Jordan Givan-Assignment 8-Learning and Classical Conditioning

Dr. Casey Casler - CCD Learning and Classical Conditioning Directions: Use the information from chapter 6 to answer the following questions. Please answer the questions by synthesizing the information and putting it in your own words . This will help you shorten your workload and understand the material in a much more comprehensive manner. Answers don’t have to be lengthy, just as long as needed to answer the question fully. Bullet points are fine. Students typically can answer these in 3-7 sentences. Any videos/audio files required to complete this assignment can be found in the Content section of D2L under Course Videos . Learning Basics Please watch the following videos of classical conditioning to assist in your understanding of how it works. These videos will help you answer the questions below. No written response is necessary. “Pavlov Discovering Classical Conditioning” “Little Albert Experiment” “The Office - Jim Classically Conditions Dwight” 1. With respect to learning, what is the difference between a reflex and instinct? Reflexes are the automatic response to a stimulus in the environment. Instincts are unlearned knowledge and it thought to be found more in lower animals than humans. 2. What is learning? Change in behavior/knowledge that is a result of experience 3. What is associative learning? Form of learning that connects certain stimuli/events that occur together in the same environment 4. What is classical conditioning? Classical conditioning is the process of which we associate stimuli with certain events. 5. What was Ivan Pavlov studying when he accidentally discovered classical conditioning? He was trying to figure out what made dogs drool. 6. Using the concept of “extinction,” how would you extinguish the dog’s response to salivating when it hears the bell? Stop giving the dog food when the bell rang, so it would begin to lose the association of food with the bell. 7. In the video “The Office - Jim Classically Conditions Dwight,” what is the neutral stimulus? The neutral stimulus is the chime of the computer. 8. In Watson’s “Little Albert” experiment, how did little Albert demonstrate “stimulus generalization?” Albert demonstrated stimulus generalization because he was conditioned to just fear the rat, but when he cam in contact with anything that was furry, he reacted by crying and becoming scared each time. 9. Using the concept of “extinction,” how would you extinguish Little Albert’s fear of white rats? Using the concept of extinction, you could extinguish Albert’s fear of white rats by continuously presenting him the white rat with no other sound, so he would no longer associate the rat with load noises and fear. 10. What is behaviorism? Behaviorism is a school of thought that rose during the first part of the 20 th century. 11. Who is considered the founder of behaviorism? John B. Watson is considered to be the founder of behaviorism. 12. Why did Watson argue that behaviorism shouldn’t include internal mental processes? Watson believed that all behavior can be studied as a simple stimulus-response reaction. He also believed that in order for psychology to become a legitimate science, it must shift it’s concern away from internal mental processes and must focus on outward observable behavior that can be measured. 13. Why would we probably NOT repeat Watson’s Little Albert Experiment today? Watson essentially traumatized a child to fearful of anything that is furry. This is considered unethical today.

Dr. Casey Casler - CCD Classical Conditioning Activity Example Example Directions : For the following questions, please identify each of the 5 components of classical conditioning ( UCS, UCR, NS, CS, CR ). Your understanding of how to complete this activity will be greatly enhanced by reading the section in the textbook on classical conditioning. If you get confused go back to the example of Pavlov’s dog / Watson’s Little Albert experiment and look at each of the different components and then apply this pattern to the question you’re working on. Remember “conditioning” just means “learning!” A few TIPS! will make identifying the answers easier. Follow these directions along with the example below and complete the remaining questions in the same order. (1) Start here! What is the NS (neutral stimulus)? The stimulus that has no meaning until it’s paired with something else. Answer 1 :) (2) The NS becomes the CS . They are the same answer! The CS is just the NS renamed after learning. Now you have 2 answers ! (3) Now, figure out what the CS elicits (causes to happen = CR )? This is the CR, now you have 3 answers! (4) Next, because you know the CR you automatically know the UCR . This is because the CR is the UCR renamed after learning. You have 4 answers now. (5) Lastly, determine what elicits the UCR before any learning has occurred ( UCS ). This is the UCS. It an association that is innate, physiological, natural, evolutionary etc. This your last answer! Example A young infant receives annual vaccinations and feels pain and begins to cry. After a few shots the infant begins crying when he sees the doctor’s white lab coat in the room. Before Conditioning (learning) (5) Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): Answer = Pain from shot (4) Unconditioned Response (UCR): Answer = Crying and fear

Dr. Casey Casler - CCD 26. NS: Sheep 27. CS: Sheep 28. CR: coyote runs away A 3-year old boy goes to the zoo for the first time with his father and sister. While he is looking at a bird display, his sister sneaks up on him and startles him. He becomes very frightened, and now when he sees birds outside or on TV, he cries. 29. UCS: sister scared him while looking at birds 30. UCR: becomes scared 31. NS: Sees birds 32. CS: sees birds 33. CR: becomes scared Domjan is famous for his work with Japanese quails. In one study he present male quails with terrycloth object and then immediately presented a female quail with which to mate. After 30 pairings, the terrycloth object was presented alone, and the male quails proceeded to attempt to mate with it. 34. UCS: Male quail 35. UCR: Tries to mate 36. NS: Terry Cloth 37. CS: Terry cloth 38. CR: Tries to mate Your son is bullied every day during the first two weeks of 4th grade. Now every morning when you wake him up for school he cries, says he’s scared and appears extremely anxious. 39. UCS: Bullied at school 40. UCR: scared and anxious 41. NS: waking up for school 42. CS: waking up for school 43. CR: scared and anxious