Chapter Outline

MODULE 5.1 CLASSICAL CONDITIONING: LEARNING THROUGH ASSOCIATION

I. Principles of Classical Conditioning

A. Unconditioned stimulus (US)—stimulus that elicits a response from an organism

with no learning needed

B. Unconditioned response (UR)—a response by an organism to a stimulus that is

based on reflexive behavior (no learning is needed)

C. Neutral stimulus (NS)—a stimulus from the environment around the organism
that does not initially elicit the response in question

D. Conditioned stimulus (CS)—a previously neutral stimulus; through pairing with

unconditioned stimulus comes to elicit conditioned response

E. Conditioned response (CR)—a learned response; through pairing of CS with US

becomes the reaction to an initially neutral stimulus

F. Extinction—conditioned (learned) response disappears when CS repeatedly

presented without pairing with the US

G. Spontaneous recovery—conditioned response (CR) may reappear briefly if CS

again presented at a later time

H. Reconditioning—the quicker relearning of a conditioned response after extinction

I. Stimulus generalization—CR elicited; is in response to stimuli similar to CS

J. Stimulus discrimination—CR not elicited; stimuli presented are unlike CS

K. Higher-order conditioning—previously neutral stimulus comes to elicit CR (after

being paired with a CS that elicits the CR)

L. Strengthening conditioned responses

1. Frequency of pairings—the more often the CS is paired with the US, the
stronger the CR will be

2. Timing—for strongest CR, CS must be presented first and remain during

entire presentation of US

3. Intensity of US—stronger level of US will result in quicker conditioning

than weak presentation of US

II. Cognitive Perspective on Classical Conditioning

A. Learning not just via CS/US pairing

B. Rescorla’s research shows CS must be able to reliably predict occurrence of US

(thus a cognitive component in classical conditioning)

III. Examples of Classical Conditioning

A. Study of “Little Albert” (conditioning of fear response)

1. Eleven-month-old boy used as subject (Watson & Rayner, 1920)

2. Initially not afraid of a white rat presented to him

 3. Did respond naturally with fear to a loud noise

4. Rat (CS) presented with loud noise (US)—eventually Albert feared the
white rat

5. Albert’s fear generalized to other furry stimuli

B. Phobias

1. Excessive fears

2. May be due to classical conditioning

3. Behavior therapy—psychological treatment (such as for phobias) based on

classical conditioning principles

C. Positive emotions—these also may be learned via association (classical

conditioning)

D. Drug cravings—environment (such as a bar, party, or drug-using friends) may

trigger desire for drug due to learned association

E. Taste aversions—learned avoidance (such as of a food) due to prior unpleasant

experience with it (e.g., nausea or vomiting)

IV. Conditioning the Immune System—animals’ immune systems were suppressed (CR)
when they drank a CS previously paired with an immune response suppressing drug (US)

MODULE 5.2 OPERANT CONDITIONING: LEARNING THROUGH CONSEQUENCES

I. Thorndike and the Law of Effect

A. Used animals for research because they were easier to study

B. Was a student of William James at Harvard

C. Learning occurs through trial and error

D. No cognitive component; consequences “stamped in” successful responses

E. Law of Effect: pleasant consequence increases likelihood behavior will be

repeated; unpleasant consequence decreases

II. B. F. Skinner and Operant Conditioning

A. Limit study to observable behavior

B. Radical behaviorism—all behavior (human and animal) determined by genetics

and environment

C. Free will is an illusion, myth

D. Operant conditioning (also called instrumental learning)—consequences of a

behavior determine probability of its recurrence

E. Reinforcer—pleasant/desirable outcome; increases likelihood behavior will occur

again

F. Skinner box—for testing operant conditioning principles with animals

G. Superstitious behavior—learned when random behavior is accidentally paired with

a reinforcing consequence
III. Principles of Operant Conditioning

A. Discriminative stimuli—signals reinforcement is available if correct response

produced by organism

B. Positive reinforcement—desirable stimulus introduced after response occurs

C. Negative reinforcement—undesirable stimulus removed after response occurs

D. Primary reinforcer—intrinsically reinforcing; satisfies a basic need

E. Secondary reinforcer—reinforcing value (such as money) learned through

association

F. Shaping—application of successive approximations method

G. Method of successive approximations—reinforcing broad or general attempts first;

then reinforcing closer and closer steps toward ultimate desired behavior

H. Extinction—learned behaviors (responses) disappear if not ever paired with a

reinforcer

IV. Schedules of Reinforcement

A. Continuous reinforcement

1. Every desired response is followed by a reinforcer

2. Behaviors are learned most quickly with continuous reinforcement

3. Learned behaviors also most quick to extinguish this way

B. Partial reinforcement (ratio = number of responses; interval = passage of time)

1. Fixed-ratio (FR) schedule—reinforcement given after a set number of

responses (after every third, or sixth, or the like)

2. Variable-ratio (VR) schedule

a. Reinforcement based on number of responses; actual number

varies

b. Targeted number of responses is an average

c. Example of VR schedule: slot machine

3. Fixed-interval (FI) schedule—reinforcement given for desired response

produced after a set amount of time has passed

4. Variable-interval (VI) schedule

a. Reinforcement based on passage of time; actual length of time

varies

b. Targeted passage of time is an average

c. Example of VI schedule: “pop” quizzes in class

V. Escape Learning—organism learns a behavior in order to escape an aversive stimulus

VI. Avoidance Learning—organism learns a behavior in order to avoid an aversive stimulus

VII. Punishment

A. Something unpleasant follows a behavior

B. Introduce an aversive stimulus or remove a pleasant one

C. Objective: decrease occurrence of undesirable behavior(s)

VIII. Applications of Operant Conditioning

A. Biofeedback training

B. Behavior modification—target desired behaviors; strengthen through operant

conditioning (may use a token economy program)

C. Programmed instruction—reinforce each step in a learning task

IX. Exploring Psychology: Should Parents Use Punishment as a Method of Discipline?

A. Drawbacks of punishment

1. May suppress but does not eliminate undesirable behavior

2. Does not teach more preferable behavior

3. Can create anger, fear, lowered self-esteem

4. Used frequently, may become out of control

5. Does not model desirable behaviors for children (teaches might makes
right)

B. Best approach is to reinforce desirable behaviors

MODULE 5.3 COGNITIVE LEARNING

I. Cognitive Learning

A. Mental processes that cannot be directly observed

B. Involves thinking, problem solving, mental imaging

C. Learning without the experience of direct reinforcement

II. Types of Cognitive Learning

A. Insight learning

1. Kohler’s (1927) research with chimpanzee Sultan—Sultan joins sticks to

reach bananas

2. Problem solving did not occur with step-by-step approximations

3. Involves the sudden realization of the solution to a problem (“Aha!”) while

the matter is being reworked mentally

B. Latent learning

1. Tolman and Honzik (1930) for 10 days do not reward some rats placed in
a maze
 2. Eleventh day: now with a food reward, these rats run the maze with even
fewer errors than rewarded rats

3. Apparent that unrewarded rats learned even though not reinforced

4. Learning only evident when reinforcement provided later

5. Cognitive map—mental representation of surrounding world (formed

without actual reinforcement)

6. Implicit learning—new behaviors are learned without conscious effort

C. Observational learning (vicarious learning)

1. Learn from simply watching the behavior (and consequences) of others

2. Practice and aptitude still very important

3. Learning most likely to occur when model is similar to learner

4. Learning most likely to occur when learner witnesses model’s behavior

being reinforced

MODULE 5.4 APPLICATION: PUTTING REINFORCEMENT INTO PRACTICE LEARNING

OBJECTIVE

I. Applying Reinforcement—the following are useful steps when trying to influence behavior

A. Identify specifically the target behavior you wish to strengthen

B. Make sure requests and instructions are clear

C. Choose a reinforcer that is meaningful to the individual you are working with

D. Explain how the reinforcer (contingency) will be used once the behavior occurs

E. Administer the reinforcer

1. If the desired behavior appears, reward it immediately

2. If the individual does not perform the behavior, demonstrate and help

3. Pair the reinforcer with praise

F. Track the pattern of the desired behavior—how often does it occur?

G. Gradually wean the individual from the reinforcer, but continue to give praise

II. Tips for Giving Praise Effectively to Children—(Praise is a powerful social reinforcer)

A. Make eye contact, smile, give hugs

B. Connect praise to specific behavior; praise effort

C. Be sincere and avoid empty flattery

D. Avoid using same words each time

E. Keep statements positive, don’t end with a negative comment

Module 8: Learning
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Classical Conditioning
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

 Explain how classical conditioning occurs

 Identify the NS, UCS, UCR, CS, and CR in classical conditioning situations
 Describe the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery,
generalization, and discrimination

Does the name Ivan Pavlov ring a bell? Even if you are new to the study of psychology,
chances are that you have heard of Pavlov and his famous dogs.

Pavlov (1849–1936), a Russian scientist, performed extensive research on dogs and is

best known for his experiments in classical conditioning (Figure 1). As we discussed
briefly in the previous section, classical conditioning is a process by which we learn to
associate stimuli and, consequently, to anticipate events.

Figure 1. Ivan Pavlov’s research on the digestive system of dogs unexpectedly led to his discovery of the
learning process now known as classical conditioning.

Pavlov came to his conclusions about how learning occurs completely by accident.
Pavlov was a physiologist, not a psychologist. Physiologists study the life processes of
organisms, from the molecular level to the level of cells, organ systems, and entire
organisms. Pavlov’s area of interest was the digestive system (Hunt, 2007). In his
studies with dogs, Pavlov surgically implanted tubes inside dogs’ cheeks to collect
saliva. He then measured the amount of saliva produced in response to various foods.
Over time, Pavlov (1927) observed that the dogs began to salivate not only at the taste
of food, but also at the sight of food, at the sight of an empty food bowl, and even at the
sound of the laboratory assistants’ footsteps. Salivating to food in the mouth is reflexive,
so no learning is involved. However, dogs don’t naturally salivate at the sight of an
empty bowl or the sound of footsteps.
These unusual responses intrigued Pavlov, and he wondered what accounted for what
he called the dogs’ “psychic secretions” (Pavlov, 1927). To explore this phenomenon in
an objective manner, Pavlov designed a series of carefully controlled experiments to
see which stimuli would cause the dogs to salivate. He was able to train the dogs to
salivate in response to stimuli that clearly had nothing to do with food, such as the
sound of a bell, a light, and a touch on the leg. Through his experiments, Pavlov
realized that an organism has two types of responses to its environment: (1)
unconditioned (unlearned) responses, or reflexes, and (2) conditioned (learned)
responses.

In Pavlov’s experiments, the dogs salivated each time meat powder was presented to
them. The meat powder in this situation was an unconditioned stimulus (UCS): a
stimulus that elicits a reflexive response in an organism. The dogs’ salivation was
an unconditioned response (UCR): a natural (unlearned) reaction to a given stimulus.
Before conditioning, think of the dogs’ stimulus and response like this:
Meat powder (UCS) → Salivation (UCR)Meat powder (UCS) → Salivation (UCR)
In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus is presented immediately before an
unconditioned stimulus. Pavlov would sound a tone (like ringing a bell) and then give
the dogs the meat powder (Figure 2). The tone was the neutral stimulus (NS), which is a
stimulus that does not naturally elicit a response. Prior to conditioning, the dogs did not
salivate when they just heard the tone because the tone had no association for the
dogs. Quite simply this pairing means:
Tone (NS) + Meat Powder (UCS) → Salivation (UCR)Tone (NS) + Meat Powder (UCS) 
→ Salivation (UCR)
When Pavlov paired the tone with the meat powder over and over again, the previously
neutral stimulus (the tone) also began to elicit salivation from the dogs. Thus, the
neutral stimulus became the conditioned stimulus (CS), which is a stimulus that elicits
a response after repeatedly being paired with an unconditioned stimulus. Eventually, the
dogs began to salivate to the tone alone, just as they previously had salivated at the
sound of the assistants’ footsteps. The behavior caused by the conditioned stimulus is
called the conditioned response (CR). In the case of Pavlov’s dogs, they had learned
to associate the tone (CS) with being fed, and they began to salivate (CR) in
anticipation of food.
Tone (CS) → Salivation (CR)Tone (CS) → Salivation (CR)
Figure 2. Before conditioning, an unconditioned stimulus (food) produces an unconditioned response
(salivation), and a neutral stimulus (bell) does not produce a response. During conditioning, the unconditioned
stimulus (food) is presented repeatedly just after the presentation of the neutral stimulus (bell). After
conditioning, the neutral stimulus alone produces a conditioned response (salivation), thus becoming a
conditioned stimulus.