Phase II: Part1

Extinction: Extinction occurs when the conditioned stimulus (CS) does not signal the unconditioned stimulus (UCS). In other words, an overuse of the CS without reward is like the boy who cries wolf. Eventually, when people hear an actually wolf, the UCS, they will not respond.

Spontaneous recovery: When there are long breaks between the CS, the CR will reappear.

Generalization: This is the tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the CS. One example of generalization in learning is to study and do homework at the same desk every day. This will allow you to focus better.

Discrimination: This is one's ability to distinguish the difference between a conditioned stimulus and irrelevant stimuli. For instance, when driving in cars we know that the green light means go. If there was another color light on, we would know not to go.

Importance of Cognitive Processes in Classical Conditioning: In order to successful train or teach someone that the CS is associated with a certain action, one must consider the predictability of the situation. For instance, when a runner hears a gun shot at the start of a race then he or she immediately starts to run. However, if the gun was replaced with a beep or a whistle, a runner might have a slower reaction because the predictability of the situation is not as high.

Importance of Biology in Classical Conditioning: A subject's biological make-up determines which conditioned stimuli will be the most effective. Pavlov and Watson believed that all animals would react the same to any CS; however, John Garcia was one of the researchers who proved their theory to be wrong. (Explained in the taste aversion)

Taste Aversion: John Garcia opposed behaviorist environmentalism and found that not all animals react the same to all stimuli. Garcia gave rats a certain taste, sight, or sound and then gave them drugs. Even though the effect of the drugs did not occur until a couple hours later, the rats who had a particular taste avoided anything with a similar flavor. This proved that taste causes stronger responses than sight or sound for rats. On the other hand, birds that use their sight to hunt will be more likely to react to certain sights rather than certain sounds or tastes.

Taste Aversion (Real world example): If an animal is sick because it is lacking certain nutrients, then it will stop eating its usual foods. Instead, the animal will be given food that is rich in the nutrients that the animal needs. Once the animal begins to feel better, it will associate feeling good to the nutrient-rich food. This will cause the animal to like the taste of the nutrient-rich food and avoid its usual food.

Watson, Rayner and research after Pavlov: Watson believed that all behaviors and feelings were conditioned responses. Watson and Rayner conducted the famous experiment with Little Albert. They played loud noises, which are unconditioned stimuli, that cause fear, an unconditioned response, along with presenting a rat. As a result, Little Albert began to fear rats even without the loud noises. Furthermore, Little Albert feared any other animal that looked like the rat.

Respondent behavior: A respondent behavior is an automatic response to some stimulus. This behavior is the difference between classical conditioning and operant conditioning. The respondent behavior is only present in classical conditioning. It shows that the subject is learning associations between events that it doesn't control.