Classical Conditioning

And here you were thinking that you like FCUK because they make quality clothing!

Classical Conditioning

A simple form of learning, which occurs through repeated association of two (or more) different stimuli

Learning is said to have occurred when a particular stimulus consistently produces a response that it did not previously elicit

Learn to associate two events, stimuli, eventually, one stands for the other in our minds.

Classical Conditioning

How does your dog know its time for a walk? Why do certain songs have meaning to

different people? Why do people have phobias? Why cant I ever, ever, ever eat that again?

Why do we buy ‘brand name’ products?

ALL of these things are learned through classical conditioning!

Advertisers are conditioning you to buy their product!

Ivan Pavlov and his dogs

The discovery of CC was an accident

Wanted to study digestion and the role of saliva

Rerouted saliva ducts to a test tube so measurements could be taken

Research ran into trouble when the dogs began to fill their cheek tubes before the food was presented

The dogs were learning to anticipate food at the sight of the lab tech guy

Ivan Pavlov and his dogs

Ivan Pavlov and his dogs

The Main Elements of Classical Conditioning

The Neutral Stimulus (NS) - the name given to the conditioned stimulus before it becomes conditioned. In Pavlov's experiment NS = Bell or Lab technician etc…

The Condoned Stimulus (CS) - the stimulus which is neutral at the start of conditioning. It wouldn't normally produce the Unconditioned response (UCR), but does so eventually because of its association with the Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS). CS = Bell or Lab technician etc…

  The Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) - Any stimulus that consistently

produces a particular response. In Pavlov's Exp. UCS = food.

The Unconditioned Response (UCR) - A response which occurs automatically when the Unconditioned Stimulus is presented. In Pavlov's experiment. UCR = Salivation.

The Continued Response (CR) - the behaviours which is identical to the UCR but is caused by the CS after conditioning. In Pavlov's expt. CR = Salivation in response to the Bell (CS).

Have a go….

EXAMPLES

Jims dog gets excited when it sees him pick up the lead to go for a walk

When Guppy went to her friends party she had a great time. At the party the wiggles hit ‘big red car’ was played a number of times. Now when Guppy hears this song she gets a good feeling.

KEY ELEMENTS

UCS UCR

NS CS CR

Classical Conditioning answers

UCS – Walking UCR – Excitement

NS – Lead CS – Lead CR – Excitement

The dog has learned to associate the dog lead with being taken for a walk

UCS – Party / Good times with friends

UCR – Positive mood

NS – Big red car Song CS – Big red car Song CR – Positive mood /good

feeling

We learn to associate the song with the good times we had

Have a go…. Coke

EXAMPLE

Coke Christmas advertising….

What is coke being paired with?

What do they want us to feel about coke?

KEY ELEMENTS

UCS UCR

NS CS CR

UCS – Christmas time UCR – Feeling good, warm cosy, fun, love

NS – Coke CS – Coke CR – Feeling good, warm, cozy, fun, love

We learn to associate coke with christmas. Coke becomes comes meaningful and we are more likely to purchase it over other drinks

Have a go…. Nike

EXAMPLE

Nike advertising

What is Nike being paired with?

What do they want us to feel about Nike?

KEY ELEMENTS

UCS UCR

NS CS CR

UCS –Images of attractive, fit, cool, famous, successful, tough people

UCR – Desire to achieve status of modes

NS – Nike CS – Nike CR – Desire to achieve status of models /purchase

Nike

We learn to associate Nike with being fit, cool, fun, high status, successful thus we are more likely to purchase Nike over Big W brand because we do not associate Big W with any of these ideas

UCS – rebellion, alternative, cool, counter culture

UCR – feeling unique and hip

NS – FCUK CS – FCUK CR – FCUK making us feel unique and hip

We learn to associate FCUK with the image of rebellious cool, we are thus more likely to purchase FCUK over Target clothing.

Why buy brand names?

Because we are conditioned to see tangible value that is not there!

Physically the products are often made from the same materials, sometimes even in the same factory (footwear and clothing especially)

The value we perceive is emotional! Advertising adds emotional value to

a product

Why buy brand names?

Coles-Myer executive quoted in response to an official enquiry – “non-branded footwear often incorporates the same or similar methods of construction, technology and components/materials. Moreover it is often sourced from the same factory as branded footwear. The commercial reality is that without a brand the consumer perceives no value that warrants a premium price.”

Advertising is Classical Conditioning

Advertising executive – “If you think about what Pavlov did, he actually took a neutral object and, by associating it with a meaningful object, made it a symbol of something else, he imbued it with imagery, he gave it added value, and isn’t that what we try and do in modern advertising”

On average people in western countries are exposed to 3000 advertising messages a day

Classical Conditioning hard wires your brain – fMRI research

When subjects drank un branded cola only the taste sensing parts of the brain become active

When subjects could see coke labelling the hippocampus (memory) and parts of the frontal lobe (emotions etc) also became active

Recognition and positive reaction to Coke has been hard wired into the brain

Which will you buy?

You are what you buy?

Nearly half of the worlds 8 – 12 year olds say that the clothes and brands they wear describe who they are!

Advertising to children aims to create hard wired ‘brand loyalty’

If they get you young enough they can ensure that your brain becomes wired to prefer their product

You then continue to purchase their product out of habit

Things to do

Chapter summaries Learning activities 10.2, 10.3 Handouts

Elements of Classical Conditioning

Extinction

When the UCS is no longer presented along with the CS

Eventually the CS becomes meaningless

CR stops

Spontaneous Recovery

Extinction has occurred

A rest period take place

When CS reintroduced the CR again appears

CR is weaker than when first conditioned

Stimulus Generalisation

The organism will respond by producing a CR to stimuli that are similar to the CS

Eg. Dogs in Pavlovs experiment would salivate to a bell, a chime, an alarm clock etc.

Eg. A child who was bitten by a dog now fears all dogs not just pit bull terriers

Stimulus Discrimination

The organism only responds to the CS and no other similar stimuli

Eg. Your dog gets excited when you put your Nike runners on, not any other white shoes

Eg. Consumers only by coke, not any cola in red and white packaging

EG. You only buy billabong, not the rip off surfalong brand

Things to do

Chapter summaries Learning activities 10.4, 10.5

Classical Conditioning Applications

Ethical? Not really….

Watsons’ Little Albert Experiment

Can fears be learned? Yep!

Watsons’ Little Albert Experiment

UCS – Loud noise (banging steel bar) UCR – Fear

NS – White Rat CS – White Rat CR – Fear

Through repeated association (paring) of the loud noise and the white rat, little Albert learns to fear the white rat.

The Rat becomes a signifier for the fear producing loud noise

Watsons’ Little Albert Experiment – Ethics Nightmare

Watsons research would never be allowed today

Beneficence – benefits outweigh the risks?

Informed Consent – alberts mum didn’t know

Debriefing – never happened

Phobias – fears learned through CC Intense, irrational and persistent fears of specific

objects of situations Phobias are complex instances of conditioned

emotional responses (CC)

UCS – 911 attack on world trade center UCR – fear

NS – low flying planes CS – low flying planes CR – Fear / anxiety to low flying planes

The trauma of witnessing the 911 attack has become associated with low flying planes now this alone causes fear

The role of the amygdala

Research shows that damage to the amygdala impairs both the acquisition and expression of a conditioned fear response

Amygdala involved in regulation of the fear response

Amygdala involved in learning the emotional significance of an event / memory

Can effect the consolidation of memory – stimulation better recall, retardation poorer recall

Treating Phobias and FearsGRADUATED EXPOSURE Attempts to replace

fear response with relaxation

patient taught relaxation techniques

gradually introduced to fear inducing stimulus while practicing relaxation.

FLOODING

Treating Phobias and Fears

FLOODING

Expose the patient to their fear straight away

They will panic at first

Soon realise that nothing bad has happened

Aversion Therapy

Aversion is a complete dislike for something. Aversion therapy is a form of behaviour therapy that applies classical conditioning principles to reduce or stop unwanted behaviour by associating it with unpleasant stimulus.

Sometimes used to treat alcohol abuse or smoking

UCS – Drug UCR – Nausea NS – Alcohol CS – Alcohol CR – nausea

The alcoholic learns to associate alcohol with the drug induced nausea experience

A Clockwork Orange

Alex is a violent criminal who undergoes aversion therapy as part of his sentence for murder

UCS – Drug UCR – Nausea NS – Violence CS – Violence CR – Nausea

Alex learns to associate violence with the drug induced nausea thus making him aversive to violence

Chapter summaries Learning activities 10.7, 10.8, 10.9 Handouts

One Trial Learning – Taste aversions

Never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever again!

One trial Learning - Taste Aversions

Same mechanism as CC Takes only one pairing Resistant to extinction Not often generalised Most common examples are

aversions to foods

Garcias research – taste is important

Ucs – electric shock, xray Ucr – pain ,sickness Ns – saccharine flavour water, light, clicking Cs – saccharine flavour water , light, clicking Cr – not drinking saccharine flavoured water

When later given the chance to drink rats that were shocked only avoided the water when it was paired with the light and noise – they happily drank the sachharine flavour if no lights or noises present

Rats that were xrayed avoided saccharine flavour at all costs – they happily drank plain water with a light and noise

This reminds us that taste and illness are key components in one trial learning – taste aversions