Classical conditioning and its most important experiments
The Classical conditioning (or Pavlovian conditioning) is one of the introductory topics that are studied in the career of psychology, and is one of the basic principles of learning.
Therefore, surely all psychologists and teachers have knowledge about their importance in associative learning or in the formation of pathologies such as phobias There are few who do not know Ivan Pavlov and his experiments with dogs. For those who still do not know it, we explain their theory in detail below.
The classic conditioning, explained
One of the most important characteristics of this type of learning is that it involves automatic or reflex responses, not voluntary behaviors (Unlike Operant conditioning or instrumental). It was called "classical conditioning" to create a connection between a new stimulus and an existing reflex, 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 this response.
Classical Conditioning laid the foundations of behaviorism , one of the most important schools of psychology, and born as a result of studies Pavlov, a Russian psychologist who was interested in the physiology of digestion, especially in the salivary reflexes in dogs.
The famous experiment of Pavlov's dogs: The conditioned reflex
Pavlov's research is one of the foundations of behavioral science. In his initial investigations, Pavlov had observed that After putting food in the mouth of the dog that was investigating, it began to secrete saliva from certain glands . Pavlov called this phenomenon "salivation reflex".
When performing the experiment repeatedly, he observed that his presence (Pavlov's own) caused the dog to begin to secrete saliva without having the food present, for he had learned that when Pavlov came to the laboratory, he would receive food . Then, in order to know if he was right, he put a separator between the dog and the food, so the dog could not visualize it. The researcher introduced the feed through a gate 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 stimuli (now conditioned stimuli) with food. Pavlov called "conditioned reflex" the salivation that occurred after this association.
Below you can see this video that explains Pavlov's experiments.
The theory of classic conditioning: 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 classic Conditioning scheme based on his observations:
- The Unconditioned Stimulus (EI) it is a stimulus that automatically provokes a response from the organism.
- The Unconditioned Response (RI) it is the response that occurs in the organism automatically when an unconditioned stimulus is present. For Pavlov it would be the amount of saliva that the dog secreted when the food was presented to him.
- The Neutral stimulus (EN) it is a stimulus that when it is 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, it becomes Conditional Stimulus (EC) , since it is able by itself to provoke a response similar to the one that caused the unconditioned stimulus.
- The Conditional Response (RC) it is the response that appears when only the conditioned stimulus occurs. For Pavlov it would be the amount of saliva secreted by dogs when they were presented with only the auditory or visual stimulus.
- Usually the RC is weaker than the IR and has a 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 process of classical conditioning could also explain learning in humans. As a classic 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.
The Little Albert Experiment (by John Watson)
For 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). I was trying to find out if it is possible to condition an animal when it is associated with a loud noise (hammer blow on a metal board) 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 (EC) that was previously a neutral stimulus, ended up provoking an emotional response of fear (CR) before the mere presence of the rat , thus demonstrating that fear could be learned through classical conditioning. This is the most common mechanism for phobia acquisition. Needless to say, this experiment could not be carried out today, since it goes beyond the limits of scientific ethics.
You can discover more about the experiment of little Albert entering this post:
"The 10 most disturbing psychological experiments in history"In 1913, Watson published an article called Psychology as the behaviorist views it, Y proposed to analyze psychology from the analysis of observable behavior instead of 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.
