Classical Conditioning Essay

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Classical Conditioning Psychology 390 June 3, 2011 Classical Conditioning Often in the scientific world discoveries are made when one is looking for an answer to another question. Such is the case with Ivan Pavlov and his discovery of Classical Conditioning. Ivan Pavlov, a Russian Physiologist, recognized the significance of the theory of classical conditioning while studying the digestive tract of canines. In his experiments he saw that when the canine was presented with food it salivated but when the food was paired with a bell over an extended period of time the same result occurred when the canine was exposed to the sound of the bell. This rather simple concept is now the foundation of Classical Conditioning. (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2009) The classical conditioning theory can be broken down into five distinct parts, each playing a very important role in the conditioning process. In order to better understand the process we must first break it down and define the sections of the process as they apply to the conditioning process. We begin by defining the neutral stimulus (NS) which is the stimulus not normally associated with the expected or desired response in the conditioning process. This can be anything that is not naturally related to a particular response. In Pavlov's experiment the neutral stimulus was the bell. (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2009) Next we look at the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) which is the natural stimulus used to produce the response desired. This was easy enough to see in Pavlov's experiment, it was the food the dog ate that naturally created an instance of drooling for the dog. This natural reaction to the food or unconditioned response (UCR) and is the result of a natural reaction to a stimulus.(Olson & Hergenhahn, 2009) Now that we have the NS, UCS, and UCR we can introduce the concept of the

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