Behavioral Theory

Part 1: Classical Conditioning

Questions Answers
1. What behaviors are classically conditioned? 

 

 Behaviors that are classically conditioned are those which involve the learning of involuntary responses -- responses over which the learner has no control and to which he or she responds reflexively or "automatically." Thus, examples include a dog salivating at the sound of the dinner bell, a horse flinching or shying away at a blowing piece of paper, someone becoming nauseous at sight of "creamy-looking" food when mayonnaise once made them ill, etc.
2. How do you increase behavior through classical conditioning? 

 

 In classical conditioning, behaviors are increased in one of two ways:  repeated practice and positive reinforcement: more pairings (of neutral stimuli with unconditioned stimuli), which can include drill-and-practice (i.e., additional training) but also includes rewarding the desired behavior, positive reinforcement (e.g., trying to build an association between desired behavior and pleasure of the reward) 

stronger reinforcement: stronger unconditioned stimuli (i.e., traumatic events) produce stronger conditioning
3.
 How do you decrease behavior through classical conditioning?  There are several ways to change inappropriate conditioned responses (cf. Guthrie's work on breaking habits): extinguishing: stop pairing the response with the stimulus in order to extinguish the linkage(this is the mildest method, and least reliable because of speed, avoidance, and spontaneous recovery)

Examples: teacher ignoring student's disruptive behavior in order not to give her attention; a girl ignoring phone calls (i.e., using caller i.d. or answering machine to find out who's calling and not picking up the phone if its an unwelcome caller), etc.)

counterconditioning: replacing one conditioned response with a new, more beneficial conditioned response (tends to be more effective than extinction, also decreases chance of spontaneous recovery of previoius conditioning); includes two forms, depending on desired outcome:

eliminating the response to the stimulus: through systematic desensitization, where the object is to eliminate the response -- classic treatment for phobias and other anxiety responses using the threshhold method of presenting the stimulus so faintly at first that the individual doesn't respond to it in the habitual manner -- then increasing the intensity of the stimulus so gradually that the individual continues to not respond

Example: "Little Peter" with a fear of rabbits being progressively counterconditioned by being given candy while the bunny was, in successive episodes, brought closer -- until his anxiety finally disappeared

replacing the response: through use of a new response that is incompatiblewith the existing conditioned response (i.e., relaxation and anxiety are incompatible, so training someone to use relaxation techniques in a situation that had previously produced anxiety is an example of use of incompatible response to cause a de-conditioning); important to ensure that the stimulus eliciting the positive response is stronger that the stimulus eliciting the negative response

Example: "Little Peter" with a fear of rabbits being progressively counterconditioned by being given candy (i.e., pleasure being incompatible with anxiety) while the bunny was, in successive episodes, brought closer -- until his anxiety finally disappeared.

exhaustion: keep repeating the stimulus until the individual is too tired to respond in the habitual way; the intent is to get the response to the stimulus to become "doing nothing" or "not responding" to the stimulus

Examples: the persistent rider (S) staying on the bucking (R) bronco until the horse is too exhausted to continue bucking and has a new response (CR) of acceptance of the rider on its back or "not responding" to the rider's being in the saddle; a teacher making a kid being punished for throwing spitballs (S) stay after school and throw spitballs (R) until the kid can't throw anymore (CR).
4.
 What role does classical conditioning play in real life?

 

 Classical conditioning is a major factor in real life. It's a fundamental part of all forms of animal training (including some forms of human training). Its primary use in human behavior is in dealing with habit formation, either trying (1) to form good habits (enjoying exercising, liking the good-grade or self-esteem rewards of good school performance, etc.) or (2) to break bad ones (smoking, overeating, etc.), including phobias or anxiety-producing conditioning. 
5.
 What role does classical conditioning play in educational settings? The most common examples of classical conditioning seen in the educational environment are in situations where students exhibit phobias and anxieties, like "math anxiety," fear of failure, and general school phobia. It is not easy (but it's important!) for teachers to try to create a consistent, positive classroom climate where students experience more success than failure.
6.
 What roles do stimulus generalization and discrimination play in classical conditioning? The effect of stimulus generalization is to transfer or "spread" the conditioned response to new stimuli. For example, a person frightened of the sight of blood might generalize that response to include a variety of other blood-red objects. The effect of stimulus discriminationis just the opposite -- to de-generalize the stimulus, so that the individual learns to respond to one stimulus but learns not to respond to a somewhat similar stimulus. For example, Pavlov's dogs could be trained to differentiate their response to two bell tones -- the higher pitched tone being associated with the arrival of food (thus: salivation) and the lower tone not associated with food.

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