Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Conditioning
The Theory of Classical Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov is credited with developing the theory of classic conditioning. His experiments using dogs helped to describe the phenomenon of behavior and presented practical applications for its use. Conditioning is a training regimen of sorts that allows the brain to process information and make new associations due to different stimulus and the environment. This is important due to the fact of predicting behavior being useful for determining outcomes for problems in society in general. The purpose of this essay is to highlight certain aspects of the theory of classical conditioning and create a practical example of how it might be used in a practical sense.
Understanding Stimuli
In order to understand Pavlov's theory, it is necessary to define certain terms. While Pavlov is concerned mainly with the digestive processes in human physiology, behaviorism arose out of his curiosity. Studying the different reflexes of dogs in reaction to unconditioned stimuli helped Pavlov develop this theory. In his studies he described behaviors as reflexes that may either be instinctive and unlearned or conditioned and preplanned. The distinction between these two states is the essence...
Pavlov introduced this idea in his term of unconditioned stimuli and gave it meaning relative to the animal causing a conditioned response after an eventuality of circumstances. Exposure and repeated exposure to unconditioned stimuli will often produce a conditioned response according to Pavlov.
Pavlov's theory, while simple in its form, does not have a great practical use in general. Other psychological studies have introduced other factors in behaviorism. The use of animals, in this case Pavlov's dogs as interchangeable between the human mind and its predicted behaviors, does not give much credit to the human mindset. Dogs are animals and important within society, but cross examining behavioral responses between animals and humans should be carried out with care and special understanding.
Although the appearance of classical conditioning is evident everywhere in society, the theory is yet unproven. Its simple form allows for understanding at many different levels of knowledge, but it excludes the individual interpretation of the relative circumstances that even if the emotion and most likely the emotion will create a behavior. Fear appears to be the greatest contributor to the illusion of classical conditioning…
Bibliography
Ivan Pavlov. Biography of Ivan Pavlov. IVANPAVLOV.com . Retrieved from http://www.ivanpavlov.com/
Pavlov, I. (1927). "Conditioned reflexes; an investigation of the physiological activity of the cerebral cortex." Classics in the History of Psychology. Retrieved from http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Pavlov/
Nobelprize.org. "Pavlov's Dog." 22 Jul 2011 Retrieved from http://nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/pavlov/
Since phobia can be developed through classical conditioning, many experts reason that the same conditioning techniques would be useful in helping people get over their phobia. Phobics usually manage their fears by avoiding the objects that make them fearful. However, many psychologists maintain that avoidance merely magnifies the phobia. The task is therefore to expose the person to the feared object, to condition them to respond to the object in an
Conditioning Classical and operant conditioning are types of behavioral learning. Subsets of behavioral psychology, classical and operant conditioning show how a subject (animal or human) can exhibit relatively permanent changes in behavior due to certain types of experiences. According to Cryver (2000), learning is a "fundamental process" in all animals. Classical conditioning is also known as "learning by association." Association in this sense refers to the association of a behavior with a
The dogs had learned to associate the bell tone with food. The results of Pavlov's experiment indicate that responses to certain stimuli are learned, and that we make connections which can cause responses from a naturally occurring stimulus to be elicited by a neutral stimulus. In the above example, the food is the unconditioned stimulus, and the unconditioned response is salivating to the food, because food naturally results in
classical conditioning by Pavlov and its current use in treating anxiety The paper focuses on the development of classical conditioning being used, as suggested by Pavlov, in treating anxiety through using fear-induced techniques. The paper talks about the past experiments that were done on animals and human, those who were suffering from anxiety and those who weren't, and highlights how anxiety is treated through fear induced conditioning. Combination of neutral stimulus
This idea of guidance is important; children need the framework and support to expand their ZPD. Since the ZPD defines the skills and abilities that children are in the process of developing, there is also a range of development that we might call a "stretch goal"(Mooney). For Vygotsky, supplying the child with a combination of theoretical and empirical learning methods is a more robust way to ensure cognition. This leads
It focuses on internal thoughts, expectations, and feeback loops. We develop our own unique "style" of learning through practice, but also a predisposition toward, reading it aloud; playing wih toys and manipultors. This combines with styles like aural, visual, and kinesthetic to form a basis for individual learning theory. Summary 4 -- Observational Theory -- Learning through imitation - It is very easy to see how observational learning is important