CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

AND EDUCATION
Levy P. Coronel
 INTRODUCTION
In this lesson, we 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.
 Learning Outcomes:

1 2 3 4
Describe how Pavlov’s Review the concept of Explain the roles that Share some
early work in classical classical conditioning, extinction, and classroom/educational
conditioning including unconditioned generalization, play in implications of Pavlov’s
stimulus (US), conditioned
influenced the stimulus (CS), conditioned learning. classical conditioning
understanding of unconditioned response theory.
learning. (UR), and conditioned
response (CR).
Activity: Watch a short video related to classical conditioning and share reactions
/thought about it.
 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.
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.
2. The Persistence and Extinction of
Conditioning
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.

, 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.
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.
 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
Plays the alphabet song
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.
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-
classroom15195207?from_action=save#)