Classical conditioning has occurred when:
B. The unconditioned stimulus (UCS) is a stimulus that evokes an unconditioned response (UCR) without previous conditioning, for example in the classic Pavlov’s paradigm, salivation (UCR) with food (UCS). UCR is not a learned response. Conditioned stimulus (CS) is a previously neutral stimulus that has acquired the capacity to evoke a conditioned response (CR) , for example the bell is the CS that is paired with food (UCS) which later elicits the salivation (now a CR). A first CS (CS1) that has previously been paired with a UCS can support conditioning to a second CS (CS2) when the CS2 and CSl are paired together. Thus CS2, never directly paired with the UCS, still elicits a CR. This is higher-order conditioning.
Reference:
Repeated presentations of the conditioned stimulus in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus leads to a decrease in the strength of the conditioned response. This is known as:
A. Extinction is the process by which CR is eliminated. After conditioning a CS to elicit a CR, repeated, subsequent delivery of the CS without the UCS extinguishes the CR. Three factors influence the extinction of the CR. In general, the stronger the CS–CR bond, the slower the extinction of the CR. When the CS is only occasionally presented during initial conditioning, resistance to extinction is increased. As the duration of the CS exposure in extinction increases, the CR weakens proportionately. Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of an extinguished response after a period of non-exposure to the conditioned stimulus.
When Little Albert was conditioned to be afraid of white rats he also came to fear white lab coats and other white objects.
This phenomenon is known as:
C. Stimulus generalization occurs when an organism that has learned a response to a specific stimulus responds in the same way to new stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus. In this case, the colour white serves as the similarity between rats and lab coats. The closer the new stimuli are to the original conditioning stimulus, the greater the likelihood of generalization. Stimulus discrimination occurs when an organism that has learned a response to a specific stimulus does not respond in the same way to new stimuli that are similar the original stimulus. For example, a dog which wags its tails when it hears your car approaching the porch may initially wag when any car passes by (generalization). But as time goes, your faithful dog learns to discriminate the distinct sound of your car from your father-in-law’s car, who you may not like very much! The ‘Little Albert’ experiment mentioned in this question was conducted by Watson and Rayner in 1920. Albert was 11 months and 3 days old at the time of the first test. Because of his young age, the experiment today would be considered unethical.
References:
The process by which the response to a stimulus declines with repeated exposure to that stimulus is known as:
E. Habituation and sensitization are two fundamental learning processes. In each case, animals change their reactions to a stimulus with repeated stimulation. Habituation is defined as a decrease in responsiveness to a stimulus, for example you may get habituated to the pressure on your toes from a new shoe when you wear it regularly. Sensitization refers to an increase in reactivity to the stimulus on repeated exposure, for example repeated listening to the new ring tone of your mobile may make you attend to the call quicker than on the fi rst few days of buying the phone.
In a behavioural treatment, every time a person drinks alcohol, he is administered an electric shock.
Which of the following principles underlie this treatment?
D. Aversive conditioning makes use of the classical conditioning paradigm. Here an unwanted behaviour is paired with an aversive stimulus, thus eliciting an aversive response. Here the shock is not given as a punishment but it is given as an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) to which an unconditioned response (UCR), pain, will be elicited. By repeated pairing of alcohol (conditioned stimulus, CS) with electric shock, the pain (aversion) becomes a conditioned response (CR). Later drinking alcohol (CS) alone is expected to produce the CR of aversion and pain. Typically, a short, delayed conditioning paradigm is used (see Question 33), that is the patient is asked to pour alcohol into his mouth and half a second later a shock is delivered to his hand via an electrode.
Click to expand