According to Wood et al. (2011), “conditioned stimulus is a neutral stimulus that comes to elicit reflexive response after being paired with UCS and conditioned response is a learned response elicited by conditioned stimulus” (p. 127-128). In Pavlov’s classical conditioning model depicts how a dog salivate to a bell. In the first stage which is the before conditioning, the food is the unconditioned stimulus that leads to salivation which is the unconditioned response. Also, the bell is the conditioned stimulus that leads to no salivation.
Classical conditioning is a learning process in which a naturally occurring stimulus is paired with an adjusted stimulus over and over again until the subject elicits a conditioned reaction. This technique is said to have inspired behaviorism and is regarded as one of the most important discoveries in psychology. It is also known as respondent conditioning or Pavlovian conditioning in tribute to the Russian physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov who was the first to discover classical conditioning around 1900. Pavlov was experimenting with dogs to learn more about their digestive process when he accidently discovered the phenomenon. He inserted devices in the dogs’ mouth to measure their saliva.
Classical conditioning is a process of learning in which a two stimuli are affiliated with each other. The second stimulus is performed in response to the initial stimulus. Classical conditioning is used in a multitude of areas of learning. Pet owners, parents, and teachers use it in order to condition their animals and children to perform certain tasks in response to a certain stimulus. For example, some pet owners use classical conditioning to condition their dog to bark when they hear a certain sound (such as a whistle, click, buzzer, etc.).
Stages 1 is before conditioning. The UCS produces an UCR in an organism in this stage. This means that a stimulus in the environment has produced a behaviour / response which is unlearned (i.e. unconditioned) and therefore is a natural response which has not been taught. In this respect no new behaviour has been learned yet.
Pavlov's experience consisted of associating an unconditional stimulus (food) with the presentation of a neutral stimulus (sound of a doorbell). After the repetition of this association of stimuli, he found that the dog learned to salivate at the stimulus that previously did not provoke any (neutral) response even in the absence of the unconditional stimulus (food). (McLeod,2013) Strengths and weaknesses founded on this explanation: The use of scientific methods of research is considered a strength because the trials acknowledge objectivity, measurability, and visibility. The classical and operant conditioning are also a strong point in this theory as it gives positives results in treating phobias. Although there are also some weaknesses that it is important to outline such as the problems that the use of animals in trials could be raised.
weakened). Skinner (1948) studied operant conditioning by conducting experiments using animals which he placed in a 'Skinner Box ' which was similar to Thorndike’s puzzle box. B.F. Skinner (1938) coined the term operant conditioning; it means roughly changing of behavior by the use of reinforcement which is given after the desired response. Skinner identified three types of responses or operant that can follow behavior. a) Neutral operants: responses from the environment that neither increase nor decrease the probability of a behavior being repeated.
Pavlov developed the theory of Classical Conditioning. This is where certain stimuli can invoke particular behavior. He conducted his experiments on dogs, testing whether or not he could condition them to salivate at the sound of a bell. At first, along with the bell, he would hold up food, causing the dogs to salivate. After repeating this action numerous times, Pavlov would ring the bell without the food and found that the dogs would still salivate.
Skinner and his colleagues and students discovered in the ensuing decades a completely unsuspected range of powerful and orderly schedule effects that provided new tools for understanding learning processes and new phenomena to challenge theory (Staddon & Cerutti, 2003). Operant conditioning consist of three contingency: antecedent (stimulus), the behavior (response), and
Basically, operant conditioning is a simple feedback system: If a reward or reinforcement follows the response to a stimulus, then the response becomes more probable in the future. For example, leading behaviourist B.F. Skinner used reinforcement techniques to teach pigeons to dance and bowl a ball in a mini-alley. This theory is relatively simple to understand because it relies only on observable behaviour and describes several universal laws of behaviour. Its positive and negative reinforcement techniques can be very effective– such as in treatments for human disorders including autism, anxiety disorders and antisocial behaviour. Behaviourism is often used by teachers who reward or punish student behaviours.
This assignment will show how through the use of Classical Conditioning principles that it is possible to develop phobias and that by using Systematic Desensitisation it is possible to overcome fears and phobias. A phobia is a serious or illogical fear of or hatred of something. Classical Conditioning is a process through which we learn about conditions that predict the occurrence of a significant event. It is also where the subject learns to respond to a stimulus that otherwise wouldn’t cause a response. Systematic Desensitisation is a graded exposure to the feared stimulus, which is the conditioned stimulus, thus encouraging extinction to occur.