Deep Concepts
What is stimulus discrimination and why is it important?
The ability to distinguish between similar stimuli; it prevents overgeneralization.
A commercial pairs a product with happy music. What are they trying to create?
A conditioned emotional response to the product.
Identify the UCS, UCR, CS, and CR: Dogs salivate to food, then to a bell after repeated pairings.
UCS = food, UCR = salivation to food, CS = bell, CR = salivation to bell
Why is classical conditioning considered a passive form of learning?
Because it doesn’t require conscious effort or decision making.
What is higher-order conditioning?
When a new neutral stimulus becomes a CS by being paired with an existing CS.
What is the difference between acquisition and extinction?
Acquisition is learning the association, extinction is weakening it when the UCS is removed
How could a fear of dogs be reduced using extinction?
Repeated exposure to dogs without any negative outcome.
If Pavlov presented the bell after the food instead of before, how would this affect learning?
Conditioning would be weak or not occur because the bell wouldn’t predict the food.
How does classical conditioning differ from operant conditioning?
Classical = association between stimuli
Operant = behavior shaped by consequences.
Why is higher-order conditioning usually weaker?
Because it’s further removed from the original UCS.
Why must the neutral stimulus be presented before the unconditioned stimulus during conditioning?
So the organism learns to predict the UCS, since timing helps form the association.
Why might food aversions form after just one bad experience?
Biological preparedness makes taste aversion easy to learn.
Why is repetition necessary in Pavlov’s experiment?
To strengthen the association between the CS and UCS.
Why can classical conditioning explain emotional reactions better than voluntary behaviors?
It focuses on automatic, involuntary responses.
How does timing (contiguity) impact conditioning strength?
Clloser timing between CS and UCS leads to stronger learning.
Why doesn’t extinction completely erase a learned behavior?
Because of spontaneous recovery—the response can return after time.
Why might generalization be harmful in anxiety disorders?
Fear spreads to similar but harmless stimuli, increasing anxiety.
If a dog stops responding to the bell, then suddenly responds again days later, what occurred?
Spontaneous recovery
What are ethical concerns with applying classical conditioning to humans?
It can manipulate emotions or behaviors without awareness.
Why is predictability (contingency) more important than repetition?
The CS must reliably signal the UCS for learning to occur.
How does biological preparedness affect classical conditioning?
Organisms are more likely to form associations that are evolutionarily beneficial (e.g., taste aversion).
A student feels anxious every time they enter a classroom where they once failed a test. Explain using classical conditioning.
Classroom = CS, anxiety = CR, failure = UCS/UCR association
If a dog salivates to a tone similar to the bell, what principle is shown?
Stimulus generalization
How might classical conditioning contribute to phobias?
A neutral stimulus becomes associated with fear after a negative experience.
Give a real-world example that includes acquisition, extinction, and spontaneous recovery.
(Sample answer) A dog learns to sit for a treat (acquisition), stops when treats stop (extinction), then sits again after a break (spontaneous recovery).