LEARNING

Learning is the process of acquiring new knowledge, skills, behaviors, or attitudes through
experiences, study, or teaching. It's a relatively permanent change in behavior or cognition
resulting from experience.

Characteristics of Learning:
1. Active Process: Learning involves engagement, practice, and participation rather than
passive reception.
2. Goal-oriented: It is directed toward specific objectives or the fulfillment of needs.
3. Relatively Permanent: Learning leads to lasting changes in behavior or cognition, though it
can be modified over time.
4. Based on Experience: Learning is influenced by prior knowledge, experiences, and
environmental interactions.
5. Multi-faceted: Learning can involve cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains,
encompassing thought, emotions, and physical skills.
6. Context-Dependent: The environment, culture, and context affect how and what we learn.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
History of Classical Conditioning Experiment

Ivan Pavlov's Discovery: In the late 19th century, Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov
discovered classical conditioning while researching digestive processes in dogs.

Accidental Observation: Pavlov noticed that dogs began salivating not only at the sight
of food but also at stimuli associated with food, like footsteps.

Systematic Experimentation: Pavlov conducted experiments pairing a neutral stimulus

(a bell sound) with an unconditioned stimulus (food) to study the salivation response.

Foundation for Behaviorism: Pavlov’s work laid the foundation for behaviorism,
emphasizing observable behavior and the environment's role in shaping responses.
Important Terms Related to Classical Conditioning

1. Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): A stimulus that naturally triggers a response without

prior learning (e.g., food).
2. Unconditioned Response (UCR): A natural, automatic response to the UCS (e.g.,
salivation in response to food).
3. Neutral Stimulus (NS): A stimulus that initially does not trigger any specific response
(e.g., bell sound before conditioning).
4. Conditioned Stimulus (CS): The NS becomes the CS after association with the UCS (e.g.,
bell after conditioning).
5. Conditioned Response (CR): The learned response to the CS (e.g., salivation to the
sound of the bell).
Process of Classical Conditioning

1. Before Conditioning: An unconditioned stimulus (UCS), like food, naturally elicits an unconditioned response (UCR),
such as salivation.
2. During Conditioning: A neutral stimulus (NS), like a bell, is repeatedly paired with the UCS (food). Over time, the NS
becomes associated with the UCS.
3. After Conditioning: The neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS), and it elicits a conditioned response
(CR), like salivation, even without the UCS.
Schedules of Association Pairing in Classical Conditioning

1. Delayed Conditioning: The CS is presented before the UCS and continues during the
UCS. This is the most effective pairing for conditioning.
2. Trace Conditioning: The CS is presented, then removed before the UCS is introduced,
leaving a gap between the CS and UCS. This is effective but less so than delayed
conditioning.
3. Simultaneous Conditioning: The CS and UCS are presented at the same time. This
pairing is less effective as the CS does not predict the UCS.
4. Backward Conditioning: The UCS is presented before the CS. This is generally
ineffective, as the CS cannot serve as a reliable predictor of the UCS.
Extinction: When the conditioned stimulus (CS) is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), the
conditioned response (CR) gradually weakens and eventually disappears. Extinction shows that the learned association can
be “unlearned” over time if it is not reinforced.

Spontaneous Recovery: After extinction, if some time passes and the CS is presented again, the CR may suddenly reappear.
This reemergence of the CR is known as spontaneous recovery, indicating that the conditioning is not completely erased, but
temporarily suppressed.

Generalization: When a stimulus similar to the CS elicits a CR, even though it was not the original stimulus used in
conditioning. For example, if a dog conditioned to a bell sound salivates at a different sound, generalization has occurred.
This demonstrates that conditioning can be applied to a range of similar stimuli.

Discrimination: The ability to distinguish between the CS and other similar stimuli, so only the specific CS elicits the CR.
Through discrimination training, the organism learns to respond only to the exact CS, and not to other similar sounds or
signals.

Higher-Order Conditioning: When a new neutral stimulus is paired with the CS (not with the UCS directly) and becomes a CS
itself. For instance, if a light is paired with the sound of a bell that already elicits salivation, the light alone may eventually
trigger salivation.

Reconditioning: After extinction, if the CS and UCS are paired again, the CR is relearned much faster than the first time,
showing that the association remains somewhat intact even after extinction.
Watson’s Contribution to Classical Conditioning

Founded Behaviorism: John B. Watson was a pioneering psychologist and is known as the father of
behaviorism, focusing on observable behaviors rather than introspective methods.
Applied Classical Conditioning to Human Emotions: Watson expanded Ivan Pavlov’s classical conditioning
(originally studied with dogs) to study emotional responses in humans.
Emphasis on Environmental Influence: He believed that all human behaviors, including emotions, are a
result of conditioning and could be shaped by environmental factors.
Demonstrated Conditioned Emotional Responses: Watson demonstrated that classical conditioning could
be used to create emotional responses in humans, as seen in his Little Albert experiment.

Little Albert Experiment

1. Objective: Watson, along with his assistant Rosalie Rayner, conducted the Little Albert experiment to
explore if classical conditioning could create a fear response in a human child.
2. Subject: The subject was a 9-month-old infant named "Albert B.," known as Little Albert.
3. Baseline Testing: Initially, Albert was exposed to a white rat, a rabbit, a dog, and other stimuli, showing no
fear toward them.
Conditioning Process:

The white rat (neutral stimulus) was paired with a loud, frightening noise (unconditioned
stimulus) by striking a metal bar behind Albert’s head.
After several pairings, Albert began to associate the white rat with the loud noise, and the sight
of the rat alone (now a conditioned stimulus) triggered a fear response (conditioned response).

Generalization: Albert’s fear extended to similar objects, including a rabbit, a fur coat, and even
a Santa Claus mask, showing stimulus generalization.

Lack of Deconditioning: The experiment ended without reversing Albert’s conditioned fear,
raising ethical concerns about the lasting impact on the child.

Impact and Controversy: The experiment became a classic study in psychology, demonstrating
conditioned emotional responses but is widely criticized for ethical issues due to the distress
caused to Albert without his or his guardians’ informed consent.