Understanding Classical Conditioning as a Form of Learning for A-level Psychology

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The studies presented at the A-levels are often misinterpreted by students as being the core content in and of themselves. They are not. They are rather, means of understanding underlying theories and research methods. Therefore, students must absolutely avoid becoming so focused on the content of the studies that they lose sight of what they are actually set to learn in the curriculum.

In today's post, I explain the psychological process of classical conditioning which is presented in the curriculum by means of the case study of button phobia conducted by Saavedra and Silvermann in 2002. The other psychological concept illustrated through this study is that of phobia and if you would like me to do a post on that as well, do comment below. The present explanation is independent of the study for it is intended to help the student comprehend the concepts and then apply what they understand to rhe study. Let's begin with classical conditioning:

Classical Conditioning 

Classical conditioning is a form of learning that takes place through the association between two people, objects or events. Since classical conditioning originated in behaviourism which emphasized on the use of scientific terminology, these people, objects and events are referred to as 'stimuli'. You should also know that conditioning refers to habituation, for classical conditioning is a process that underlies the formation of many habits. We'll come back to this point towards the end of this lesson.

For classical conditioning to occur, what is needed is an existing stimulus-response relationship on which the conditioning can be founded. For example, all human beings have an innate association formed between pain and avoidance. Human beings avoid those stimuli which cause them pain, by their nature. An example of a pain inducing stimulus is a slap. Now, for classical conditioning to take place, this stimulus is paired with another stimulus - one with which an association of the natural response is to be made. For the present example, a person can be the stimulus associated with the stimulus of the slap. Say there is a father who slaps his child frequently. Fathers are not naturally avoidance-inducing stimuli. Many fathers, in fact, obtain the response of physical proximity from their children. Do think about why this is the case in terms of classical conditioning after reading through the present example. The child in the example does not initiatially associate his father with avoidance but he does associate a slap with avoidance. With time, as he experiences his father slapping him frequently, he begins to associate his father with the avoidance response. Whenever his father approaches him, he is reminded of the pain he has received from his slapping and therefore, he now begins to avoid the father. 

Terminology, as pointed out earlier, is important in understanding classical conditioning. So, do take note of the following terms -

• Organism - This is the insect, animal or person who undergoes classical conditioning;

• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)- Also called a natural stimulus, this is the stimulus which brings about an unconditioned response in an organism. For example, blood is an unconditioned stimulus because it brings about an unconditioned response of disgust in an individual;

• Unconditioned Response (UR)- Also called a natural response, this is the response that exists naturally in an organism, that is, in the absence of any kind of conditioning to a stimulus. As seen in the previous example, disgust is an unconditioned response that occurs for the unconditioned stimulus of blood;

• Neutral Stimulus - This is the stimulus that is to be paired with the unconditioned stimulus in order to bring about the same response that the unconditioned stimulus does. In other words, before a conditioned stimulus is paired with the unconditioned stimulus, it is referred to as a neutral stimulus;

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS) - This is the stimulus that is paired with the unconditioned stimulus in order to bring about the same response that the unconditioned stimulus does. For example, a knife may be repeatedly shown to an individual with blood stains. The individual then comes to associate the knife with the same disgust that the blood does. The knife, here, serves as the conditioned stimulus;

• Conditioned Response (CR)- This is the response elicited by the conditioned response. Obviously, it is the same as the unconditioned response, the only difference being that it is evoked by the conditioned stimulus and not the unconditioned stimulus. In the running example, disgust towards the knife is the conditioned response;

• Generalization - Also referred to as stimulus generalization, this is a process by which the conditioned response is extended towards stimuli that resemble the conditioned stimulus with respect to its primary characteristics. For example, the primary characteristic of a knife is its sharpness. Blades are also characterized by sharpness. Therefore, an individual conditioned to respond to disgust to knives may also response with disgust to blades;

• Discrimination - Also referred to as stimulus discrimination, this is a process by which the organism makes a distinction between conditioned stimuli and stimuli that are only similar to but not as the same as the conditioned stimuli. Accordingly, the organism gives the conditioned response only to conditioned stimuli and not to those that were not used in conditioning. In the aforementioned example, the organism may eventually learn to restrict his response of disgust to knives and not extend it to blades;

• Extinction - This is said to occur when the pairing of the conditioned and unconditioned stimulus fails to evoke the conditioned response in the organism after a period when the stimuli fail to occur together. For example, after an interval of not seeing the knife with blood against the organism may not respond with disgust to a knife;

• Spontaneous Recovery - This is the return of a conditioned response towards a conditioned stimulus after a period of extinction. Typically, the response return after a single re-pairing of the conditioned and unconditioned stimulus. For example, a single re-pairing of the knife with blood may again produce disgust in the individual in whom the response of disgust towards the knife had extinguished.

Think about it - How does the earlier example of the father slapping the child stand in light of the new concepts of classical conditioning that you have now learnt?

Two of the most important classical studies on classical conditioning have been those by Dr. Pavlov on a dog and by Dr. Watson on Little Albert. In the first demonstration of classical conditioning, Dr. Pavlov founded classical conditioning on the natural salivatory response of a dog for the unconditioned stimulus of food. He paired the food with the sound of a gong - a neutral stimulus till then transformed into a conditioned stimulus. The sound of the struck gong then evoked the conditioned response of salivation from the dog who then anticipated being fed upon the striking of the gong. Generalization was seen when the dog extended the conditioned response of salivation towards similar stimuli such as the sound of a bell and the sound of a research assistant's footsteps. Discrimination, extinction and spontaneous recovery were also demonstrated. In the study on Little Albert, Dr. Watson founded classical conditioning on the natural response of fear that children have for the unconditioned stimuli of very loud sounds. He paired loud sounds, the unconditioned stimulus, by striking a plate with a heavy spoon near the ears of the child with a rabbit, the conditioned stimulus, that the child initially had no fear of that is, which was initially a neutral stimulus. As expected, the child soon associated the unconditioned response of fear with the conditioned stimulus, the rabbit, thereby giving it the conditioned response of fear. Generalization was seen in the form if Little Albert's extension of the fear response to several white and furry objects including a white rat, a white teddy bear and a costumed white beard of Santa Claus.

Think about it - how may classical conditioning be used to help individuals suffering from fear and anxiety?

Finally, let's talk a little about where all we see classical conditioning in our everyday lives. We see it in a lot of places. Take advertisements as an example. Behaviourists lent their principles of learning to the field of advertisement and the principles are at the root of many ads to this day. Whenever you see a celebrity endorsing a product you should know that the expectation behind it is that you will associate your liking for (unconditioned response) the celebrity (unconditioned stimulus) with the advertised product (conditioned stimulus). Coming back to habits, several bad habits and addictions are based on classical conditioning. Smoking, drinking, gambling, overeating are all habits acquired through this process. A smoker associates smoking (conditioned stimulus) with pleasure (conditioned response) actually derived from a release of the neurotransmitter dopamine (unconditioned stimulus) in his brain. This pathway is the same for other addictions, too. Taking the example of a good habit, many children come to associate regular studying (conditioned stimulus) with the satisfaction (conditioned response) they feel when their parents approve of them (unconditioned stimulus). 

Think about it - How can unhealthy conditioned stimuli such as cigarettes or unhealthy food be replaced with health stimuli to evoke the same conditioned responses in individuals?

Now that you have the basics of classical conditioning made clear to you, do study the button phobia research again in the light of your new understanding. Look out for illustrations of the concepts presented here in that study and if not found, think of how they could be applied to it. Always remember that learning begins with a curriculum, it certainly does not end with it.

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