Learning and Conditioning

Chapter 7 Part 2
 Chapter Outline

• Classical Conditioning

• Classical Conditioning in Real Life

• Operant Conditioning

• Principles of Operant Conditioning

• Operant Conditioning in Real Life

Acquisition and Extinction

disappearance of a
behaviour when it is not
reinforced
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 Principles of Classical Conditioning

• Extinction
– The weakening and eventual disappearance of a learned
response

– Occurs when the CS is no longer paired with the US- i.e.,

continual presentation of an empty dish without the food will
eventually not result in drooling.

– May experience spontaneous recovery of response after

extinction

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 Extinction

• Any other uses for this technique?

• Extinguishing fears?

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Fear of Water

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Extinction: Fear of Water

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 Extinction

• Halloween: Police extinguish fear of firecrackers and

fireworks in dogs in the lead up to Halloween night.

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 Fears & Phobias

• Phobia:
– an exaggerated, unrealistic fear of a specific situation,
activity, or object.

• Agoraphobia:
– set of phobias, often set off by a panic attack, involving the
basic fear of being away from a safe place or person.

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Extinction of Phobias

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 Fears & Phobias

• Social phobia:
– irrational fear where sufferers become extremely anxious in
situations in which they will be observed by others, worrying
that they will do or say something that will be excruciatingly
humiliating or embarrassing.

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 Principles of Classical Conditioning

• Higher-order conditioning

– A procedure in which a neutral stimulus becomes a

conditioned stimulus through association with an already
-established conditioned stimulus

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 Similar Stimulus, Similar Response

• Stimulus generalization
– Tendency to respond to a stimulus that resembles one
involved in original conditioning; Baby Albert.
– Occurs when a stimulus that resembles the CS elicits
the CR.

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 Generalization

If red touches yellow, you’re dead fellow.

What is the purpose of generalization?

SURVIVAL!!!!!

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 Generalization

familiar enough to be recognizable but

weird enough to give you the shivers

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 Classical Conditioning in Real Life

• Learning to Fear:

– May learn to fear any stimulus that is paired with something

that elicits pain, surprise, or embarrassment

– Humans come biologically “prepared” to learn certain fears

faster than others (evolutionary basis)
• E.g., snakes, spiders, heights

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 Classical Conditioning in Real Life

• Phobias: phobos- Greek work for “fear”.

– Arachnophobia: The fear of spiders.

– Triskaidekaphobia: fear of the number 13.
– Pedophobia: fear of babies.
– Glossophobia: fear of public speaking

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Will it pop!?!?!?!?

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Tests!!!!

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 Psychological Disorders?

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): PTSD is a

disorder that develops in some people who have
experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous
event.

Symptoms include: relieving the trauma; fear and

generalized anxiety; easily startled; nightmares;
avoidance behaviours.

31% of Vietnam War vets; 10% Gulf War vets;

11% of Afghanistan War vets.

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 What Is Actually Learned?

• Classical conditioning is most effective when stimulus to be

conditioned comes before the unconditioned stimulus.

• Conditioned stimulus becomes a signal for the unconditioned

stimulus-information about one stimulus is conveyed by another

• To become a CS, a neutral stimulus must reliably signal or

predict the US- if food is paired with tone only 50% of the time,
tone will not elicit salivation reliably.

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 Can We Unlearn?!

• If we can learn to fear, can we unlearn?

• This could solve a lot of problems that we have…maybe.
• Difficult to do…fear is very powerful.

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 How Can We Unlearn?

• Jones (1924) and Watson demonstrated that fears can also be

unlearned (e.g., Peter’s fear of rabbits- Little Albert disappeared)
• Counterconditioning: process of pairing a conditioned stimulus with a
stimulus that elicits a response that is incompatible with an unwanted
conditioned response
• Systematic desensitization (a variation of counterconditioning) later
developed to treat phobias
 How Can We Unlearn?

• YOU MUST FACE YOUR FEARS!

• Replace the fear with these techniques.
• It’s hard, yes.
 Explaining Fear Conditioning

• A number of factors are involved in the conditioning of

fear
– Amygdala: processes fear information

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 Explaining Fear Conditioning

Destruction of Amygdala, loss of fear.

Purpose of the amygdala?

Survival! Keep us safe.

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 Explaining Fear Conditioning

– Genetic differences associated with reactivity of amygdala

• Some people are more likely to become anxious and
fearful.
• Measured via the startle response:
• Those with a particular gene acquire conditioned startle response.

BOO!!!

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 Classical Conditioning in Real Life

• Reacting to Medical Treatments:

– Stimuli associated with drug treatments
that produce nausea can become
conditioned stimuli
• E.g., chemotherapy treatments for cancer
patients

– Placebos may help to reduce pain and

anxiety without side effects. Why?
• Cognitive psychologists: expectations
• Behaviourists: conditioning

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 Summary

• Extinction: weakening of the association

• Spontaneous recovery
• Phobia’s: fear (which is healthy), but the reaction is
unreasonable.
• Higher order conditioning and stimulus generalization.
• Are our “fears” just learned…?!
• PTSD
• Learning to unlearn
• Fear conditioning involves regions of the brain that
process emotional information
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