Operant Conditioning
From
the very beginning of the history of psychology, psychologists and scientists
have been studying the concept of learning, and the many different ways animals
and human beings can store and access information. There are many difference
theories associated with learning, all with their advantages, disadvantages and
specific characteristics that try to explain the sometimes mysterious ways
human minds work when trying to learn. Two of the most well-known learning
theories are Skinner’s operant conditioning, which has already been studied and
analyzed earlier in this class, and the Theory of Classical Conditioning, first
studied by Ivan Pavlov and the subject to be studied and explained in this
paper. This type of conditioning was the first type of learning discovered and
analyzed by behaviorism, and because of this it received the name “classical”
(Olson & Hergenhahn, 2009).
Discovered
by Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov, classical conditioning is probably the
most well-known aspect of behavioral learning theory, and it is a learning
process that happens based on associations between a naturally occurring
stimulus and a environmental stimulus (Cherry, 2013). The mains aspect of
classical conditioning is the placement od a neutral signal before a reflex that
would occur naturally, as it can be seen in Pavlov’s experiments with dogs. In
that case, the sound of a bell worked as the neutral signal, since the dogs
haven’t associated the sound with anything prior to the experiment, and the
inevitable reflex was the dog’s salivation when presented with food. The
objective of Pavlov’s experiment was to achieve the salivation without the
food, but just with the sound of the bell. To better understand this concept,
it is important to review the meaning of unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned
response, conditioned stimulus and conditioned response.
The
unconditioned stimulus is one that does not need to be manipulated in order for
it to trigger a response. For instance, with the case of the dog experiment,
any dog would automatic salivate when presented with food, independently of
being encouraged to do so. The food is, in this case then, the unconditioned
stimulus. Following the same line of thought, the unconditioned response is
what follows the unconditioned stimulus naturally, or in this case, the
salivation. The conditioned stimulus is a stimulus that although used to be
neutral, will trigger the conditioned response after being associated with the
unconditioned stimulus. In the same dog experiment, the conditioned stimulus
would be the bell, or the sound. This sound did not used to evoke any hunger
feelings from the god, but after being repeated every time the dog received
food, cause the association. In conclusion, the conditioned response is a
learned response to the stimulus, or in this case, the salivation occurring at
the sound of the bell (Cherry, 2013).
A
possible scenario that can explain better the concept of classical conditioning
and the elements associated with it would be, for example, the case of a man who
is terrified of clowns. The man can’t explain why he hates clowns so much, but
every time he sees one, even if just a picture or a movie, he immediately feels
scared or discomforted. When the man was
a young child, his parent took him to the circus, where he saw a clown for the
first time. That same day, in the midst of the confusion and large amount of
people that were at the circus, the boy got lost from his parents, which caused
him great fear and despair. While being lost, he kept seeing pictures of the
clown on posters all around the circus’ property. Although no real tragedy came
from this day, since the boy soon found his parents and returned home safely,
he could never again see a clown without feeling scared, even after an adult
man. In this scenario, being lost is the initial unconditioned stimulus. The
natural unconditioned response is the fear, as any child would be scared of
being lost from his family. The conditioned stimulus would be the clown, as the
boy, even if he didn’t mean to do so, associated the clown’s presence with his
moments of being lost and afraid. Consequently, the conditioned response is for
the boy to be forever scared of clowns.
To better illustrate this scenario, below is a chart:
|
US
(Unconditioned Stimulus) – Being lost from parents --à
|
UR
(Unconditioned Response) – Fear and despair
|
|
CS
(Conditioned Stimulus) – Clown
+
US
– Being lost --à
|
UR
– Fear and despair
|
|
CS
– Clown --à
|
CR
(Conditioned Response) – Fear and Despair
|
Classical
Conditioning is still an important and present concept in many areas and fields
of psychology. It represents the process by which individuals create a
relationship between stimuli and responses, and it occurs involuntarily and
without cognitive awareness. Even though there are many different elements
present in the learning process in humans, classical conditioning is
continuously present, as humans constantly learn by making associations.
References
Cherry,
K. (2013) Classical Conditioning. Psychology - Complete Guide to Psychology for
Students, Educators & Enthusiasts. Retrieved August 5, 2013, from http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/a/classcond.htm
Olson,
M. H., & Hergenhahn, B. R. (2009). An introduction to theories of learning
(8th ed.).
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