditioning does not naturally bring about the response in which we are interested.
We also have meat, which naturally causes a dog to salivatethe response we are interested in
conditioning. The meat is considered an unconditioned stimulus, or UCS, because food placed in a dog's
mouth automatically causes salivation to occur. The response that the meat elicits (salivation) is called
Figure 1.
an unconditioned response, or UCRa natural,
innate, reexive response that is not associated with previous learning. Unconditioned response always
brought about by the presence of unconditioned stimuli. Figure 1.b illustrates what happens during
conditioning, The bell is rung just before each presentation of the meat. The goal of conditioning is for the
dog to associate the bell with the unconditioned stimulus (meat) and therefore to bring about the same sort
of response as the unconditioned stimulus. After a number of pairing of the bell and meat, the bell alone
causes the dog to salivate. When conditioning is complete, the bell has evolved from neutral stimulus to
what is now called a conditioned stimulus, or CS. At this time, salivation that occurs as a response to

ue conditioned stimulus (bell) is considered a conditioned response, or CR. This situation is depicted
in Figure 1.c. After conditioning, then, the conditioned
stimulus evokes the conditioned response.
Figure 1. The basic process of classical conditioning (a)
Before conditioning the ringing of a bell does not bring about
salivation making the bell a neutral stimulus. In contrast,
meat naturally brings about salivation making the meat an
unconditioned stimulus and salvation an unconditioned
response.(b) During conditioning the bell is rung just before
the presentation of the meat. (c) Eventually, the ringing of
the bell alone brings about salivation. We now can say that
conditioning has been accomplished. The previously neutral
stimulus of the bell is now considered a conditioned stimulus

The

sequence and timing of the presentation of the

unconditioned stimulus and the conditioned stimulus
are particularly important. Like n malfunctioning
warning light at a railroad crossing that goes on after
the train has passed by a neutral stimulus that follows
an unconditioned stimulus has little chance of
becoming a conditioned stimulus. However, just as a
warning light works best if it goes on right before a train
passes, a neutral stimulus that is presented just before
the unconditioned stimulus is most apt to result in
successful conditioning. Research has shown that
conditioning is most effective if the neutral stimulus
(which will become a conditioned stimulus) precedes
the unconditioned stimulus by between a half second and several seconds, depending on what kind of
response is being conditioned.

Although the terminology Pavlov used to describe classical conditioning may seem confusing at first, the
following summary can help make the relationships between stimulus and responses easier to understand
and remember:

Conditioned = learned; unconditioned = not learned.

An unconditioned stimulus leads to an unconditioned response.
Unconditioned stimulus unconditioned response pairings are unlearned and untrained.
A conditioned stimulus leads to a conditioned response, and a conditioned stimulus conditioned
response pairing is a consequence of learning and training.
An Unconditioned response and a conditioned response are similar, but the unconditioned
response occurs naturally, whereas the conditioned response is learned.

Furthermore, Pavlov made other observations in his experiment as presented to the following:

1. Higher-Oder Conditioning.
Involving a two phase process. In the first phase, a neutral
stimulus such as tone is paired with an unconditioned stimulus such as a meat powder until it
becomes a conditioned stimulus that elicits the response originally evoked by the UCS such as
salivation. In the second phase, another neutral stimulus such as red bulb is paired with the
previously established CS, so that it also acquired the capacity to elicit the response originally
evoked by the UCS.
2. Second-Order Conditioning.
A process in which a conditioned stimulus acts like an
unconditioned stimulus, creating a conditioned stimulus out of events associated with it. A learned
signal (CS) can act like an unlearned signal (UCS). For example, a painful injection (UCS) at the
doctors clinic can be associated with the doctors white coat (CS). The white coat (CS) has the
power to trigger fear, it might become associated with the doctors clinic. Eventually, the doctors
clinic itself might evoke a fear response. Because the CS (while coat) has taken on the properties of
the UCS (painful injection). The doctors clin9ic signals the white coat, which in turn signals pain.
3. Acquisition.
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. How does acquisition occur? In classical conditioning, repeated pairings of
the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) eventually leads to acquisition.
Remember, the unconditioned stimulus is one that naturally evokes the unconditioned response
(UCR). After pairing the CS with the UCS repeatedly, the CS alone will come to evoke the response,
which is now known as the conditioned response (CR).
4. Internal Inhibition .
Is explained in Pavlov's fourth and fifth lectures. In internal inhibition,
the positive conditioned stimulus itself becomes, under definite conditions, negative or inhibitory.
Pavlov described two types of internal inhibition:
a. Extinction In classical conditioning, a form of internal inhibition, in which the positive
conditioned stimulus is temporarily transformed into a negative or inhibitory response, by
the simple method of repeating it several times in succession without reinforcement.
Extinction Example:
Dog is conditioned to associate bell with food.
Dog salivates at bell
This happens a few times, but no food arrives.
Dog stops salivating when the bell rings.

b. Conditioned Inhibition Or, more appropriately, Differential Inhibition. A more complex

form of internal inhibition, which was described in Pavlov's fifth lecture. In Pavlov's words:
"A positive conditioned stimulus is firmly established in a dog by means of the usual h
reinforcement. A new stimulus is now occasionally added, and whenever the combination is
applied, which may be at intervals sometimes extending to hours or days, it is never
accompanied by the unconditioned stimulus. In this way, the combination is gradually
rendered ineffective, so that the conditioned stimulus, when applied in combination with the

additional stimulus loses its positive effect, although when applied singly and with constant
reinforcement it retains its full powers."
Pavlov explained that the term that emerged for this second type of internal inhibition,
"Conditioned Inhibition," was a misnomer that simply came about as the experiments
progressed. He also explained that, once the distinctions had become clear, his preference
would be the more descriptive ("appropriate") term: "differential inhibition."
5. External inhibition. It was first observed in the classical conditioning context when, for example, a
noisy truck passed by outside Pavlov's lab. His interpretation was that such an unusual stimulus
naturally elicits investigatory responses which distract the dog from the CS and hence cause a
decreased flow of conditioned saliva. Whatever the reason for the effect, external inhibition applies
to all conditioning situations. A rat's speed of running down a runway or rate of pressing a bar will be
temporarily disrupted by almost any unusual event that occurs in the environment. It should be noted
that the absence of a customary stimulus in the environment qualifies as a stimulus event that can lead
to external inhibition.
6. Stimulus Generalization.
In classical conditioning, an association is learned between two stimuli.
In the classic experiments of Ivan Pavlov, dogs learned an association between the sound of a tone
and food in which the tone signaled that food was coming very soon. As a result, the dogs would
salivate in response to only hearing the tone. In this example, the tone is considered the conditioned
stimulus, and the salivation in response to hearing just the tone is considered the conditioned
response.
Another outcome of classical conditioning is stimulus generalization, which happens when the
organism that is being conditioned learns to associate other similar stimuli with the conditioned
stimulus; the organism displays the conditioned response as a consequence of being exposed to
similar stimuli. If we go back to the example of Pavlov's dogs, stimulus generalization would occur if
the dog began to salivate in response to another type of sound that's similar to the tone, such as a
doorbell or wind chimes, even though it was never directly conditioned to respond to those specific
sounds.
7. Extinction. Extinction refers to the gradual weakening of a conditioned response that results in the
behavior decreasing or disappearing. In classical conditioning, when a conditioned stimulus is
presented alone without an unconditioned stimulus, the conditioned response will eventually cease.
For example, in Pavlov's classic research, a dog was conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell.
When the bell was presented repeatedly without the presentation of food, the salivation response
eventually became extinct.
8. Spontaneous Recovery.
The reappearance of the conditioned response after a rest period
or period of lessened response. If the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are no longer
associated, extinction will occur very rapidly after a spontaneous recovery.
For example, in Ivan Pavlov's classic experiment, dogs were conditioned to salivate to the sound of a
tone. Pavlov also noted that no longer pairing the tone with the presentation of food led to extinction

of the salivation response. However, after a two hour rest period, the salivation response suddenly
reappeared when the tone was presented.
9. Discrimination.
Discrimination is the ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and
other stimuli that have not been paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
For example, if a bell tone were the conditioned stimulus, discrimination would involve being able to
tell the difference between the bell tone and other similar sounds.
Discrimination is the tendency for a learned behavior to occur in situations that closely resemble the
one in which the behavior was learned but not in situations that differ from it.
Classical Conditioning in Everyday Life
One of the great things about conditioning is that we can see it all around us. Here are some examples of
classical conditioning that you may see:
1.

Conditioned Fear & Anxiety many phobias that people experience are the results of conditioning. For
Example "fear of bridges" fear of bridges can develop from many different sources. For example, while
a child rides in a car over a dilapidated bridge, his father makes jokes about the bridge collapsing and all
of them falling into the river below. The father finds this funny and so decides to do it whenever they
cross the bridge. Years later, the child has grown up and now is afraid to drive over any bridge. In this
case, the fear of one bridge generalized to all bridges which now evoke fear.

2.

Advertising modern advertising strategies evolved from John Watson's use of conditioning. The
approach is to link an attractive US with a CS (the product being sold) so the consumer will feel
positively toward the product just like they do with the US. US > CS > CR/UR attractive person > car >
pleasant emotional response

Classical Conditioning in Human

The "Little Albert" experiment was a famous psychology experiment conducted by behaviorist
John B. Watson. Previously, Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov had conducted experiments
demonstrating the conditioning process in dogs. Watson was interested in taking Pavlov's
research further to show that emotional reactions could be classically conditioned in people.

The participant in the experiment was a child that Watson called "Albert B.", but
is known popularly today as Little Albert. Around the age of nine months, Watson
exposed the child to a series of stimuli including a white rat, a rabbit, a monkey,
masks and burning newspapers and observed the boy's reactions. The boy initially
showed no fear of any of the objects he was shown. (see figure A 1-3).

The next time Albert was

exposed the rat, Watson
made a loud noise by hitting a metal pipe with a hammer. Naturally, the child began to cry after hearing
the loud noise. After repeatedly pairing the white rat with the loud noise, Albert began to cry simply after
seeing the rat. (see Figure B1-3).

Watson wrote: "The instant the rat was shown, the baby began to cry. Almost instantly he turned sharply
to the left, fell over on [his] left side, raised himself on all fours and began to crawl away so rapidly that
he was caught with difficulty before reaching the edge of the table."

Elements of Classical Conditioning in the Little Albert Experiment

The Little Albert experiment presents of how classical conditioning can be used to condition an emotional
response.

Neutral Stimulus: The white rat

Unconditioned Stimulus: The loud noise
Unconditioned Response: Fear
Conditioned Stimulus: The white rat
Conditioned Response: Fear

Phobias and Conditioning

A phobia is an intense, irrational fear that impairs a persons ability to function normally or participate in
normal activities. Phobias, such as Little Alberts fear of rats and white, furry objects, may result from
classical conditioning. For example, if someone has a near-drowning experience, he may become afraid
of water in general.
In addition to demonstrating that emotional responses could be conditioned in humans, Watson also
observed that stimulus generalization had occurred. After conditioning, Albert feared not just the white
rat, but a wide variety of similar white objects as well. His fear included other furry objects including
Watsons fur coat and Watson wearing a Santa Claus beard.
Building on Watson successful experiment with little Albert and other similar conditioning and
deconditioning, a classical conditioning procedure for weakening a conditioned response of fear by
associating the fear provoking stimulus with a new response that is incompatible with the fear. Following
on from the environment on a organisms behavior via process of conditioning.
INCIDENTAL OBSERVATIONS
Thumb sucking as a compensatory device for blocking fear and noxious stimuli. During the course of
these experiments, especially in the final test, it was noticed that whenever Albert was on the verge of
tears or emotionally upset generally he would continually thrust his thumb into his mouth. The moment
the hand reached the mouth he became impervious to the stimuli producing fear. Again and again while
the motion pictures were being made at the end of the thirty-day period, we had to remove the thumb
from his mouth before the conditioned response could be obtained. This method of blocking noxious and
emotional stimuli (fear and rage) through erogenous stimulation seems to persist from birth onward.

SUMMAR
Y
Connectionism and Classical Conditioning Learning Theory

The learning theory of Thorndike represents the original SR framework of behavioral

psychology: Learning is the result of associations forming between stimuli and responses. Such
associations or "habits" become strengthened or weakened by the nature and frequency of the SR
pairings. The paradigm for SR theory was trial and error learning in which certain responses come to
dominate others due to rewards. The hallmark of connectionism (like all behavioral theory) was that
learning could be adequately explained without refering to any unobservable internal states.
Thorndike's theory consists of three primary laws: (1) law of effect responses to a situation which are
followed by a rewarding state of affairs will be strengthened and become habitual responses to that
situation, (2) law of readiness a series of responses can be chained together to satisfy some goal which
will result in annoyance if blocked, and (3) law of exercise connections become strengthened with
practice and weakened when practice is discontinued. A corollary of the law of effect was that responses
that reduce the likelihood of achieving a rewarding state (i.e., punishments, failures) will decrease in
strength.

The theory suggests that transfer of learning depends upon the presence of identical elements in the
original and new learning situations; i.e., transfer is always specific, never general. In later versions of the
theory, the concept of "belongingness" was introduced; connections are more readily established if the
person perceives that stimuli or responses go together (c.f. Gestalt principles). Another concept
introduced was "polarity" which specifies that connections occur more easily in the direction in which
they were originally formed than the opposite. Thorndike also introduced the "spread of effect" idea, i.e.,
rewards affect not only the connection that produced them but temporally adjacent connections as well.

The "classic" classical conditioning experiment conducted by Pavlov goes as follows: A dog is
hooked to a mechanism that measures the amount that the dog salivates. A tone is sounded just before a
dog is given meat powder. This occurs several times. Eventually, conditioning occurs in that the dog
salivates just to the bell alone. Of course, the dog salivates instinctively in response to the food, but
"learns" to salivate to the sound of the bell, much as you might find your mouth watering at the site,
smell, or even memory of your favorite food. Pavlov used this relatively simple experiment as a model for
describing much of the automatic/nonconscious learning that occurs in everyday life. In any case where
you have "learned" to respond automatically to some sort of stimulus with fear, joy, excitement, or

anticipation you have become classically conditioned. In fact, a basic characteristic of classical
conditioning, in comparison to another popular model, operant conditioning, is that the learning is
automatic and non-conscious. Pavlov identified four basic components in this classical conditioning
model. The unconditioned stimulus is the stimulus that naturally and instinctively elicits the target
response, which, in the case of his classic experiment is the meat powder. The conditioned stimulus is the

stimulus that comes to elicit the target response, which was the tone in Pavlovs experiment. The
unconditioned and conditioned responses are a little trickier to identify in that they are often the exact
same behavior. For example in Pavlovs experiment they are both salivation. The fundamental difference
is that the unconditioned response occurs as a result of the unconditioned stimulus, and the conditioned
response occurs in response to the conditioned stimulus. In the Pavlov experiment, the unconditioned
response is salivation in response to the meat powder, and the conditioned response is salivation in
response to the tone.

Another example thats legendary in psychology circles involves the story of John B. Watson, the father
of behaviorism and "Little Albert". John B. Watson carried out a classical conditioning experiment with a
child (Little Albert) by making a loud noise behind the childs head (smashing two bars together) as the
child was playing with a rabbit. Though the child was quite happy playing with the rabbit up until that
time, he came to be terrified of the rabbit.

The time difference between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus is referred to as
latency. First of all, note that the conditioned stimulus must come first. For example, if Pavlov always
sounded the tone after the dog got meat powder, the tone, in the absence of the meat powder, would signal
was that the dog somehow missed getting its meet powder so, in fact, it might as well not salivate. Given
that the conditioned stimulus does precede the unconditioned stimulus, the general rule of thumb is that
the shorter the latency the more likely it is that the conditioning will occur. Another interesting
phenomenon that Pavlov identified was a phenomenon thats come to be known as "spontaneous
recovery". This is the re-occurrence of a classically conditioned response after extinction has occurred.
Extinction refers to the fact, that, if the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli are not paired for a given
number of trials an organism will stop exhibiting the conditioned response. For example, the student
mentioned above will, perhaps, some day come to really like Hawaiian shirts again. However, after the
student has officially gotten over the fear of Hawaiian shirts, the fear may suddenly reappear. This would
be spontaneous recovery. A final important characteristic of classical conditioning is referred to as
generalization. This is the case where stimuli that are like the conditioned stimulus come to elicit the same
response. A classic example is that Little Albert allegedly became fearful of other animals and even his
Mothers fur coat.

ACTIVITIES
Directions:

Fill in the blanks.

1.____________ involves changes brought about by experience, whereas maturation describes changes
resulting from biological development.

2.____________ is the name of the scientist/ physiologist responsible for discovering the learning
phenomenon known as ____________ , in which an organism learns a response to a stimulus to which it
normally would not respond.
Refer to the passage below to answer questions number 3 to 5:

The last three times little Theresa visited Dr. Lopez for checkups, he administered a
painful preventive immunization shot that left her in tears. Today, when her mother
takes her for another checkup, Theresa begins to sob as soon as she comes face to face
with Dr. Lopez, even before he had a chance to say hello.

3. The painful shot that Theresa received during each visit was a(n) _____________ that elicited the
________, her tears
4. Dr. Lopez is upset because his presence has become a _________ for Theresas crying.
5. Fortunately, Dr. Lopez gave Theresa no more shots for quite some time. Over that period she
gradually stopped crying and even came to like him. _____________ had occurred.
6. __________ occurs when a stimulus that is fairly similar to the conditioned stimulus the same
response.
7. In contrast, ______________ occurs when there is no response to a stimulus that is slightly distinct
from the conditioned stimulus.
8. _________________ is refers to the school of psychology founded by John B. Watson based on the
belief that behaviors can be measured, trained, and changed.
9. ________________ is behaviorist who conduct a famous experiment about theory of learning known
as the Little Albert Experiment
10. Thorndikes _____________, is a learning theory which it bonds between a stimulus and a response.

REFERENCE
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