J. Roth/Study Skills

Sample Textbook Selection

Classical Conditioning

Pavlov’s Role

Classical Conditioning is the process of teaching a subject to respond to a stimulus that prior to the conditioning produced no response.

The first to study Classical Conditioning was Ivan Pavlov, a Russian scientist who lived in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Pavlov explored what were then referred to as conditioned reflexes, reflexes or responses triggered by environmental factors.

Pavlov began by paying special attention to a phenomenon he called “psychic secretion,” or, more simply, the phenomenon of an animal’s mouth beginning to water when it comes into contact with the inviting aroma of a food source.

To begin, Pavlov wondered if it was possible to “condition” or program an animal to respond to a stimulus that would not normally produce the response. His famous experiment involved a dog, a bell, and a can of meat scent. Pavlov of course knew that meat scent would naturally make the dog’s mouth water—an unconditioned or natural response to the aroma. But what he wanted to know was if, through repeated association, the ringing bell could substitute for the meat scent.

He began the experiment by introducing to the dog both the meat scent and the ringing bell at the same time. At the very instant he opened the can of meat scent for the dog to smell, he would also ring the bell. Meat scent plus bell, meat scent plus bell, over and over.

In time, Pavlov removed the meat scent and only rang the bell. To his surprise the bell alone continued to cause the conditioned dog’s mouth to water. Pavlov had succeeded in substituting a stimulus that would not normally produce a response (the ringing bell) for a natural stimulus (the meat scent). For his discoveries, Pavlov was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1904.

TYPES of STIMULI

A stimulus produces a response in an organism. Examples of responses range from pain and an “ouch” when a needle pricks our finger to the desire to sleep when we are tired.

Unconditioned Stimulus: An unconditioned stimulus is a natural event that produces a natural response—the meat scent producing salivation in the dog.

Conditioned Stimulus: A conditioned stimulus is an artificial event to which the test subject becomes conditioned over time and repetition.—the ringing bell alone eventually causing the dog’s mouth to water.

TYPES of RESPONSES

A response is an organism’s reaction to a stimulus—eating when we are hungry or fleeing when we feel threatened.

Unconditioned Response: An unconditioned response is a natural (instinctive) reaction to a natural event—salivation when the nose senses the meat scent.

Conditioned Response: A conditioned response is a learned (non-instinctive) reaction to a stimulus acquired through training or conditioning: in the dog’s case, being trained and learning to salivate when the ringing bell is heard.

Pavlov’s research led him to the brain’s cerebral cortex which acts as a translator between the animal and its environment—in other words, the cerebral cortex stores and controls the stimulus-response relationships the animal forms with its surroundings. Further experiments revealed that, through repetition, conditioned responses or reflexes become part of the cerebral cortex’s “programming.”

STEPS to CONDITIONING

Classically conditioning a subject involves four general steps: getting the subject’s attention, introducing the unconditioned and conditioned stimulus together, monitoring the subject’s response, and repeating the process until the conditioning is acquired.