Classical Conditioning - Pavlov

Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning theory involves learning a new behavior via the process of association, and was proposed by behaviourist John Broadus Watson. In simple terms, two stimuli are linked together to produce a newly learned response in a person or animal. There are three stages of classical conditioning.

Stage 1: Before Conditioning
In this stage, the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) produces an unconditioned response (UCR) in an organism. This stage also involves another stimulus which has no effect on a person and is called the neutral stimulus (NS). The neutral stimulus in classical conditioning does not produce a response until it is paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

Stage 2: During Conditioning
During this stage a stimulus which produces no response (i.e., neutral) is associated with the unconditioned stimulus at which point it now becomes known as the conditioned stimulus (CS).Often during this stage, the UCS must be associated with the CS on a number of occasions, or trials, for learning to take place. However, one trail learning can happen on certain occasions when it is not necessary for an association to be strengthened over time (such as being sick after food poisoning or drinking too much alcohol).

Stage 3: After Conditioning
Now the conditioned stimulus (CS) has been associated with the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) to create a new conditioned response (CR).

Role of the Learner
The learner in Classical conditioning

Little Albert - Watson and Rayner (1920)
Little Albert was a 9-month-old infant who was tested on his reactions to various stimuli. He was shown a white rat, a rabbit, a monkey and various masks. Albert described as "on the whole stolid and unemotional" showed no fear of any of these stimuli. However, what did startle him and cause him to be afraid was if a hammer was struck against a steel bar behind his head. The sudden loud noise would cause "little Albert to burst into tears.

When Little Albert was just over 11 months old, the white rat was presented, and seconds later the hammer was struck against the steel bar. This was done seven times over the next seven weeks, and each time Little Albert burst into tears. By now little Albert only had to see the rat and he immediately showed every sign of fear. He would cry (whether or not the hammer was hit against the steel bar) and he would attempt to crawl away.

In addition, the Watson and Rayner found that Albert developed phobias of objects which shared characteristics with the rat; including the family dog, a fur coat, some cotton wool and a Father Christmas mask! This process is known as generalization.

Watson and Rayner had shown that classical conditioning could be used to create a phobia. A phobia is an irrational fear, i.e., a fear that is out of proportion to the danger. Over the next few weeks and months, Little Albert was observed and ten days after conditioning his fear of the rat was much less marked. This dying out of a learned response is called extinction. However, even after a full month it was still evident, and the association could be renewed by repeating the original procedure a few times.

Ethical Issues of the Little Albert Study

 * Informed consent
 * Consent
 * Protection from harm
 * Debrief
 * Withdrawal rights

Assessment of the Experiment
Generalisability External Validity:
 * Only one person in the study, makes it difficult to generalise the data to the population
 * The environment was highly controlled