Classical conditioning is the process by which a neutral stimulus, via repeated pairings with an unconditioned stimulus, becomes a conditioned stimulus [i.e., elicits a conditioned response]. In the original, Nobel Prize winning, laboratory experiments conducted by Ivan Pavlov [], dogs were conditioned to salivate in response to a bell by the repetitive pairings of the bell with the presentation of food. Thus, a previously neutral stimulus [i.e., the bell] becomes associated with the previously unconditioned stimulus [i.e., the food] and elicits a conditioned response [i.e., salivation]. If the newly conditioned stimulus is presented enough times without the unconditioned stimulus, a process called extinction occurs in which the conditioned stimulus will no longer elicit the conditioned response.
Introduction
The process of classical conditioning rests on the occurrence of an innate...
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Duits, P., Cath, D. C., Lissek, S., Hox, J. J., Hamm, A. O., Engelhard, I. M., …, & Bass, J. M. P. [2015]. Updated meta-analysis of classical fear conditioning in the anxiety disorders. Depression and Anxiety, 32, 239–253. doi 10.1002/da.22353. Google Scholar Pavlov, I. P. [1902]. The work of the digestive glands. London: Griffin. Google Scholar Watson, J. B., & Rayner, R. [1920]. Conditioned emotional reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3[1], 1–14. CrossRef Google Scholar Download referencesReferences
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Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
Emalee J. W. Quickel
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Correspondence to Emalee J. W. Quickel .
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Of course, these processes also apply in humans. For example, let’s say that every day when you walk to campus, an ice cream truck passes your route. Day after day, you hear the truck’s music [neutral stimulus], so you finally stop and purchase a chocolate ice cream bar. You take a bite [unconditioned stimulus] and then your mouth waters [unconditioned response]. This initial period of learning is known as acquisition, when you begin to connect the neutral stimulus [the sound of the truck] and the unconditioned stimulus [the taste of the chocolate ice cream in your mouth]. During acquisition, the conditioned response gets stronger and stronger through repeated pairings of the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus. Several days [and ice cream bars] later, you notice that your mouth begins to water [conditioned response] as soon as you hear the truck’s musical jingle—even before you bite into the ice cream bar. Then one day you head down the street. You hear the truck’s music [conditioned stimulus], and your mouth waters [conditioned response]. However, when you get to the truck, you discover that they are all out of ice cream. You leave disappointed. The next few days you pass by the truck and hear the music, but don’t stop to get an ice cream bar because you’re running late for class. You begin to salivate less and less when you hear the music, until by the end of the week, your mouth no longer waters when you hear the tune. This illustrates extinction. The conditioned response weakens when only the conditioned stimulus [the sound of the truck] is presented, without being followed by the unconditioned stimulus [chocolate ice cream in the mouth]. Then the weekend comes. You don’t have to go to class, so you don’t pass the truck. Monday morning arrives and you take your usual route to campus. You round the corner and hear the truck again. What do you think happens? Your mouth begins to water again. Why? After a break from conditioning, the conditioned response reappears, which indicates spontaneous recovery.
Acquisition and extinction involve the strengthening and weakening, respectively, of a learned association. Two other learning processes—stimulus discrimination and stimulus generalization—are involved in distinguishing which stimuli will trigger the learned association. Animals [including humans] need to distinguish between stimuli—for example, between sounds that predict a threatening event and sounds that do not—so that they can respond appropriately [such as running away if the sound is threatening]. When an organism learns to respond differently to various stimuli that are similar, it is called stimulus discrimination. In classical conditioning terms, the organism demonstrates the conditioned response only to the conditioned stimulus. Pavlov’s dogs discriminated between the basic tone that sounded before they were fed and other tones [e.g., the doorbell], because the other sounds did not predict the arrival of food. Similarly, Tiger, the cat, discriminated between the sound of the can opener and the sound of the electric mixer. When the electric mixer is going, Tiger is not about to be fed, so she does not come running to the kitchen looking for food.
On the other hand, when an organism demonstrates the conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the condition stimulus, it is called stimulus generalization, the opposite of stimulus discrimination. The more similar a stimulus is to the condition stimulus, the more likely the organism is to give the conditioned response. For instance, if the electric mixer sounds very similar to the electric can opener, Tiger may come running after hearing its sound. But if you do not feed her following the electric mixer sound, and you continue to feed her consistently after the electric can opener sound, she will quickly learn to discriminate between the two sounds [provided they are sufficiently dissimilar that she can tell them apart].
Sometimes, classical conditioning can lead to habituation. Habituation occurs when we learn not to respond to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly without change. As the stimulus occurs over and over, we learn not to focus our attention on it. For example, imagine that your neighbor or roommate constantly has the television blaring. This background noise is distracting and makes it difficult for you to focus when you’re studying. However, over time, you become accustomed to the stimulus of the television noise, and eventually you hardly notice it any longer.