Then a scenario will be use to explain an example of classical conditioning. In the 20th century, Ivan Pavlov had unexpectedly come across the philosophy of classical conditioning, when he was researching his dogs’ digestion system. During his research he realized that the dogs tend to salivate to the sight of food, so then he paired the food with a bell to see if the
Phobias are learned through elements of classical conditioning, and addictions can be learned and strengthened through elements of operant conditioning. Distinguishing between Classical and Operant Conditioning Classical conditioning, the first type of learning to be systematically studied, is defined as a procedure by which a previously neutral stimulus come to elicit a response after it is paired with a stimulus that automatically elicits that response (Kowalski, 2009). Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, documented and developed the concept of classical conditioning in an experiment he conducted in which he conditioned dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell. In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus, a bell, is paired with a stimulus, dog food. The dog food is a stimulus that produces a response naturally.
Skinner studied operant conditioning by conducting experiments using animals which he placed in a “Skinner Box” which was similar to Thorndike’s puzzle box. What is Classical Conditioning? Classical conditioning is the way we develop responses to certain stimuli that are not naturally occurring, e.g. when we touch a hot stove our reflex is to pull our hand back. It does so instinctively and no learning is involved, it is merely a survival instinct.
Assignment 1: Asses the 6 psychological perspectives Explain and assess all 6 of the psychological perspectives you have learnt. Behaviourist – Ivan Pavlov conducted an experiment called ‘Classical Conditioning’. At first, the Russian physiologist was working on an investigation of a dog’s digestive system, and the amount of salvation levels towards food. He had the dog in a harness, and a test tube under the dog’s mouth to collect the saliva. However, every time the dog saw the experimenter, the dog had already started to salivate before it came close to eating the food; this was unusual.
Later we might reward it only for sniffing the bar or touching it with its nose or paw. By reinforcing successive approximations to the desired behavior we gradually shape the bar pressing response without waiting passively for the response to occur on its own. In conclusion B. F. Skinner was a great contributor to the psychological approach to the Operant conditions and reactions of lab animals during study for others to
In this experiment, the unconditioned stimulus is the dog food as it produces an unconditioned response, saliva. The conditioned stimulus is the ringing bell and it produces a conditioned response of the dogs producing saliva. Thus we can see that such repetition and pairing influences significantly on behavior. Later another experiment by Watson and Rayner showed that this classical conditioning theory is equally applicable for us human. In his experiment he used Little Albert a 9-month-old infant.
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).
The theory is that people/animals are taught to be the way they are and react e.g. exceptionally emotional or overly aggressive. Classical conditioning. The classical conditioning theory was made known by Ivan Pavlov (see photo on right). He studied the behaviour of dogs using a machine installed in a special room as shown in the picture below.
Drug addiction is a brain disease because of repeated use and abuse of drugs changes the brain. The brain imaging studies show changes in the brain that are critical to judgment, decision making, and behavior control. The preponderance of research indicates neurological effects of repeated drug use. Drug addiction also alters brain pleasure centers, so that normal happiness requires higher and more frequent drugs. Drugs are chemicals; they work in the brain by tapping into the brain’s communication system and interfering with the way nerve cells normally send, receive, and process information.
There are now new studies out that have yielded results showing that stimulations or lesions in to the ventral medial prefrontal cortex can accelerate the extinction process (Mohammed & Quirk, 2002). There are other new studies that have shown other parts of the brain such as areas of the hippocampus help to speed up extinction (Maren and Holt, 2004; Keene and Bucci, 2008). All of these studies are of particular interest to researchers because their findings may help in treating people that are suffering from anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Before these procedures can be used on human subjects it is important that researchers narrow down which area of the brain not only speeds up the extinction process but does it with the least amount of side effects. Some researchers have proposed that the ventral medial prefrontal cortex plays a key component in fear conditioning (Baratta et al., 2000).