3.7 Classical Conditioning

Explain how classical conditioning applies to behavior and mental processes. UNIT 3 Development and Learning

• The behavioral perspective evolved from theories about learning via conditioning. Behaviorists have traditionally focused on observable behavior to the exclusion of mental processes.
• Classical conditioning focuses on the association of one stimulus with another stimulus to elicit a response. Learning the association (also known as acquisition) involves a series of steps that demonstrate principles of associative learning.
  • i. The unconditioned stimulus (UCS) elicits an unconditioned response (UCR). This response becomes the conditioned response (CR) when it is performed in response to the conditioned stimulus (CS).
  • ii. The order of presentation of the CS with the UCS is important to successful acquisition.
  • iii. A CR can become extinct when the CS is no longer paired with the UCS. A formerly extinct CR can be spontaneously recovered when the CS is again presented after extinction.
  • iv. Stimulus discrimination and generalization have been demonstrated in studies of classical conditioning.
  • v. A CS can be used as a UCS in higher-order conditioning.
  • Exclusion: Delayed conditioning, trace conditioning, simultaneous conditioning, and backward conditioning are outside the scope of the AP Psychology Exam.
• Research has demonstrated that emotional responses can be classically conditioned. These findings form the basis of therapeutic interventions for many mental disorders, such as counterconditioning.
  • Exclusion: The expectancy theory is outside the scope of the AP Psychology Exam.
• Research on taste aversions, which are acquired through classical conditioning, demonstrates one-trial conditioning and biological preparedness. One-trial learning occurs when the association is acquired through one pairing of the stimulus and response and is not strengthened by further pairings. Biological preparedness refers to how animals are biologically predisposed to learning certain stimulus-response pairings more quickly than others.
• Habituation occurs when organisms grow accustomed to and exhibit a diminished response to a repeated or enduring stimulus.