He classical conditioning Or Pavlovian conditioning consists of the association of a conditioned neutral stimulus (EC) with an unconditioned stimulus (EI). After this association, the conditioned stimulus can cause a conditioned response (RC).
For example, a bell sound (EC) is presented next to the food (EI) and is associated, the bell being able to cause salivation or conditioned response (RC). Before the food (EI) caused salivation (unconditioned response or IR).
This type of associative learning was discovered by Iván Pávlov, Behaviorism , In his investigations with dogs where he associated an unconditioned stimulus, the food, with a neutral stimulus, the sound of a bell. After a series of tests he observed that the dog responded salivating to the sound of the bell.
Pavlov is especially known for the formulation of these investigations and above all for defining the conditioned reflex, which he developed after suggesting that the salivation of dogs could be the result of a psychic activity.
Ivan Pavlov established the bases of classical conditioning, which were developed in posterity by other authors of the behaviorist current as John Watson.
Functioning of classical conditioning
This theory is one of the fundamental principles of learning and one of the most basic ways to understand associative learning.
This conditioning was studied mainly with dogs that were applied salivary fistula techniques, specifically with those who learned to anticipate the arrival of food. Animals functioned with two stimuli: a tone that would act as the neutral stimulus, and a stimulus that would act as the unconditioned that would directly provoke the unconditioned or reflex response.
In this way, the style of food would function as unconditioned since only with the presentation of the same would produce in the animal the unconditioned salivation response.
On the other hand, the tone acted as a neutral stimulus whose effectiveness was influenced by the reiterated presentation of the previous stimulus: food. Thus the stimuli and responses that did not depend on previous trials would be unconditional, and those who would do so from such trials would be conditional.
Here is the definition of the main terms used by Ivan Pavlov in his discoveries:
Key concepts
Learning
From behavioral psychology is understood by learning to those observable changes in the behavior of the subject. They are changes that occur in repertoires of behavior as a consequence of previous experience and the association between stimuli and specific responses.
In this sense, Ivan Pavlov argues that knowledge is acquired thanks to the association of stimuli.
Association
It is the connection between the mental representation of two stimuli or a stimulus and a response so that the presentation of one of them directly evokes the other.
Classical conditioning
Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which the behavior that is given and maintained is reinforced.
It is a learning process through which an association is established between an unconditioned stimulus and a conditioned one, the latter being able to provoke the conditioned response after learning.
Unconditioned stimulus
Stimulus or specific event that triggers an immediate and involuntary response in the body.
That is, it is a stimulus that without prior learning triggers an involuntary response that does not need to be learned. In addition, the unconditioned stimulus can be appetitive if it is pleasant and aversive if it is unpleasant.
Neutral stimulus
It is a stimulus or event that in itself would not trigger any kind of response in the organism, not showing the unconditioned response that would be produced before the unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned Stimulus
Stimulus or event that was previously neutral and did not cause any response in the body.
After the continued association with a stimulus that is unconditioned, it causes that after this conditioning provoke the response in the organism. In this case it would also be a conditioned response, since it is the result of conditioning.
Unconditional response
Response or reaction that arises automatically and does not need a prior learning or conditioning to occur.
Conditional response
Response or reaction learned to a given stimulus through a learning process.
Through this is associated an unconditioned stimulus and a neutral one that after a temporary bond becomes conditioned.
Modes of action
To understand this type of conditioning of Pavlov must take into account a number of relevant aspects:
- First, the conditioned stimulus and then the unconditioned stimulus (EC-EI) are presented.
- Each pairing between stimuli is called the conditioning test, and the time elapsing between the beginning of the conditioned stimulus and the beginning of the unconditioned stimulus is called the interval between stimuli.
- Then there must be a relationship of spatial and temporal contiguity so that they can be represented by us as an association.
- In addition, pairing has to be causal rather than random, within a given range of probability. There must be the so-called inter-trial interval or time required between each trial for the events to be processed and fixed by the subjects as an association.
- By experimental session is meant the set of successively isolated trials.
Key points
- An unconditioned stimulus or EI automatically triggers an unconditioned response or RI.
- A neutral stimulus or EN does not itself produce an unconditioned response or IR.
- When a neutral stimulus is presented next to an unconditioned stimulus, after several tests and due to its pairing the neutral stimulus would become a conditioned stimulus or EC.
- After conditioning, the conditioned stimulus would provoke the response, being a conditioned response or RC because it is due to conditioning.
Fear conditioning
It is a type of classic conditioning. Through the conditioning of fear can recognize threats of the medium that would not previously be detected automatically.
The conditioning of emotional reactions is one of the main centers of classical conditioning. It was carried out by Watson and Rayner in 1920 through a simple procedure where the fear response was conditioned on a 9-month-old boy by presenting him with a laboratory rat. This gave rise to the famous experiment of the"Little Albert".
The authors of this experiment experimented with several stimuli to know what stimuli the child feared. The discovery was that little Albert was alarmed when a hammer struck a steel bar causing a loud sound. They used that unconditioned fear reaction to condition the fear of the rat.
Each trial consisted of first showing the rat to later hit the steel bar. After five conditioning tests it was observed that there was an emotional reaction of fear when the animal appeared.
This response of fear was not given when he presented his toys, but did generalize this response of fear to other objects that could be similar to a rat like a rabbit, a piece of cotton, among others.
As a curiosity, there was an interest in how fear and anxiety were acquired, what their neuronal mechanisms are, and how they can decrease with treatment.
Therefore, for this investigation, laboratory rats were used, using as a unconditioned aversive stimulus a brief electric shock, and as a conditioned stimulus, a tone or a light.
Fear in rats
On the other hand, in rats we observe that fear has been conditioned when they are paralyzed. In this case, this response is a specific defense mechanism as an anticipatory response to aversive behavior.
However, researchers do not generally measure this paralyzing response directly, but instead use an indirect measurement technique of conditioned fear through Conditioned Emotional Response or Conditioned Suppression (REC), designed by Estes and Skinner.
In the first place, the rats are taught to press a bar located inside an experimental chamber in order to obtain the food; the reward. Thus they learn to press the bar in a regular way after several conditioning tests.
When this learning has occurred, fear conditioning begins and in each trial the conditioned stimulus is presented for 1 or 2 minutes, followed by a brief discharge.
Rats do not push the lever when paralyzed by fear, making this procedure useful for measuring the suppression of the fear-induced response.
Thus, the acquisition of this induced fear causes the rats to stop pushing the lever to obtain food, and there is a specific formula to quantitatively measure conditioned suppression.
On the other hand, allowing to calculate a suppression ratio to show a greater conditioned fear response.
References
- Sánchez Balmaseda, P., Ortega Lahera, N., of Casa Rivas, L.G. Conceptual bases of classical conditioning: techniques, variables and procedures. National University of Distance Education. Sevilla University. Canal.uned.es.
- Classical conditioning. Retrieved from explorable.com.
- Classical conditioning. Dictionary of scientific and philosophical psychology. Retrieved from e-torredebabel.com.
- Ivan Pavlov. Recovered from biografiasyvidas.com
- Ivan Pavlov. Retrieved from nobelprize.org
- Conditional response. Retrieved from e-torredebabel.com.
- Unconditional response. Recovered from definicion.de.
- Learning. Recovered from definicion.de.
- What Is Classical Conditioning? Retrieved from blogs.scientificamerican.com.
- Domjan, M. Principles of learning and behavior. Auditorium. 5th edition.