8 Respondent Conditioning

Lea r n i n g O b j e ctives
8-1 Provide an example of respondent conditioning
8-2 Describe respondent conditioning
8-3 Describe the importance of timing between the neutral stimulus and the US
8-4 Describe higher-order conditioning
8-5 Describe conditioned emotional responses
8-6 Describe extinction of conditioned responses
8-7 Describe the factors that influence respondent conditioning
8-8 Describe how respondent conditioning and operant conditioning differ

Chapters 4–7 describe principles of operant conditioning: after a few days. Carla’s blinking is an example of a respondent
reinforcement, extinction, punishment, and stimulus control. behavior, elicited by the antecedent stimulus of a blast of air
This chapter discusses a different type of conditioning: respon- in the face. Because the clicking sound immediately preceded
dent conditioning. Operant behaviors are controlled by their the blast of air each time, Carla’s blinking was conditioned to
consequences; operant conditioning involves the manipula- occur at the clicking sound. This is an example of respondent
tion of consequences. In contrast, respondent behaviors are conditioning.
controlled (elicited) by antecedent stimuli, and respondent Julio got out of his last class at 9:30 p.m. He took the 9:40
conditioning involves the manipulation of antecedent stimuli. bus and got home at 10:00 p.m. When he got off the bus, he
Consider the following examples. had to walk through a tunnel under the train tracks to get to his
house. Because most of the lights in the tunnel were broken, it
8-1 Examples of Respondent was usually dark as he walked through it. Since the beginning of
the semester, a number of incidents in the tunnel had startled
Conditioning or scared him: A large rat ran right in front of him; some teen-
Carla worked in a factory that made children’s toys, operating agers made threatening remarks to him; and a person suddenly
a machine that molded plastic parts. Plastic pieces were fed started cursing at him as he walked by. On each occasion, Julio
into the machine on a conveyor belt. As each piece entered noticed that his heart was racing, his muscles were tensed, and
the machine, the machine made a clicking noise and a metal he was breathing rapidly. These bodily responses continued
punch in the machine came down to stamp the plastic. When until Julio came out of the tunnel. After these incidents, Julio
the machine stamped the plastic, a short blast of air from one noticed these same bodily responses each time he walked toward
of the pneumatic hoses hit Carla in the face. It was not danger- the tunnel: his heart started racing, his muscles tensed, and his
ous, but the blast of air made her blink each time the machine breathing was more rapid. These responses did not diminish
stamped a part. Carla found that she began to blink as soon as until he was out the other side. Once inside the tunnel, he usu-
the machine made the clicking sound, just before it blew the ally walked quickly or ran to get out more quickly. The increase
air in her face. After a few days, the maintenance crew fixed in heart rate, muscle tension, and rapid breathing is an example
the machine so that the blast of air no longer came from the of respondent behavior. The threatening events in the tunnel
pneumatic hose. Carla noticed that she continued to blink each initially elicited bodily responses that we call fear responses or
time the machine clicked, but that the blinking went away anxiety. Because these events happened in the tunnel, proximity

112

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 Respondent Conditioning 113

to the tunnel now elicits the same bodily responses in Julio. • Pupil constriction in response to bright light helps protect
Proximity to the tunnel is an antecedent stimulus that elicits a the eyes and prevent loss of sight.
conditioned response (CR) that we call fear, or anxiety. • Rapid withdrawal from painful stimulation can help a
person keep from getting hurt (burned, cut, and so on).
8-2 Defining Respondent • Autonomic nervous system arousal involves bodily
Conditioning systems that prepare a person for action (the fight or flight
response), and thus may enable the person to escape from
Certain types of stimuli typically elicit specific types of bodily a dangerous situation or engage in protective behavior
responses. Infants engage in sucking responses when an object (Asterita, 1985). The bodily responses involved in
such as a nipple touches their lips. A person blinks when a puff autonomic arousal are listed in Table 8-2.
of air is directed at their eye. The pupil of the eye constricts on • The startle response includes the components of autonomic
exposure to bright light. A person salivates when they have food arousal that prepare the body for action in a possibly
in their mouth. A person gags or coughs when there is a foreign dangerous situation.
object in their throat. These and other responses (Table 8-1) are
called unconditioned responses (URs). These responses are • The responses involved in sexual arousal do not have sur-
elicited by antecedent stimuli, even though no conditioning or vival value for the individual but facilitate sexual behavior,
learning has occurred. A UR occurs in all healthy people when which is necessary for survival of the human species.
an unconditioned stimulus (US) is presented. We say that an • Although the knee jerk reflex may not have direct survival
unconditioned stimulus (US) elicits an unconditioned response value itself, it is a component of a larger group of reflexes
(UR). Humans have evolved to respond to USs because the involved in postural control and muscle coordination that
URs have survival value (Skinner, 1953a; Watson, 1924). contribute to normal motor functioning.
Identify the ways in which each of the URs listed in Although a US elicits a UR, the magnitude of the UR may
Table 8-1 may have survival value. diminish if the US is presented repeatedly in a brief period of
• The natural tendency to suck allows an infant to eat when a time. This process is called habituation. For example, if some-
nipple is placed in their mouth. one shot a gun unexpectedly (US), you would likely have a
• Salivation contributes to chewing and digesting food. startle response (UR). However, if you were at a shooting range
and heard the sound of guns being fired frequently, your startle
• Gagging when a foreign object is in their throat can keep a response to the sound would diminish or even disappear over
person from choking. time.
• Coughing clears the throat of foreign objects. A UR is a natural reflexive action of the body that occurs
• The natural tendency to blink when air or other matter when a US is present. URs are common to all people. Respondent
approaches the eyes can prevent foreign objects from conditioning occurs when a previously neutral stimulus
getting into the eyes and prevent loss of sight. (NS) is paired with a US (the NS and the US are presented

Table 8–1 Examples of Unconditioned Responses in Humans

Unconditioned Stimulus Unconditioned Response
Object touches infant’s lips Sucking reflex
Food in mouth Salivation
Foreign object in throat Gag reflex
Stimulation in the throat Coughing
Puff of air in the eye Eyeblink
Bright light in the eye Pupil constriction
Painful stimulation to the body Rapid withdrawal (of hand from hot stove, for example) and autonomic
arousal (fight or flight response)
Sudden, intense stimulation (loud noise) Startle reflex (increased heart rate, respiration, muscle tension)

Sexual stimulation (postpuberty) Erection or vaginal lubrication

Blow to the patella tendon Knee jerk

(From Pierce, W. D., & Epling, W. F. [1995]. Behavior Analysis and Learning, p. 65. Copyright © 1995 Prentice-Hall, Inc. Reprinted by permission of the author.)

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114 Chapter 8

Table 8–2 Bodily Responses Involved in Autonomic to the tunnel elicited the CR of autonomic arousal (commonly
Nervous System Arousal called fear, or anxiety) that was previously elicited by the star-
tling and frightening events.
Increased heart rate
Increased respiration
Increased muscle tension
? Identify the US, UR, CS, and CR in the example of Carla in
the toy factory.
Increased blood flow to major muscles
Decreased blood flow to the skin The US is the blast of air in her face. It elicits the UR
Secretion of adrenalin into the bloodstream of blinking. Because the clicking sound from the machine was
Increased sweating
paired with each blast of air, the clicking sound became a CS.
Now the clicking sound elicits the blinking, which has become
Dry mouth
a CR. Note that blinking is respondent behavior. It is a CR
Pupil dilation when elicited by the CS but was initially a UR when elicited
Decreased gastrointestinal activity by the US.

together). As a result of this pairing, the NS becomes a Respondent Conditioning

conditioned stimulus (CS) and elicits a conditioned response
(CR) similar to the UR. A UR or CR is called a respondent Process  Blast of air (US) Blinking (UR)
behavior. The blast of air is paired with the clicking sound.
Respondent conditioning is also called classical condi-
tioning (Rachlin, 1976) or Pavlovian conditioning (Chance, Outcome  Clicking sound (CS) Blinking (CR)
1988). The Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov (1927) was the first
to demonstrate this phenomenon. In his experiments, Pavlov
showed that dogs salivated when meat powder was placed in
their mouths. This is a demonstration that a US will elicit a
UR. Pavlov then presented a NS (the sound of a metronome) 8-3 Timing of the Neutral
just before he put the meat powder into the dog’s mouth. He Stimulus and Unconditioned
presented the sound of the metronome and the meat pow-
der together a number of times. After this, he presented the Stimulus
sound of the metronome by itself. He found that the dog now The timing of the NS and US is important if respondent
salivated to the sound of the metronome without the meat conditioning is to occur. Ideally, the US should occur imme-
powder in its mouth. The sound of the metronome became diately after the onset of the NS (Donahoe & Vegas, 2021;
a CS because it was paired a number of times with the meat Pavlov, 1927). In the case of Pavlov’s dogs, the sound of the
powder (US). metronome occurs, and within about half a second, the meat
powder is placed in the dog’s mouth. This timing increases the
likelihood that the metronome sound will become conditioned
as a CS. If Pavlov put meat powder in the dog’s mouth and
Respondent Conditioning
then sounded the metronome, it is unlikely that conditioning
Process  US (meat powder) UR (salivation) would occur. The possible temporal relationships between the
US is paired with a neutral stimulus (metronome). NS and US are shown in Figure 8-1 (adapted from Pierce &
Epling, 1995).
Outcome  CS (metronome) CR (salivation) In trace conditioning, the NS precedes the US, but the
Note that the process involves pairing the US and neutral stimulus NS ends before the US is presented. In the eyeblink example,
a number of times. you present the clicking sound and, after the clicking sound has
The outcome of the pairings is that the neutral stimulus becomes a stopped, you present the puff of air.
CS and elicits a CR. In delay conditioning, the NS is presented and then the
US is presented before the NS ends. Take the example of eye-
blink conditioning. Delay conditioning occurs if a clicking
sound is presented and a puff of air is presented before the
Just about any stimulus can become a CS if it is paired clicking sound has terminated.
a number of times with a US. Consider the case of Julio. In simultaneous conditioning, the NS and US are pre-
Proximity to the tunnel became a CS because it was paired with sented at the same time. The clicking sound and the puff of air
the US (startling events in the tunnel). As a result, proximity occur simultaneously.

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 Respondent Conditioning 115

Figure 8–1 occurred 15 minutes before occurrence of the US that elicited

the UR, the taste of milk became a CS that elicited a CR sim-
These timelines show the temporal relationship between the ilar to the nausea he initially experienced. Murphy might not
neutral stimulus (NS) and unconditioned stimulus (US) for four types actually get sick when drinking milk again, but the milk (a CS)
of respondent conditioning. The raised portion of each timeline does not taste good and may produce a milder version of the
indicates when the stimulus (US or NS) is presented. Note that the
initial nausea (a CR). This type of respondent conditioning is
stimulus labeled NS becomes a conditioned stimulus only after pair-
ing with the unconditioned stimulus. (From Pierce, W. D., & Epling,
called taste aversion (Garcia et al., 1955).
W. F. [1995]. Behavior Analysis and Learning, p. 65. Copyright © 1995
Prentice-Hall, Inc. Reprinted by permission of the author.) 8-4 Higher-Order Conditioning
What you have learned so far is that an NS can become a CS
Trace Conditioning when it is paired with a US. The CS then elicits a CR. This
NS is the basic process of respondent conditioning. Higher-order
US
conditioning occurs when an NS is paired with an already
established CS and the NS becomes a CS. Consider the
example of Carla’s eyeblink response. Once the clicking sound
Delay Conditioning was paired with the blast of air a number of times, the click-
NS ing sound became a CS for Carla’s eyeblink response. Now if
US
another NS is paired with the clicking sound, it can become a
CS also. For example, if a light flashed each time the clicking
sound was made, the light would eventually become a CS and
Simultaneous Conditioning would elicit blinking even in the absence of the clicking sound.
NS Higher-order conditioning depends on how well established
the CS is when it is paired with the NS.
US

Backward Conditioning
First-Order Conditioning
NS
Process  Blast of air in the face (US) Eyeblink (UR)
US
US is paired with a clicking sound.
Time
Outcome  Clicking sound (CS) Eyeblink (CR)

Higher-Order Conditioning
Process  Clicking sound (CS) Eyeblink (CR)
In backward conditioning, the US is presented before CS is paired with a flash of light.
the NS. In our example, the puff of air is directed at the eye
and then the clicking sound is presented. In those circum- Outcome  Flash of light (CS) Eyeblink (CR)
stances, it is unlikely that the clicking sound will elicit an
eyeblink response.
Of these different temporal relationships between the NS
and the US, trace and delay conditioning, in which the NS is
presented first, generally are most effective. Backward condi- 8-5 Conditioned Emotional
tioning is not likely to be effective.
Perhaps the only case in which respondent conditioning
Responses
can occur without close temporal proximity of the NS and US Some types of CRs produced through respondent condition-
is taste aversion. In taste aversion, the taste of the food (NS) ing are called conditioned emotional responses (CERs).
occurs well before the spoiled food in your stomach (US) elicits This term was first proposed by Watson and Rayner (1920),
nausea (UR). Consider the following example. Murphy drank a who used respondent conditioning procedures to condition a
glass of milk that had gone bad. Although the milk tasted nor- fear response in a young child, 1-year-old Albert. Little Albert
mal, Murphy experienced overwhelming nausea and vomiting was not initially afraid of a white laboratory rat; he did not
15 minutes after he drank it. Since this episode, milk does not cry or try to get away. The rat was an NS. Watson and Rayner
taste good to Murphy when he tries to drink it. The tainted presented the rat to Albert and immediately hit a metal bar
milk in Murphy’s stomach was a US, and the UR was nausea with a hammer behind Albert’s head (Figure 8-2). The loud,
and vomiting. Even though the taste of milk when he drank it unexpected sound produced by the hammer on the metal

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116 Chapter 8

Figure 8–2
Watson was a white man. Also, he stood behind the child when he hit the bar with a hammer. Finally, the child was 1 year old.

was a US that elicited a startle response (UR) in Albert. CERs are conditioned to the sound of the mother’s voice or
The startle response involves autonomic arousal, the same the sight of her face. Another example would be when an indi-
type of responses involved in fear or anxiety. After they vidual smells the perfume usually worn by their partner and it
paired the presence of the rat and the loud noise seven times elicits a positive emotional response. Positive, affectionate inter-
in two sessions 1 week apart, the rat became a CS. The sight actions and physical contact with the partner would be the US
of the rat now elicited the CER we would call fear (e.g., eliciting the positive emotional response; the perfume is the CS
crying, autonomic arousal). because it is paired with the US. Therefore, even if the partner
Note that Watson and Rayner’s experiment with Albert is not present, the smell of the perfume can elicit the same
probably also involved operant conditioning. Initially, Albert pleasant feelings (positive CER) that the individual experiences
reached for the white rat and the experimenters made the loud, when they are with their partner.
startling noise. As a result of the pairing of the loud noise
and the white rat, the rat became a conditioned punisher. ? Identify positive and negative CERs occurring in your life and
The behavior of reaching for the rat was weakened through the CSs that elicit these emotional responses.
punishment, and the behavior of crawling away from the rat
was strengthened through negative reinforcement (escape). To answer this question, think of the highly reinforcing
Also note that this type of research, in which a fear response events, people, or things in your life that make you feel happy,
is induced intentionally, would not currently be considered satisfied, or content (positive CERs) and the aversive inter-
ethical. actions or events that lead to unpleasant feelings (negative
The process of respondent conditioning can develop CSs CERs). Although the notion of CERs has intuitive appeal,
for positive (desirable) CERs or negative (undesirable) CERs there can be some difficulty in operationalizing or measuring
(Watson, 1924). The fear developed in little Albert by Watson the emotional responses. Some emotional responses are overt
and Rayner is an example of a negative CER; others include and thus easily observable; these include crying, smiling, other
anger, disgust, and prejudice. In the same way, positive CERs facial expressions, and postures indicative of autonomic arousal
(e.g., pleasant feelings, happiness, love) can be elicited by CSs. or calmness. Likewise, the physiological responses involved in
Initially, an emotional response is a UR elicited by a US, such autonomic arousal (e.g., heart rate, muscle tension, galvanic
as a baby’s response to a mother’s physical contact. The mother skin response), although covert, are measurable with appropri-
strokes the baby’s face and the baby smiles, coos, and makes ate instruments. For example, muscle tension may be measured
other responses indicating positive emotion. Eventually these by electromyographic (EMG) recording, in which electrodes

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 Respondent Conditioning 117

are placed on the participant’s skin. The galvanic skin response If nothing bad ever happened in the tunnel again, the tunnel
records the changes in electrodermal activity that accompany would no longer elicit the autonomic arousal (fear response).
autonomic arousal because of increases in sweat gland activity. This would not be easy to accomplish because you cannot
Autonomic arousal may also be detected by recording the skin control who is in the tunnel or what happens there. One
temperature at the tips of the fingers. Because the blood flow is solution would be to convince the city to replace the lights
directed away from the surface of the skin during autonomic in the tunnel. If the tunnel were brightly lit, startling events
arousal, the temperature of the hands and fingers decreases. would be less likely to occur and threatening people would be
However, other reported emotional reactions are not observ- less likely to hang around in the tunnel.
able or measurable; these include feelings such as happiness or
love. There is no doubt that people experience positive and neg- Spontaneous Recovery
ative emotions that cannot be observed directly. The difficulty After a period of respondent extinction, in which the CS
is that because they cannot be observed independently, it is not is repeatedly presented in the absence of the US, the CS
clear what responses are involved in the emotions people report. does not elicit the CR. However, if the CS is presented at a
Most likely, people’s reports of emotional responses are a joint later time, the CR might occur again. For example, Pavlov
function of the actual CER, the situation in which it occurs, presented the sound of the metronome repeatedly without
their interpretation of events, and the ways in which they have putting meat powder in the dog’s mouth. Eventually, the dog
learned to label overt and covert events. quit salivating to the sound of the metronome. However,
when Pavlov presented the metronome later, the dog again
8-6 Extinction of Conditioned salivated, although to a lesser extent than before respondent
extinction occurred. When the CS elicits the CR after respon-
Responses dent extinction has taken place, spontaneous recovery has
Extinction of a CR, called respondent extinction, involves the occurred. The magnitude of the CR usually is smaller during
repeated presentation of the CS without presenting the US. If spontaneous recovery, and the CR should again disappear
the CS continues to occur in the absence of the US, the CR if the US is not presented with the CS during spontaneous
eventually decreases in intensity and stops occurring when the recovery.
CS is present. If Pavlov continued to present the sound of the
metronome (CS) but never paired the metronome with the 8-7 Discrimination and
delivery of meat powder (US), the dog would salivate less and
less to the sound of the metronome; finally, the dog would not
Generalization of Respondent
salivate at all when it heard the metronome. Behavior
In the case of little Albert, the white rat was a CS that
Discrimination in respondent conditioning is the situation in
elicited a fear response (CR) because the rat had been paired
which the CR is elicited by a single CS or a narrow range of
with a loud, startling noise (US). In this case, respondent
CSs. Generalization has occurred when a number of similar
extinction would occur if the white rat were presented to Albert
CSs or a broader range of CSs elicit the same CR. If a person is
numerous times without the US. Eventually, the presence of
afraid of a specific dog or a specific breed of dog, for example,
the white rat would no longer elicit a fear response.
discrimination has occurred. If a person is afraid of any type of
dog, generalization has occurred.
? Describe how respondent extinction occurred for Carla in the Consider how discrimination develops in respondent
toy factory.
conditioning. When a particular stimulus (S1) is paired with
the US, but similar stimuli (S2, S3, S4, etc.) are ­presented
When the maintenance crew fixed the pneumatic hose, without the US, only S1 elicits a CR. This is discrimina-
the blast of air no longer occurred immediately after the click- tion training. Consider the example of Madeline, who was
ing sound the machine made when it stamped a plastic part. attacked by a German shepherd. Since the attack, every time
Because the CS (clicking sound) continued to be presented she walks by the yard with the German shepherd, the sight
in the absence of the US (blast of air), the CR (eye blinking) of the dog (CS) elicits autonomic arousal or a fear response
eventually stopped occurring when the CS occurred. (CR). However, when she walks past other houses with
different dogs, she does not have the fear response. The sight
? How would you use respondent extinction to help Julio of the German shepherd developed into a CS because of its
eliminate his fear of walking through the tunnel at night? pairing with the attack (US). The sight of other dogs did not
develop into CSs because they were never associated with
You would have to present the CS and prevent the occur- attacks. Now only the sight of a German shepherd elicits the
rence of the US. In other words, because proximity to the fear response (CR).
tunnel is the CS, he would have to walk through the tunnel Now consider how generalization might develop.
without any frightening or startling events (US) occurring. Generalization is the tendency for the CR to occur in the

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118 Chapter 8

presence of stimuli similar to the CS that was initially paired food (US) may occur many minutes after the occurrence of the
with the US in respondent conditioning. If S1 is paired with NS (the taste of the food) in taste aversion conditioning.
the US but similar stimuli (S2, S3, S4, etc.) are never presented
in the absence of the US, the CR is more likely to generalize to Contingency between the Neutral
these other stimuli. If Madeline were attacked by the German Stimulus and Unconditioned Stimulus
shepherd but had never had encounters with friendly dogs, her Contingency between the NS and US means that the NS
fear response would be more likely to generalize to other dogs and US are presented together on every trial. When this
that are similar in some way to German shepherds (dogs of occurs, conditioning is much more likely than if the US is not
similar size, similar color, similar shape). In this case, there was presented after the NS in some trials or if the US occurs in
no discrimination training because similar stimuli (other dogs) some trials without the NS. When the machine clicks every
were not presented in the absence of the US. time before it sends a blast of air into Carla’s face, the click is
Generalization can be enhanced if a number of similar much more likely to develop into a CS than if the click were
stimuli are paired initially with the US during respondent followed only occasionally (e.g., 1 of 10 times) by the blast
conditioning. If Madeline were unfortunate enough to be of air in Carla’s face. Likewise, if the blast of air when the
attacked by a German shepherd, a golden retriever, a schnauzer, machine stamped a plastic part was only occasionally preceded
and a terrier, her fear probably would generalize to almost all by a clicking sound, the clicking sound would be unlikely to
dogs. Because a variety of similar NSs (different dogs) were all develop into a CS.
paired with the US (being attacked), generalization would be
enhanced and all dogs would be CSs.
The Number of Pairings
Although one pairing between a NS and a US often is suf-
8-8 Factors That Influence ficient to establish the NS as a CS, more pairings of the NS
Respondent Conditioning and US produce stronger conditioning in general. Consider a
student in an experiment who receives a brief electric shock to
The strength of respondent conditioning depends on a variety
the arm (US) after a buzzer sounds (NS); the shock is painful
of factors (Pavlov, 1927), including the following:
but, as in any behavioral experiment, not strong enough to
• The nature of the NS and US harm the student. After one pairing, the buzzer probably will
• The temporal relationship between the NS and US function as a CS and elicit autonomic arousal (CR). However,
if the buzzer and the shock are paired a number of times, the
• Contingency between the NS and US
autonomic arousal will be stronger and extinction will take
• The number of pairings longer to occur; that is, when the US is not presented, the CS
• Previous exposure to the NS elicits the CR more times before the CR stops occurring. Even
though more pairings produce stronger conditioning, Rescorla
The Nature of the Neutral Stimulus and and Wagner (1972) demonstrated that the first pairing pro-
duces the strongest conditioning; the additional conditioning
Unconditioned Stimulus caused by each subsequent pairing steadily decreases. For exam-
The intensity of a stimulus influences the effectiveness of the ple, suppose that a big black crow screeches loudly as it flies by
stimulus as a CS or a US. In general, a more intense stimulus a young child. As a result, the child experiences a fear response
is more effective as a US (Polenchar et al., 1984). For example, each time they see a crow. The first pairing of the crow (NS)
a stronger puff of air in the eye is more effective than a weak and the screeching (US) establishes the crow as a CS that elicits
puff of air as a US for an eyeblink response. Likewise, a more the fear response (CR). If a crow screeches near the child again,
painful stimulus is more effective than a less painful stimulus as it may strengthen the child’s fear response, but the increase
a US for autonomic arousal. A more intense neutral stimulus will not be as great as the fear response produced by the first
also functions more effectively as a CS after conditioning; we screeching episode. Each additional screeching episode would
say that the more intense stimulus is more salient. increase the child’s fear by a progressively smaller amount until
the habituation occurred and the screeching sound produced
The Temporal Relationship between the less and less of the fear response.
Neutral Stimulus and Unconditioned
Stimulus Previous Exposure to the Neutral Stimulus
For conditioning to be most effective, the NS should precede A neutral stimulus is less likely to become a CS when paired
the US. Therefore, delay conditioning and trace conditioning with a US if the person has been exposed to that stimulus
are most effective. It is impossible to say what time interval numerous times in the past without the US. For example,
between the NS and the US is optimal; however, the interval 2-year-old Grace spends a lot of time around Knute, the family
should be short (e.g., less than 1 second). The exception is taste dog, and nothing bad ever happens. As a result of this expo-
aversion. The nausea and vomiting (UR) elicited by the tainted sure to Knute, it is unlikely that Knute will become a CS for a

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 Respondent Conditioning 119

For Further Reading

Respondent Conditioning and Conditioned Punishers
Respondent conditioning is the process of pairing a neutral stimulus (NS) with an unconditioned stimulus. Conditioned reinforcers
and conditioned punishers are established through a respondent conditioning process. An NS is paired with a reinforcer to produce a
conditioned reinforcer or an NS is paired with a punisher to produce a conditioned punisher. Research conducted in the 1960s demon-
strated a number of factors related to the development of conditioned punishers. For example, Evans (1962) showed that when a tone
was paired with shock, the tone functioned as a conditioned punisher for bar-pressing by laboratory rats. Evans showed that, when
the tone preceded the shock (trace conditioning), the tone was a more effective punisher than when the tone followed the shock
(backward conditioning). In another study, Hake and Azrin (1965) showed that when a clicking sound was paired with shock, the
clicking sound functioned as a conditioned punisher for key pecking by pigeons. Hake and Azrin further showed that when the clicking
sound was paired with a more intense shock, the clicking sound became a more effective conditioned punisher.

fear response from Grace if he accidentally knocks her down.

However, imagine that Grace’s friend Paula comes over and sees On Terms
Knute for the first time. If Knute accidentally knocks Paula
down, it is more likely that Knute will become a CS for a fear The Difference between Elicit and Evoke
response because Paula had no previous exposure to Knute. We say that respondent behavior is elicited by an antecedent
stimulus:
? In the example of Knute and Paula, identify the US, CS, UR, • a US elicits a UR as an unconditioned reflex
and CR.
• a CS elicits a CR because the CS was paired with a US
We say that operant behavior is evoked by an antecedent
Getting knocked down by Knute is a US that elicits a UR of
stimulus or event:
autonomic arousal (fear response) in Paula. Knute becomes the CS
because his presence was paired with the US. As a result, Knute • an SD evokes a behavior because the behavior had been
will elicit a fear response (CR) in Paula the next time she sees him. reinforced in its presence
• an EO evokes a behavior because it increases the value of
8-9 Distinguishing between the reinforcer produced by the behavior

Operant and Respondent

Conditioning reliably by a reinforcing consequence. That is, operant con-
From the preceding discussion, it should be clear that respon- ditioning involves a contingency between a response and a
dent conditioning and operant conditioning are distinct reinforcer in specific circumstances. The result of operant
processes, and that respondent and operant behaviors include conditioning is that the behavior is more likely to occur in
different types of responses (Michael, 1993a). A respondent the future in circumstances similar to those in which the
behavior is a UR or CR elicited by an antecedent stimulus. behavior was reinforced. To describe this, we say that the
Respondent behaviors are bodily responses to antecedent circumstances in which the behavior was reinforced develop
stimuli. Operant behavior is controlled by its consequences. stimulus control over the behavior or evoke the behavior.
Although it may be under the stimulus control of a discrimi- Respondent extinction occurs when the CS is no longer
native stimulus (SD), an operant response is not elicited by an paired with the US. As a result, the CS no longer elicits the CR.
antecedent stimulus. An operant response is emitted by the Extinction of an operant behavior occurs when the behavior no
individual in specific antecedent situations because it has been longer results in a reinforcing consequence and, as a result, the
reinforced in the same or similar situations. behavior stops occurring in the future.
Respondent conditioning occurs when an NS acquires Operant and respondent behaviors can occur together in
the power to elicit a CR because the NS has been paired the same situation. When the big black crow flies by the young
with a US. Respondent conditioning simply involves pairing child in the backyard and screeches loudly, both respondent
two stimuli: the NS and US. The outcome of respondent and operant behaviors are likely to occur. The screeching by
conditioning is the development of a CS from a previously the crow elicits autonomic arousal, and the child screams and
neutral stimulus. Operant conditioning occurs when a spe- runs to their father, who is sitting in the yard reading the paper
cific response in a particular stimulus situation is followed (Figure 8-3). Although autonomic arousal is a respondent

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120 Chapter 8

Figure 8–3
When the crow screeches near the child, two types of behavior occur. The fear response (autonomic arousal) is a respondent behavior
(an unconditioned reflex); running to his father is an operant response (reinforced by its consequences: escape from the crow and father’s
comforting).

behavior elicited by the crow, screaming and running to the

Respondent Conditioning
father are operant behaviors that result in comforting and
attention (positive reinforcement) and escape from the crow Process  US (crow screeches) UR (autonomic
and lessening of autonomic arousal (negative reinforcement). arousal)
Consider the example of Carla in the toy factory. The US is paired with the sight of the crow.
clicking sound from the machine before the blast of air is a
CS that elicits an eyeblink response (CR) because the click- Outcome  CS (the sight of CR (autonomic
ing sound was paired with the blast of air. This is respondent the crow) arousal)
conditioning. After a while, Carla learned to move her head Operant Conditioning
to the side as soon as she heard the clicking sound. By doing
Antecedent Behavior Consequence
so, she avoided the blast of air in the face. Moving her head to
the side is an operant behavior that is reinforced by its Crow swoops Child runs to Father provides comfort.
consequence (avoiding the blast of air). The clicking sound is and screeches. their father. Child escapes from crow.
an SD that develops stimulus control over (evokes) the behavior Outcome: Child is more likely to run to their father when they see a
of turning her head. The behavior is reinforced only when the crow in the backyard.
clicking sound occurs. At any other time, there is no blast of
air, and turning her head would not be reinforced.
Once Carla has learned to turn her head every time she
hears the clicking sound, respondent extinction occurs. She still
Respondent Behavior
hears the clicking sound, but the blast of air no longer hits her
in the face. As a result, she stops blinking (CR) when the click- CS (clicking sound) CR (eyeblink)
ing sound occurs (CS).
Operant Behavior

? Identify the operant behavior and the respondent behavior in SD (clicking sound)   R (turns head)    SR (avoids
    air in face)
the example of Julio and the dark tunnel.

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 Respondent Conditioning 121

The respondent behavior is the autonomic arousal elicited by termination of the aversive physiological responses of
by proximity to the tunnel. Proximity to the tunnel became autonomic arousal.
a CS because startling or frightening events (US) occurred
in the tunnel. The operant behavior is walking quickly or 8-10 Respondent Conditioning
running through the tunnel. This behavior is reinforced by
more rapid escape from the tunnel; this is negative reinforce- and Behavior Modification
ment. Once Julio is out of the tunnel, the autonomic arousal Most behavior modification procedures are designed to change
subsides. Therefore, the behavior is also negatively reinforced operant behaviors because operant behaviors make up the
majority of behaviors that people target for change. However,
some types of respondent behaviors are also troublesome to
Respondent Behavior
people and thus targeted for change. Most often, the types of
CS (sight of tunnel) CR (autonomic arousal, respondent behaviors that people want to change are CERs
fear response) that interfere with normal functioning.
Some people experience significant discomfort as a result
Operant Behavior
of anxiety (e.g., anxiety about public speaking or anxiety about
SD R SR events in their life). Sometimes, the autonomic arousal elicited
Tunnel opening Runs through the tunnel Escapes from by the feared stimulus is so severe that the person alters their
tunnel and life to avoid it; for example, a person with fear of heights may
escapes from refuse to drive over a particular bridge. Chapter 24 describes
autonomic behavior modification procedures to help people alter respon-
arousal
dent behaviors involving fear and anxiety.

Chapter Summary
1. In respondent conditioning, a previously neutral stimulus (NS) 3. Respondent extinction occurs when the CS is presented numer-
becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) when it is paired with ous times in the absence of the US. As a result, the CS no longer
an unconditioned stimulus (US). The CS elicits a conditioned elicits a CR.
response (CR) similar to the unconditioned response (UR) elicited
4. Factors that influence respondent conditioning include the inten-
by the US. Respondent conditioning is most effective when the
sity of the US or the NS, the temporal relationship between the
NS immediately precedes the US. Higher-order conditioning
NS and the US, the contingency between the NS and the US, the
can occur when a NS is paired with an already established CS.
number of pairings, and the person’s previous exposure to the NS.
Respondent behaviors involve bodily responses that have sur-
vival value. 5. Respondent conditioning occurs when a NS is paired with a US
and the NS becomes a CS that can elicit a CR. Operant condi-
2. One type of respondent behavior is a conditioned emotional
tioning occurs when a behavior is reinforced in the presence of
response (CER). CERs may be negative (such as feelings we label
an SD and the behavior is then more likely to occur in the future
as fear and anxiety) or positive (such as feelings we label as
when the SD is present.
happiness or love).

Key Terms
backward conditioning, 115 higher-order conditioning, 115 salient, 118
conditioned emotional responses (CERs), 115 operant behaviors, 112 simultaneous conditioning, 114
conditioned response (CR), 114 operant conditioning, 112 spontaneous recovery (respondent), 117
conditioned stimulus (CS), 114 respondent behaviors, 112 trace conditioning, 114
delay conditioning, 114 respondent conditioning, 112 unconditioned responses (URs), 113
habituation, 113 respondent extinction, 117 unconditioned stimulus (US), 113

Copyright 2024 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.