Skinner’s use of Thorndike’s method introduced positive and negative reinforcements which raise or lower risk of repeat behavior (McLeod, 2007). Positive and Negative Reinforcements Operant conditioning is slightly manipulating repeat behavior by the type of reinforcement following actions. Skinner defined three reinforcement responses but only two are most effective in changing behavior. Neutral operants are responses that do not increase nor decrease the chance of repeat behavior such as eating. Generally, it is a required part of survival so when the body becomes hungry we feed it.
(Carolyn Aldworth et al, 2010 & McLeod, 2007) Since salivation was a natural response, he named this the unconditional response. Because food automatically led to the unconditional response of salivation, food was then named to unconditional stimulus. He then presented the dog with a bowl of food, and rang a bell at the same time, again the dog salivated, which then went on to be called the neutral stimulus. This was so the dog would associate the bell with receiving a bowl of food. Over several trails, the dog would automatically associate the bell with getting food, causing the dog to salivate when hearing the bell, without receiving any food.
The scenario will be explained and a chart will be complied that will demonstrate how classical conditioning applies to this scenario. Classical Conditioning Theory Ivan Petrovich Pavlov is the founder of the classical conditioning theory. Pavlov, a Russian psychologist was studying the secretion of stomach acids and salivation of dogs when they were presented with different kinds and different amounts of food (Feldman, 2010). While doing so, Pavlov noticed that the amount of salivation would often increase when the dogs had not eaten any food. The mere presence of the person who supplied the food or the footsteps of that person would stimulate the dogs and more stomach acid would be produced (Feldman, 2010).
This was due to reflexes that originate from the cerebral cortex of the brain. This makes classical conditioning a taught behavior which moves on to being a reflex after time so that you do it without thought. With classic conditioning there are unconditioned responses, conditioned stimulus, and a conditioned response. With unconditioned responses this is something that happens naturally like getting hungry when you smell food. For conditioned stimulus this would be viewed as a neutral stimulus that after time has become associated with an unconditioned stimulus.
It does so instinctively and no learning is involved, it is merely a survival instinct. However some people after getting burned pull their hands back even when the stove is not turned on. Pavlov discovered that we make associations which causes use to generalise our responses from one stimuli onto a neutral stimuli it is paired with, therefore the stove is not safe. What was the study that links with classical conditioning? Pavlov’s experiment involved putting meat powder in the mouths of dogs who had tubes inserted into various organs to measure bodily responses.
Operant conditioning suggests that being fed satisfies an infant’s hunger, ultimately making them feel comfortable again. This is called rewarding and the infant learns that the food is a reward. The person who supplies the food is associated with the food and becomes a secondary reinforce. The infant then seeks to be with this person because they know that they will be rewarded. However, we cannot generalise the findings of this theory to humans because the evidence is based largely on animals - humans behave completely differently to animals.
The dogs were responding to the sight of the research assistants' white lab coats, which the animals had come to associate with the presentation of food. Unlike the salivary response to the presentation of food, which is an unconditioned reflex, salivating to the expectation of food is a conditioned reflex. An unconditioned stimulus like food causes pleasure when eaten, this is unconditioned response as it is not learnt. Caregivers provide food and subsequent pleasure for the infant. So their presence becomes associated with the
Another field of psychological research is cognitive psychology, which studies the processes of thought and knowledge. Research has shown that a person judges a food’s edibility on just the idea of it. For example, if something looks repulsive, but is still edible, most humans will reject that food. This psychology field offers an explanation as to why humans will not eat foods that sound or look disgusting to them despite the fact that they are edible. These three fields of psychology each offer an excellent explanation as to how humans decide what is
Without association the caregiver is a neutral stimulus, however once the baby associates the caregiver with food they become a conditioned stimulus with a conditioned response. Operant conditioning is learning using reinforcements. Pleasant and unpleasant consequences are used to get rid of bad behaviour and to keep good behaviour. Food is a primary reinforcer as it satisfies baby’s hunger. An attachment is formed because the caregiver becomes a secondary reinforcer and as they are the one giving baby food.
"Appetite", in an average dictionary, is defined as "natural desire for satisfying some want or need, esp. for food", which provides a very general explanation of the word. But Lee in this passage would rather define it as "one of the major pleasures in life", "the keenness of living", "any condition of unsatisfied desire, any burning in the blood...", etc. As can be readily seen in "Appetite", to construct a definition over and above the dictionary one is evidently not his major concern. By interpreting what "appetite" means to him, Lee actually is seeking to explain to his reader a relatively more abstract idea, a subject, a look at how to keep away from boredom in life.