Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning
Cards (8)
- Process of classical conditioning:
- Innate unconditioned stimulus (US)
- Produces innate unconditioned response (UR)
- New behaviour = new stimulus-response link
- Creates through producing conditioned response (CR) to a conditioned stimulus (CS)
- Learned through association
- Association = between unconditioned stimulus (US) and neutral stimulus (NS)
- NS ‘gains’ some properties of US
- NS now causes same conditioned response
- Association caused by:
- Pairing unconditioned stimulus with neutral stimulus
- Either intensively one time
- Or repeatedly many times
- Timing of pairing is key
- Other features of association:
- Stimulus generalisation
- Extinction occurs if pairing between US and NS ceases
- Spontaneous recovery can occur from a later US-CS pairing (extinguished phobia ≠ phobia gone)
- CC Key research: Pavlov
- Studied salivation in dogs
- Developed concept of classical conditioning
- CC Key research: Watson + Rayner
- Little Albert study
- Evidenced ability to condition, extinguish + re-condition fear
- Built on Pavlov
- CC A&E point 1: weight of research evidence
- Pavlov’s study + Little Albert study
- Subjects of experiments shown not to have those responses (salivation/fear) before experimental condition (association due to pairing of NS + CS)
- CC A&E point 2: Pavlov and Watson + Rayner’s research not very strong = CC support weakened
- Studies done in highly artificial lab conditions = little generalisability beyond the lab
- Natural settings = dogs may have been slower to form bell-food association
- If Albert’s mother was there in his own home he may have been less distressed
- Lowers ecological validity
- CC A&E point 3: CC is a fruitful theory that still provides new + useful insights today
- Dang, Xiao + Mao 2015: Contact Hypothesis -> people of different races (out-group) associated with threatening stimuli = generated association much more difficult to extinguish than association between people of same race (in-group) + threatening stimuli
- CC still meaningful + powerful theory today
- Shows negative impact on minority groups‘ lives + this evidence-based insight can help mobilise change