BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGY: CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Classical Conditioning: Learning Through Association

Think of a dog salivating at the ringing of a bell, where food is nowhere in view. This bizarre yet intriguing behavior was accidentally uncovered in the late 19th century by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, who happened upon an incidental finding that would change forever the way humans viewed learning and behavior. Known as classical conditioning, this is one of the building blocks of behavioral psychology and forms one of the explanations for how we learn through association.

We will look in depth in this blog at classical conditioning: at Pavlov's pioneering experiments, how the process works, some examples you might find happening in real life, and why the concept remains relevant both to modern psychology and beyond.

What is Classical Conditioning?

Basically, classical conditioning can be considered a learning approach or the process wherein two stimuli are brought together many times so that eventually an association between them is achieved. Originally, a neutral stimulus will eventually elicit a response after some time when associated with another one. The principle, basically, is learning through association.

For instance, when a dog gets fed each time it hears the ringing of the bell, it then relates the ringing sound of the bell with food. In no time, the dog begins to salivate upon hearing the ringing sound of the bell even when no food is in view.

Pavlov's Groundbreaking Experiment

Ivan Pavlov's classical conditioning research started off quite incidentally. As he was studying the digestive processes in dogs, Pavlov observed something surprising: it wasn't just the taste of food that prompted salivation but also the sight of the lab assistants who usually fed them. Such an observation out of curiosity Pavlov then constructed his well-known experiment.

Before conditioning

In this first stage, Pavlov noted two things:

The unconditioned stimulus (UCS): food that naturally brought the dogs to a salivated state.

The unconditioned response (UCR): The salivation. It was the natural, occurring response as because of the presentation of the food.

While the bell sound itself did not affect the dogs. It was the neutral stimulus, NS.

During Conditioning

Pavlov started pairing the ringing of the bell, which is a neutral stimulus, with the presenting of food, an unconditioned stimulus. Every time the dogs received food; the bell rang. In repeated trials, the dogs then began to associate the ringing of the bell with food being brought to them.

After Conditioning

Finally, the ringing of the bell alone could provoke salivation in the dogs. At this stage:

The bell became the Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Salivation presented to the bell became the Conditioned Response.

This simple and deep experiment showed how learning through association works and laid the foundation for further research in behavioral psychology.

Key Principles of Classical Conditioning

Pavlov's work outlined a few important principles which explain many nuances in the process of classical conditioning. These are as follows:

Acquisition

This is the learning of the relationship between the neutral stimulus-the bell in this instance-and the unconditioned stimulus-the food for example.  The repeated association initiates the conditioning and consolidates it to a level where a conditioned response is realized.

Extinction

If the conditioned stimulus, for example, a bell, is continually presented without the unconditioned stimulus-for instance, food-the conditioned response, like salivation, will slowly reach a state of weakening and disappearance. The process whereby this occurs is called extinction.

Spontaneous Recovery

Even after extinction, the conditioned response may re-emerge after a while if the conditioned stimulus is presented again. This is called spontaneous recovery.

Generalization

Sometimes, other stimuli in some way similar to the conditioned stimulus may become capable of eliciting the conditioned response as well. For instance, a dog who has learned to salivate upon the sound of a bell might also salivate on hearing similar tones.

Discrimination

The discrimination occurs when the subject learns to distinguish between the CS and any other similar stimuli, thus responding only to the particular CS.

Real-Life Applications of Classical Conditioning

It is not confined to dogs and bells, but rather to many other things that have to do with human behavior. Here are some important examples:

Affective Responses

Has the very same song ever played and instantly transported you back into a tide of memories and feelings? This happens via classical conditioning! The song becomes the conditioned stimulus associated with the unconditioned stimulus of an emotional experience.

Most of our fears and phobias result from classical conditioning. For instance, if a dog once bites a child, she might begin to develop a fear about dogs because they have been associated with one another. 

Advertising

In practice, marketers apply classical conditioning to make their commodities look more attractive: for example, associating a product (neutral stimulus) with positive imagery or music (unconditioned stimulus) elicits a feeling that can prompt one to buy the product.

Therapy

Principles of classical conditioning do find their application in therapeutic procedures. For instance, under exposure therapy for phobias, the conditioned stimulus-a spider-is gradually exposed to the patient in a controlled environment to break the association of fear.

Aversion therapy associates an undesired behavior-for example, smoking-with an unpleasant stimulus, such as a foul taste, to discourage the behavior.

Habit Formation

Many of our daily habits, from checking our phones when we hear a notification sound to salivating when we smell a favorite food, have their basis in classical conditioning. The notification (conditioned stimulus) comes to be associated with the reward of reading a message (unconditioned stimulus).

Classical Conditioning in Contemporary Psychology

Although Pavlov's work was over a hundred years ago, classical conditioning is an important concept in psychology to this day, at the root of applications in the following areas of study:

Behavioral Therapy: Various techniques, such as systematic desensitization, heavily rely on principles related to classical conditioning.

Educational Psychology: Teachers use rewards and association to create positive learning environments.

Neuroscience: Modern brain imaging has uncovered information about the neural processes involved in classical conditioning.

Criticisms and Limitations

Although classical conditioning has been revolutionary, it is by no means devoid of limitations. Critics assert that it has over-simplified learning as if it were to depend almost exclusively on external stimuli and observable behaviors while averting internal cognitive processes such as thoughts and emotions. Not all behaviors can be accounted for based on classical conditioning; most behaviors are linked with operant conditioning or social learning.

Conclusion: The Legacy of Pavlov's Discovery

Classically conditioned ideas open a small window into the very articulate and complicated ways our brains learn and adapt through association. Pavlov's simple experiment with dogs expressed profound truths about behavior, extending far beyond the lab to shape fields from therapy to marketing, and normal interactions.

By grasping how classical conditioning works, we derive a sense of understanding as to why we act the way we do and the ways in which we can use that knowledge to our benefit. So, the next time you hear that tune from your childhood or get nostalgic with the smell of some perfume, remember-you're experiencing the enduring legacy of classical conditioning.

Association learning is not restricted to the laboratory; rather, it occurs all around us in daily life, which makes this aspect of behavioral psychology truly interesting.