Lemery Colleges

A. Bonifacio St., Bagong Sikat, Lemery Batangas

Second Semester, A.Y. 2020-2021

PSY101: INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

Final Period

Name: Malabanan, Vincent A. Date: June 04, 2021

Year/Course/Section: BS Psychology 1 Mr. Michael A. Mendoza, RPm

Activity No. 4
LEARNING AND CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

GENERAL DIRECTION: Research about the following questions. Write your answers
legibly and substantially in a whole sheet of paper. (10 points each)

1. What is learning? How does psychology define it?

Learning can be defined in many ways, but most psychologists would agree that it is a
relatively permanent change in behavior that results from experience. During the first half of the
twentieth century, the school of thought known as behaviorism rose to dominate psychology and
sought to explain the learning process.

2. How does classical conditioning of Ivan Pavlov explain learning?

Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is learned

through association and was discovered by Pavlov, a Russian physiologist. In simple terms, two
stimuli are linked together to produce a new learned response in a person or animal. The most
famous example of classical conditioning was Pavlov's experiment with dogs, who salivated in
response to a bell tone. Pavlov showed that when a bell was sounded each time the dog was
fed, the dog learned to associate the sound with the presentation of the food.

3. What are the four (4) important elements of classical conditioning? Explain.

The unconditioned stimulus (US) is something (such as food) that triggers a naturally
occurring response, and the unconditioned response (UR) is the naturally occurring response
(such as salivation) that follows the unconditioned stimulus. The conditioned stimulus (CS) is
a neutral stimulus that, after being repeatedly presented prior to the unconditioned stimulus,
evokes a similar response as the unconditioned stimulus. In Pavlov’s experiment, the sound of
the tone served as the conditioned stimulus that, after learning, produced the conditioned
response (CR), which is the acquired response to the formerly neutral stimulus.
4. What are the four (4) basic principles of classical conditioning? Explain.

Classical conditioning is a form of learning whereby a conditioned stimulus (CS)

becomes associated with an unrelated unconditioned stimulus (US) in order to produce a
behavioral response known as a conditioned response (CR). The conditioned response is the
learned response to the previously neutral stimulus. The unconditioned stimulus is usually a
biologically significant stimulus such as food or pain that elicits an unconditioned response
(UR) from the start. The conditioned stimulus is usually neutral and produces no particular
response at first, but after conditioning it elicits the conditioned response.

5. What are the five (5) key features of classical conditioning? Explain.

1. Acquisition
Acquisition is the initial stage of learning when a response is first established and
gradually strengthened.5 During the acquisition phase of classical conditioning, a neutral
stimulus is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
As you may recall, an unconditioned stimulus is something that naturally and
automatically triggers a response without any learning. After an association is made, the subject
will begin to emit a behavior in response to the previously neutral stimulus, which is now known
as a conditioned stimulus. It is at this point that we can say that the response has been
acquired.
For example, imagine that you are conditioning a dog to salivate in response to the sound of a
bell. You repeatedly pair the presentation of food with the sound of the bell. You can say the
response has been acquired as soon as the dog begins to salivate in response to the bell tone.

Once the response has been established, you can gradually reinforce the salivation response to
make sure the behavior is well learned.

2. Extinction
Extinction is when the occurrences of a conditioned response decrease or disappear. In
classical conditioning, this happens when a conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with an
unconditioned stimulus.6
For example, if the smell of food (the unconditioned stimulus) had been paired with the sound
of a whistle (the conditioned stimulus), it would eventually come to evoke the conditioned
response of hunger.
However, if the unconditioned stimulus (the smell of food) were no longer paired with the
conditioned stimulus (the whistle), eventually the conditioned response (hunger) would
disappear.

3. Spontaneous Recovery
Sometimes a learned response can suddenly reemerge even after a period of extinction.
Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of the conditioned response after a rest period or
period of lessened response.
For example, imagine that after training a dog to salivate to the sound of a bell, you stop
reinforcing the behavior and the response eventually becomes extinct. After a rest period during
which the conditioned stimulus is not presented, you suddenly ring the bell and the animal
spontaneously recovers the previously learned response.
If the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are no longer associated,
extinction will occur very rapidly after a spontaneous recovery.

4. Stimulus Generalization
Stimulus generalization is the tendency for the conditioned stimulus to evoke similar
responses after the response has been conditioned.8 For example, if a dog has been
conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell, the animal may also exhibit the same response to
stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus.
In John B. Watson's famous Little Albert Experiment, for example, a small child was
conditioned to fear a white rat. The child demonstrated stimulus generalization by also exhibiting
fear in response to other fuzzy white objects including stuffed toys and Watson's own hair.

5. Stimulus Discrimination
Discrimination is the ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other
stimuli that have not been paired with an unconditioned stimulus.9
For example, if a bell tone were the conditioned stimulus, discrimination would involve being
able to tell the difference between the bell tone and other similar sounds. Because the subject is
able to distinguish between these stimuli, they will only respond when the conditioned stimulus
is presented.
Source: https://www.verywellmind.com/classical-conditioning-2794859

6. What is a conditioned emotional response? Explain.

Conditioned emotional response (CER)

Is any negative emotional response, typically fear or anxiety, that becomes associated
with a neutral stimulus as a result of classical conditioning. It is the basis for conditioned
suppression.
Some kinds of conditioned responses are more easily learned than others because of
biological preparedness.
Source: https://dictionary.apa.org/conditioned-emotional-response

7. How do cognitive psychologists explain classical conditioning?

According to the cognitive perspective, the relationship between the two stimuli is one of
contingency rather than one of contiguity. Thus, in forward conditioning, the animal learns that
the US is contingent on the CS - not merely that the two are associated in time in space
(contiguous).
The cognitive perspective asserts that the CS has to provide some kind of information or
expectancy about the coming of the UCS in order for conditioning to occur.
Source: http://psyc.queensu.ca/~flanagan/PSYC100/lecture6/lecture6.html
8. When does vicarious conditioning occur? Give an example.

Vicarious conditioning is the act of learning things through observing the reactions,
attitudes, and emotions of others rather than direct exposure. In psychology, it can be defined as
learning through observing other people’s responses to an environmental stimulus that is most
noticeable to the observer. Vicarious classical conditioning occurs when a conditioned
reflex is developed because there is an association between the conditioned stimulus and the
unconditioned stimulus of reflexive response.

Vicarious Learning Examples

1. Viewing real-life situations
● A salesperson who is relatively new to the job can learn how to offer better services and
make more sales.
● It can be done by listening to the sales experts make sales and observing how they
behave when making sales.
● It is also essential to pick the best traits to combine with their strengths to their
business’s advantage.
● Many employees often learn by behaving how they see their senior colleagues around
them behave. They follow them around the workplace to get more experience and
advice from them.
● It only shows how much other people’s actions may just influence our daily lives.

2. Watching a video
● With technological advancements, it has become quite easy for everyone to learn new
skills just at the click of a button.
● It has been very easy for business colleagues to catch up and keep the business going
by interacting through various technological platforms such as Zoom and Slack.
● These platforms also encourage colleagues to learn the skills through webinars, thus
vicarious learning.
● The same technological advancements also allow everyone to learn new skills they are
interested in by watching videos.
● Videos posted online often have “how-to” and tutorial videos. These videos elaborately
show one how to perform such tasks, thus enhancing their skills. Apart from these
“how-to” videos, there are also other videos that can be used for educational purposes
on various topics.
● All these are examples of vicarious conditioning since the observer learns from
someone’s experience.

3. Reading a book and hearing a story

● From the business-related books, we see the various business strategies that the author
has applied and what worked in their business, and what failed.
 ● It gives us a new perspective of the strategies to apply to make our businesses more
successful and gives us an idea of the things not to do. It is all a part of vicarious
learning.
● When reading a book, we often get so engrossed in the story that we start picturing
ourselves in the character’s shoes.
● Depending on the character’s role, we get to learn the consequences of certain actions.
In this regard, we get to learn through the character’s experience that all actions have
consequences, and based on our actions, we expect a certain type of outcome.
● Stories often have a way of capturing our attention and making us attentive.
● Hearing a story from your colleague about someone who was recently fired because of
specific misconduct will warn you to keep off the same activity.
● It will also teach you to abide by company laws and regulations to avoid the same fate.
● In the same way, hearing about someone who was recently promoted for being a
high-performing employee will teach you that you should be more committed to your
work to get better returns and therefore get considered for a promotion.
Source: https://www.valamis.com/hub/vicarious-learning

9. When does conditioned taste aversion occur? Give an example.

Conditioned taste aversion: development of a nausea or aversive response to a

particular taste because that taste was followed by a nausea reaction – occurs after only one
association.

Example:
Imagine that you are on vacation and eat a chicken enchilada at a restaurant. Hours
after eating the enchilada, you become violently ill. For years after that incident, you might be
unable to bring yourself to eat a chicken enchilada and may even feel queasy when you smell
foods that remind you of that particular dish.
This conditioned taste aversion can occur even when you know that your illness is not
connected to eating that particular item. In reality, you might be fully aware that you picked up a
nasty stomach virus from one of your traveling companions who had been ill just days before
the trip.
Consider your own aversions to certain foods. Can you link your distaste for particular
items to a period of illness, queasiness, or nausea? People may find that they avoid very
specific types of food for years simply because they consumed that particular item before they
became ill.

Source: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-taste-aversion-2794991

10. Why does classical conditioning work?

In the before conditioning phase, an unconditioned stimulus is paired with an unconditioned

response. A neutral stimulus is then introduced.
The during conditioning phase involves pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned
stimulus. Eventually, the neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus.
In the after conditioning phase, the conditioned stimulus alone triggers the conditioned
response.
Stimulus substitution: original theory in which Pavlov stated that classical conditioning
occurred because the conditioned stimulus became a substitute for the unconditioned stimulus
by being paired closely together.
Cognitive perspective: modern theory in which classical conditioning is seen to occur
because the conditioned stimulus provides information or an expectancy about the coming of
the unconditioned stimulus.

Source: https://www.slideshare.net/hunzikerCCC/cicc4e-05-finalppt
https://www.verywellmind.com/classical-conditioning-2794859

“Learning will always take place, if YOU have the willingness to learn.”

Good luck and God bless my dear psych students!

– Sir Mike ☺