CONDITIONING

Pavlov>Watson>Skinner

Classical Conditioning and Ivan Pavlov

Russian physiologist who initially was studying digestion Used dogs to study salivation when dogs were presented with meat

powder Also known as Pavlovian or

Respondent Conditioning

Ivan Pavlov

(1849–1936)

Ivan Pavlov While an accidental discovery, he had the

foresight to see the importance of it. Pavlov’s dogs, restrained in an experimental chamber, were presented with meat powder and they had their saliva collected via a surgically implanted tube in their saliva glands. Over time, he noticed that his dogs begin salivation before the meat powder was even presented, whether it was by the presence of the handler or merely by a clicking noise produced by the device that distributed the meat powder.

Ivan Pavlov Fascinated by this finding, Pavlov paired

the meat powder with various stimuli such as the ringing of a bell. After the meat powder and bell (auditory stimulus) were presented together several times, the bell was used alone. Pavlov’s dogs, as predicted, responded by salivating to the sound of the bell (without the food). The bell began as a neutral stimulus (i.e. the bell itself did not produce the dogs’ salivation). However, by pairing the bell with the stimulus that did produce the salivation response, the bell was able to acquire the ability to trigger the salivation response.

Ivan Pavlov In technical terms, the meat powder

is considered an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and the dog’s salivation is the unconditioned response (UCR). The bell is a neutral stimulus until the dog learns to associate the bell with food. Then the bell becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) which produces the conditioned response (CR) of salivation after repeated pairings between the bell and food.

Ivan Pavlov

Example Problems for CC

When you were still together, you and your ex used to love the same hit song. Now when you hear that song, you feel sad.

Example Problems for CC (2)

A fourth grade teacher who was very strict and scary used to wear a strong, rose-scented perfume. The smell of roses now makes you very nervous.

Example Problems for CC (3)

One night you bought a meal deal at McDonald’s, you arrived home to find a burger, fries, colas, and three roaches in the bag. Now, even the sight of the McDonald’s logo makes you sick to your stomach.

Skinner

One of his best known inventions is the Skinner box (operant

conditioning chamber). It contains one or more levers which an animal can press, one or more stimulus lights and one or more places in which reinforcers like food can be delivered.

B. F. Skinner

Founder of Operant Conditioning

Invented “Skinner Box”

Won “Sexiest Man Alive” award in 1939

Skinner In one of Skinners’ experiments a

starved rat was introduced into the box. When the lever was pressed by the rat a small pellet of food was dropped onto a tray. The rat soon learned that when he pressed the lever he would receive some food. In this experiment the lever pressing behavior is reinforced by food.

Skinner In this experiment Skinner

demonstrated the ideas of "operant conditioning" and "shaping behavior." Unlike Pavlov's "classical conditioning," where an existing behavior (salivating for food) is shaped by associating it with a new stimulus (ringing of a bell or a metronome), operant conditioning is the rewarding of an act that approaches a new desired behavior.

John B. Watson Believed that

Psychology should be redefined as “the scientific study of behavior”

Founded Behaviorism in 1913

Behaviorism was the dominant school of Psychology for more than 50 years

“Little Albert” Experiment

LITTLE ALBERT EXPERIMENT

It is widely known that human beings are born with only two natural fears. One is the fear of falling and the second is the fear of loud noises. Where, then, do all of our other fears come from?

LITTLE ALBERT EXPERIMENT

In 1920, John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner performed a conditioning experiment on an infant by the name of Albert B. He was given a white rat and his reaction was noted to be playful. He had no fear of the white rat and was even comfortable picking the rodent up while playing with it.

LITTLE ALBERT EXPERIMENT The next time the rat was given to

Albert, he did exactly the same thing. This time, the psychologists made a loud noise using a metal pipe and a hammer. The noise was so sudden and loud that it made little Albert cry. They did the same thing multiple times. Finally, when they gave Albert the rat without the noise, the child would cry at the mere sight of the animal.

LITTLE ALBERT EXPERIMENT Next, they introduced a white rabbit

and as soon as Albert saw the animal, he began to cry. They gave him a Santa Claus mask which also made him cry. Little Albert was conditioned to cry at the sight of the white rat, but in the process, he made the connection to anything that was white and furry would lead to a loud noise.

What Ever Happened to Little Albert?

The question of what happened to Little Albert has long been one of psychology's mysteries. Watson and Raynor were unable to attempt to eliminate the boy's conditioned fear because he moved with his mother shortly after the experiment ended. Some envisioned the boy growing into a man with a strange phobia of white, furry objects.

What Ever Happened to Little Albert?

Recently, however, the true identity and fate of the boy known as Little Albert was discovered. As reported in American Psychologist, a seven-year search led by psychologist Hall P. Beck led to the discovery. After tracking down the location of the original experiments and the real identity of the boy's mother, it was discovered that Little Albert was actually a boy named Douglas Merritte.

What Ever Happened to Little Albert?

The story does not have a happy ending, however. Douglas died at the age of six on May 10, 1925 of hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid in his brain. "Our search of seven years was longer than the little boy’s life," Beck wrote of the discovery.