Classical Conditioning Essay

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Classical Conditioning Naomi R. Jackson PSY/390 June 11, 2012 Dr. LaNaadrian Easterling, Psy.D. Classical Conditioning Classical conditioning is the simple pairing of a stimulus with another stimulus to produce a response from the first stimulus. Classical conditioning, also known as Pavlovian conditioning, was made prevalent by Ivan Pavlov. His experiments and research with dogs and salivation led to his theory on conditioning. Conditioning Theory According to Hergenhahn and Olson (2009), “The ingredients necessary to bring about Pavlovian or classical conditioning include (1) an unconditioned stimulus (US), which elicits a natural and automatic response from the organism; (2) an unconditioned response (UR), which is a natural and automatic response elicited by the US; and (3) a conditioned stimulus (CS), which is a neutral stimulus in that it does not elicit a natural and automatic response from the organism. When these ingredients are mixed in a certain way, a conditioned response (CR) occurs.” In order for a CR to be produced, you must pair the CS and the US numerous times. The order in which they are presented is very important as well. At some point, the CS can be presented by itself and a response similar to the UR will be produced. Extinction On the other end of the spectrum is extinction. “…extinction results when the CS is presented to an organism and is not followed by reinforcement. In classical conditioning studies, reinforcement is the US”. (Hergenhahn & Olson, 2009), Once a CR has been developed, the CS is constantly presented without the US. Eventually, the CR will disappear. Spontaneous Recovery Spontaneous Recovery is said to occur once a period of extinction has taken place, and the CS is once again presented to the animal. The CR will reappear even though no more pairings of the CS and US have

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