PSY 390: Theory Of Classical Conditioning

Classical Conditioning
Anthony Trolli
PSY/390
October 10, 2011
Brian Newbury

Classical Conditioning Theory of Classical conditioning: The theory of classical conditioning is a term that is often used to describe how one learns with the experiences they may have acquired through their experiences. In psychology it can be defined as a permanent change of knowledge or behavior. The one example that is best experiment with the dogs was how he trained the dogs to salivate when they heard the sound of the bell ringing, he first showed them some food which caused the salivation, after a while he would just ring the bell without bringing them food to just cause them to salivate from the sound of the bell ring. One way to define…show more content…
The puppy and its owner first lesson is in potty training. Puppy is called cooper and it’s very first lesson is about to be taught, it is to potty outside, it is about an hour after the puppy had an accident, now cooper is showing that he wants to squat to potty so now we take the puppy outside and allow it to sniff around and tell it to go potty, after a bit the dog squats and goes potty, now we reward the puppy for going outside of the…show more content…
This is where the owner gently pushes down on the dog’s back so it knows that this is how to sit, after a bit cooper gets the idea and begins to sit. Cooper gets feed a treat for sitting. Each day the owner pushes down on cooper’s back down and feeds him for each time cooper sits. Finally cooper sits on command and the owner feeds him right away, the owner continues the lessons each day ie. To Sit every time, cooper sits he gets rewarded with a small treat. Now cooper finally sits when the owner tells cooper to sit and cooper gets a little reward for sitting on command. Conclusion: In psychology the word conditioning is used to explain a type of learning that occurs without having to think about it, it is almost like an automatic type of way of learning. An example would be something like when a battered woman see’s a person raise their hand in front of them they will flinch because of the abuse they may have experienced from the past, this is a classical condition and is not only confined to animals but in humans as well.

References:

McSweeney, F. K., & Beirley, C. (1984). Recent Development in Classical Conditioning. Journal of Consumer Research, 11(2), 619-631. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Bierley, C., McSweeney, F. K., & Vannieuwkerk, R. (1985). Classical Conditioning of Preferences for Stimuli.