1. What is Learning?
How would you define learning?
Technical definition: A relatively permanent
change in behavior or knowledge that
comes as a result of practice or experience.

2. Four Types We Will Study
• Classical Conditioning
• Operant Conditioning
• Social Learning
• Cognitive Learning

3. Classical Conditioning
• What is it?
• Pairing a new stimulus with a natural stimulus
to elicit a response.
• Making unavoidable physical associations
– Sweating, drooling, feeling fear, nausea

4. Huh?
Examples
• Feeling anticipation every time the WHS bell
rings.
• Feeling nauseous every time you go into your
Math classroom
• Your goldfish swimming to the top of
the bowl every time he sees you

5. All these things do not naturally happen- they
are the result of Classical Conditioning!
Let’s take a look at our Vocabulary Sheet

6. Can we Classically Condition Our
Pupils?
• What naturally makes our pupils dilate?
• What neutral stimulus can we introduce?

7. Ivan Pavlov and Classical Conditioning
• Russian Physiologist
• Specialized in digestion
• Experimented with
dogs to see connection
between salivation &
digestion
• “Discovered” classical
conditioning through
his work with dogs

8. Pavlov’s Experiment
1. Pavlov gave his dog food = dog drooled
Unconditioned Unconditioned
Stimulus Response
It’s natural, the drooling makes sense
2. Rings bell + gives food = dog drools
Neutral Unconditioned Unconditioned
Stimulus Stimulus Response
The bell doesn’t mean anything, it’s just a sound
But he keeps ringing the bell and giving the food and
eventually . . .
3. Pavlov rings bell = dog drools
Conditioned Conditioned
Stimulus Response

9. Classical Conditioning Formula
1. Unconditioned Stimulus = Unconditioned Response
2. Neutral Stimulus + Unconditioned Stimulus =
Unconditioned Response
3. Conditioned Stimulus = Conditioned Response

10. Can also use abbreviations
US =UR
NS + US = UR
CS=CR

11. I Need a volunteer:
Turn our experiment with our eyes and the
buzzer into the Classical Conditioning
formula.

12. The Office

15. Little Johnny
Whenever Johnny gets yelled at he becomes
anxious and feels nauseous. Mr. Jones is
Johnny’s first grade teacher. He loves to yell at
students. Now, whenever Johnny sees Mr. Jones
or even hears his mother mention Mr. Jones’
name he feels anxious and nauseous.

16. What’s Going On Here?
1. Getting yelled at = anxiety, nausea
Unconditioned Unconditioned
Stimulus Response
2. Mr. Jones + yelling = anxiety, nausea
Neutral Unconditioned Unconditioned
Stimulus Stimulus Response
3. Mr. Jones = anxiety, nausea
Conditioned Conditioned
Stimulus Response

17. Classical Conditioning “Rules”
• NS must come BEFORE the UCS
• NS and UCS must occur close in time- 5 second
rule
• It takes several pairings of NS & UCS
• NS/CS must stand out

18. John Watson and Little Albert
• Generalization- the
conditioned response
spreads to other similar
stimuli
• White rat to white
bunny, fur coat, fizzy
mask, white beard.

19. Mary Cover Jones- Counter
Conditioning
• Get rid of fears by
making a new
association
• Associate dogs not with
getting bit but with
something pleasant
• Make a new
conditioning pattern

20. Taste Aversion/Garcia Effect
• Become conditioned to
avoid/dislike foods that
have made us sick
• Usually only takes 1
pairing
• Can generalize to similar
looking foods
• Biological preparedness

21. Why Does Classical Conditioning
Work?
• Pavlov • Rescorla
• Stimulus substitution • Cognitive Perspective
• Because it occurs close • It’s more than time
in time, the brain is • NS/CS has to provide
tricked and the same info about what is
places are activated about to happen
• It’s all about time • It’s all about our
association expectations