Classical conditioning: definition and experiments
The Classical conditioning (or Pavlovian conditioning) is one of the introductory topics studied in the psychology career, and it is one of the basic principles of learning.
Therefore, surely all psychologists and teachers are aware of its importance in associative learning or in the formation of pathologies such asphobias. Few people do not know Ivan Pavlov and his experiments with dogs. For those of you who don't know him yet, below we explain his theory in detail.
Classical Conditioning, Explained
One of the most important features of this type of learning is that it involves automatic or reflex responses, not voluntary behaviors (Unlike Operant conditioning or instrumental). The creation of a connection between a new stimulus and an existing reflex was called "classical conditioning", therefore, is a type of learning according to which an originally neutral stimulus, which does not elicit a response, comes to be able to provoke it thanks to the associative connection of this stimulus with the stimulus that normally provokes said response.
Classical Conditioning laid the foundations for behaviorism, one of the most important schools of psychology, and was born as a result of Pavlov studies, a Russian psychologist who was interested in the physiology of digestion, especially salivation reflexes in dogs.
Pavlov's Famous Dog Experiment: The Conditioned Reflex
Pavlov's investigations are one of the foundations of the behavioral sciences. In his initial investigations, Pavlov had observed that After putting food in the mouth of the dog he was investigating, it began to secrete saliva from certain glands. Pavlov called this phenomenon the "salivation reflex."
By repeatedly running the experiment, he observed that his (Pavlov's own) presence caused the dog to start secreting saliva without having food present, for he had learned that when Pavlov showed up at the lab, he was going to get food. So, in order to know if he was right, he put a separator between the dog and the food, in this way the dog could not visualize it. The researcher introduced the food through a hatch and recorded the salivation of the animal.
Later, Pavlov began to apply different stimuli (auditory and visual) that were then neutral, just before serving the dog food. Their results indicated that, after several applications, the animal associated the stimuli (now conditioned stimuli) with food. Pavlov called the salivation that occurred after this association "conditioned reflex".
Below you can watch this video that explains Pavlov's experiments.
Classical Conditioning theory: general concepts
Classical Conditioning is also called stimulus-response model or learning by associations (E-R). The results of his research earned Pavlov the Nobel Prize in 1904.
In the process, he designed the Classical Conditioning scheme from his observations:
The Unconditioned Stimulus (EI) It is a stimulus that automatically provokes a response from the body.
The Unconditioned Response (IR) It is the response that occurs in the body automatically when an unconditioned stimulus is present. For Pavlov it would be the amount of saliva that the dog secreted when food was presented.
The Neutral stimulus (EN) it is a stimulus that when present in the environment does not provoke any type of response in the organism.
When a neutral stimulus has been temporarily associated with an unconditioned stimulus, the latter becomes Conditioned Stimulus (EC), since it is capable by itself of provoking a response similar to that provoked by the unconditioned stimulus.
The Conditioned Response (CR) It is the response that appears when only the conditioned stimulus is presented. For Pavlov it would be the amount of saliva that the dogs secreted when only the auditory or visual stimulus was presented to them.
Usually RC is weaker than IR and has higher latency, that is, it takes longer to occur once the stimulus is present.
Watson's contributions to behaviorism
Fascinated by Pavlov's discoveries, John watson he proposed that the classical Conditioning process could also explain learning in humans. As a classical behaviorist, he thought that emotions were also learned through conditioned association, and in fact, he thought that the differences in behavior between humans were caused by the different experiences that each one lived.
Little Albert's Experiment (John Watson)
To do this, he carried out "the experiment with little Albert", an 11-month-old baby, together with his collaborator Rosalie Rayner, at Johns Hopkins University (United States), since I wanted to find out if it is possible to condition an animal when it is associated with a loud noise (hammer blow on a metal table) that provokes a fear response.
The association of the blow of a hammer on the metal table (EI) and the presence of a white rat (CE) that was previously a neutral stimulus, ended up provoking an emotional response of fear (CR) at the mere presence of the rat, thus demonstrating that fear could be learned by classical conditioning. This is the most common mechanism for acquiring phobias. It goes without saying that this experiment could not be carried out today, since it goes beyond the limits of scientific ethics.
You can discover more about the little Albert experiment by entering this post:
- "The 10 Most Disturbing Psychological Experiments Ever"
In 1913, Watson published an article called Psychology as the behaviorist views it, Y he proposed to analyze psychology from the analysis of observable behavior rather than from the analysis of consciousness, current perspective until then. To this end, he proposed the elimination of introspection as a valid method for psychology, replacing it with objective observation and experimentation.
