Classical Conditioning: How It Works With Examples - Case Study Example

Introduction ical Conditioning can be defined as a type of learning in which a stimulus evokes a reflexive response that was originally evoked by a different stimulus (Psychology 101.) The stimulus could be an object or any situation, which can elicit a response by the sense organs, for example, how a bright light makes us blink. In classical conditioning, a new stimulus begins to elicit behaviour similar to the behaviour produced by an old stimulus and learning occurs. Perhaps the most famous study of classical condition began in the early 1900s by the Russian physiologist Ivan P. Pavlov who trained dogs to salivate in response to two stimuli, noise or light, and food or a sour solution. John B. Watson, considered as the father of behaviourism, conducted an experiment with an 11-month-old child, Albert. He presented the child with a loud frightening bang and a rat at the same time. After six or seven repetitions of the noise and rat together over a week, the child became afraid of the rat, which he was not earlier. Examples of classical conditioning occurring in humans 1. Conditioned fear and anxiety – the phobias that many people experience are due to conditioning. We can consider an example of a child and his father travelling in a plane. The father jokes about how the plane can crash. Since he finds it very funny, he decides to say it whenever they travel in a plane. Many years later, even though the child has grown up, he is afraid to travel in a plane. Conditioning has caused the fear. 2. Advertising – In a beer advertisement featuring a young attractive woman wearing a bikini, the woman (US-unconditioned stimulus) evokes a mildly aroused feeling (UR-unconditioned response) in most men. The beer is associated with the classic conditioning effect. (Classical Conditioning, 1996.) Specific experiments using human participants Waschulewski-Floruss H, Miltner W, 1994, investigated whether experimental pain responses can be conditioned using auditory stimuli in a differential trace conditioning paradigm in 16 healthy subjects. An intracutaneous electrical stimulus applied to the left middle-finger (10 ms duration) was the UCS. Tones of 1000 and 1400 Hz were used as CS+ and CS-, respectively. A trace conditioning paradigm was used with an 800 ms interval between CS and UCS. Twenty nine electrode sites recorded somatosensory event related potentials (SEP) and auditory event related potentials (AEP). Subjective pain reports were noted. The results revealed significant differences of the subjective sensations between the CS+ and CS-, but not in the amplitudes and latencies of the P50, N100, P200, and P300 AEP components. The topographical organization of the CS+ and CS- showed no changes. A significant differential negativity in the brain sites responsible for processing the UCS was obtained, which is attributed to the anticipation of the UCS after CS+ presentation. However, the small sample used cannot draw any definite conclusions. Applications of Classical Conditioning Mowrer and Mowrer (1938) developed a treatment for enuresis, or bed-wetting. A child with enuresis is made to sleep on a pad into which a wire mesh that is connected to a bell has been sewn. If the child wets the bed, an electrical circuit is completed causing the bell to ring (US). This in turn awakens the child (UR). After several repetitions of this cycle, in which bed-wetting has caused him to be awakened by the bell, the child begins to associate the sensation of pressure in his bladder (a previously neutral stimulus) with waking up. In a short time, the need to urinate (now a CS) becomes sufficient in itself to awaken the child (now a CR) so he or she can get up and go to the bathroom.  This led to the discovery of the bed wetting alarm. Some evidence suggests that classical conditioning may be involved in drug tolerance. After repeatedly taking a drug, it is sometimes necessary to increase the dosage to obtain the same effect. For example, after being given repeated doses of morphine to reduce pain, patients often require larger doses.  Siegel et al. (1982) have argued that tolerance to heroin can be conditioned to the environment in which the drug is normally consumed. If the drug is taken in a new environment, this conditioned tolerance will not protect the addict against a high dose of the drug - a dose that they would tolerate in their usual environment. Human learning Learning skills occurs mostly through practice. If a person uses the same skills again and again, the pattern eventually becomes automatic and the skill no longer requires any conscious attention. The level of the skill attained depends on an individuals innate abilities, the amount of practice, and on the feedback of information and reward. Learning usually begins through the sensory systems of our bodies as well as the physical and social world around us. The way each person perceives or experiences this information depends not only on the stimulus itself but also on numerous physical, psychological, and social factors. Much of learning appears to occur by association. Two inputs arriving approximately the same time in the brain are likely to become linked in memory, and one perception will lead to an expectation of the other. Much of learning is also from deliberate imitation of others. Human thinking involves the interaction of ideas. (Boeree CG, 2002). The highly developed special senses and verbal skills help humans to learn more than any other species. “Verbal rules describe plans for performance that can be applied to a class of problems, and they are usually stated in a concise, imperative form. They are a useful instructional method for procedural tasks”(Chaiklin S, 1984.) Conclusion Classical Conditioning is a type of learning wherein a stimulus evokes a reflexive response that was originally evoked by a different stimulus. There are numerous examples of classic conditioning occurring in our daily life. The application of classic conditioning produced the earliest biofeedback device, a bedwetting alarm. References Boeree CG, 2002. General Psychology. Retrieved December 12, 2005 from, http://www.ship.edu/%7Ecgboeree/genpsylearning.html Classical Conditioning (1996). Retrieved December 12, 2005 from, http://www.as.wvu.edu/~sbb/comm221/chapters/pavlov.htm Chaiklin S (1984). Cognitive Science 8, 131-155. Mowrer, O. H., & Mowrer, W. M. (1938). Enuresis: A method for its study and treatment. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 8, 436-459. Psychology 101. Retrieved December 12, 2005 from, http://www.alleydog.com/101notes/conditioning.html Siegel et al, (1982). Science, 216, 436-437. Waschulewski-Floruss H, Miltner W, 1994. Classical conditioning of pain responses. Int J Neurosci. 1994 Sep; 78(1-2): 21-32. Read More