Tarlac State University

GRADUATE STUDIES

WRITTEN REPORT
(Classical Conditioning Theory and
Education)
MAED EDUC 501: FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION

LEVY P. CORONEL
SECTION

CENTER OF DEVELOPMENT

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 INTRODUCTION

In this lesson, you will learn about learning. It might not be “learning” as you
typically think of the word, because we are not talking about going to school, or
studying, or even effortfully trying to remember something. Instead, you will see that one
of the main types of behavioral learning that we do is simply through an automatic
process of association, known as classical conditioning. In classical conditioning,
organisms learn to associate events that repeatedly happen together, and researchers
study how a reflexive response to a stimulus can be mapped to a different stimulus—by
training an association between the two stimuli. Ivan Pavlov’s experiments show how
stimulus-response bonds are formed. Watson, the founder of behaviorism, was greatly
influenced by Pavlov’s work. He tested humans by conditioning fear in an infant known
as Little Albert. His findings suggest that classical conditioning can explain how some
fears develop.

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 Learning outcomes

1. Describe how Pavlov’s early work in classical conditioning influenced the

understanding of learning.
2. Review the concept of classical conditioning, including unconditioned stimulus
(US), conditioned stimulus (CS), unconditioned response (UR), and conditioned
response (CR).
3. Explain the roles that extinction, generalization, and discrimination play in
conditioned learning.
4. Share some classroom/educational implications of Pavlov’s classical conditioning
theory.

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 activity

1. Watch a video clip that shows an example of classical conditioning.

2. Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Theory & Experimental Evidence
3. The Persistence and Extinction of Conditioning
4. Educational Implications of Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Theory

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 Learning content
1. Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Theory & Experimental Evidence

Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is

learning through association and was discovered by Pavlov, a Russian physiologist. In
simple terms, two stimuli are linked together to produce a new learned response in a
person or animal.
The most famous example of classical conditioning was Pavlov's experiment with
dogs, who salivated in response to a bell tone. Pavlov showed that when a bell was
sounded each time the dog was fed, the dog learned to associate the sound with the
presentation of the food.

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 In a similar manner, John B. Watson performed the “Little Albert Experiment” in the
1920s in which he classically conditioned a human baby to experience fear at the sight
of white rats, and as a result of stimulus generalization, at the sight of other small furry
animals. He achieved this by creating loud, painful noises whenever Albert touched the
rat. Albert began to associate small animals with the trauma of the noise.

2. The Persistence and Extinction of Conditioning

After he had demonstrated that learning could occur through association, Pavlov
moved on to study the variables that influenced the strength and the persistence of
conditioning. In some studies, after the conditioning had taken place, Pavlov presented
the sound repeatedly but without presenting the food afterward. Figure 8.4, “Acquisition,
Extinction, and Spontaneous Recovery,” shows what happened. As you can see, after
the initial acquisition (learning) phase in which the conditioning occurred, when the CS
was then presented alone, the behaviour rapidly decreased — the dogs salivated less
and less to the sound, and eventually the sound did not elicit salivation at all. Extinction
refers to the reduction in responding that occurs when the conditioned stimulus is
presented repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulus.

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 Acquisition, Extinction, and Spontaneous Recovery. Acquisition: The CS and the
US are repeatedly paired together and behaviour increases. Extinction: The CS is
repeatedly presented alone, and the behaviour slowly decreases. Spontaneous
recovery: After a pause, when the CS is again presented alone, the behaviour may
again occur and then again show extinction.
Pavlov also experimented with presenting new stimuli that were similar, but not
identical, to the original conditioned stimulus. For instance, if the dog had been
conditioned to being scratched before the food arrived, the stimulus would be changed
to being rubbed rather than scratched. He found that the dogs also salivated upon
experiencing the similar stimulus, a process known as generalization. Generalization
refers to the tendency to respond to stimuli that resemble the original conditioned
stimulus. The ability to generalize has important evolutionary significance.
3. Educational Implications of Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Theory
Many things of the school-subjects are learnt more adequately through this
process. Reading, writing, spelling, or habits are learnt more effectively through the
process of conditioning. Direct method of teaching English is just a process of
conditioning. We learn many things in a better way through this process; and that is
perhaps the reason why language is more efficiently learnt by living in the society in
which it is spoken. Teaching through visual aids also implies the same principle.
Discipline may also be caused through conditioning. Good sentiments, good
habits, virtues, and ideals etc., which are the components of discipline, are effectively
learnt through the process of conditioning, and they are learnt surely, in a society in
which they are actually lived and manifested.

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 Classroom procedures are often far removed from the natural procedures required
for the process of conditioning. Languages are not taught as they ought to be in
connection with many vivid and widely different experiences. If the regulations,
commands, and virtues are followed by the friendly behavior and the most sympathetic
attitude of the teacher, he can bring about a complaint emotional tone in the class that
no amount of punishment can accomplish. But uniformity of procedure is essential.
Voluntary action may be controlled through reasoning, punishment, and reward, but if its
involuntary basis is neglected it will not endure. In conditioning involuntary responses
are controlled through the cue stimuli.
Moreover, in experimental psychology the theory of conditioned reflex occupies an
important place and it has revolutionized child learning. Before the advent of this theory
the knowledge of process of learning was vague. It is rightly the importance of
association in learning. It is now a psychological truism that the child’s learning consists
in the establishment of conditioned reflexes through the formation of permanent habits.
Lastly, this theory brings learning under the teacher’s control making desired
learning conditioned by situations created or regulated by the experimenter himself.
4. Examples in classroom implications of Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning
Theory

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 evaluation

1. A teacher places gold stars on the chalkboard when the students are quiet and
attentive. Eventually, the students start becoming quiet and attentive whenever
the teacher approaches the chalkboard. Can you explain the students’ behaviour
in terms of classical conditioning?

2. Recall a time in your life, perhaps when you were a child, when your behaviours
were influenced by classical conditioning. Describe in detail the nature of the
unconditioned and conditioned stimuli and the response, using the appropriate
psychological terms.

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 references
Garcia, J., Kimeldorf, D. J., & Koelling, R. A. (1955). Conditioned aversion to saccharin resulting
from exposure to gamma radiation. Science, 122, 157–158.
Keane, T. M., Zimering, R. T., & Caddell, J. M. (1985). A behavioral formulation of posttraumatic
stress disorder in Vietnam veterans. The Behavior Therapist, 8(1), 9–12.
Lewicki, P. (1985). Nonconscious biasing effects of single instances on subsequent judgments.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 563–574.
LoBue, V., & DeLoache, J. S. (2010). Superior detection of threat-relevant stimuli in infancy.
Developmental Science, 13(1), 221–228.
Bourret, J. (2015). Classical conditioning in the classroom
(https://www.slideshare.net/JamieRBourret/classical-conditioning-in-the-classroom-
15195207?from_action=save#)

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