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Classical Conditioning (Pavlov) (Key terms (Unconditioned stimulus (UCS),…
Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)
What is it?
Learning to associate a stimulus which brings about a response with a new stimulus to bring the same response
Key terms
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
Anything that naturally has the power to produce a response in a human or animal
Unconditioned response (UCR)
A natural reflex response to an unconditioned stimulus
Neutral stimulus (NS)
Something in the environment which does not initially cause a response
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
The NS becomes the CS when it quires the ability to produce a specific response in the human or animal
Conditioned response (CR)
A learnt response to something that doesn't naturally have the power to produce a response in a human or animal
Other features of classical conditioning
Extinction
- when the association is no longer presented, and the response no longer occurs when the stimulus appears
Spontaneous recovery
- after extinction, a previously conditioned association reoccurs without more conditioning, the response to the stimulus reoccurs spontaneously
Stimulus generalisation
- when the NS, which becomes the CS, is not used exactly but still elicits the response (e.g salivation to bell but not original bell)
Evaluation
Strengths
Scientific
- based on empirical evidence carried out by controlled experiments (
Pavlov
showed how classical conditioning can make a dog salivate at the sound of a bell)
A
reductionist explanation
, complex behaviour is broken down into smaller stimulus - response units of behaviour
Weaknesses
Deterministic
- it doesn't allow for any degree of free will in the individual, a person has no control over the reactions they have learned from classical conditioning, such as a phobia
Limiting to describe behaviour solely in terms of either nature or nurture, more likely the behaviour is due to an interaction between nature and nurture