Classical Conditioning

1. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
(PAVLOV/WATSON)
By: ROMMEL LUIS C. ISRAEL III

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3. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
• It is a reflexive or automatic type of learning in which a
stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that
was originally evoked by another stimulus.
• A process of learning by which a neutral stimulus is
associated with a specific response simply by occurring at
the same time as the 'actual', or natural, stimulus for a
given response.
Reference:
David L, "Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)," in Learning Theories, July 24, 2014, https://www.learning-
theories.com/classical-conditioning-pavlov.html.
Edward, Daniel (2017). Classical Conditioning. Retrieved February 28, 2020, from
http://www.psychologyunlocked.com/classical-conditioning/.

4. KEY CONCEPTS
ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING (i.e., making a new
association between events in the environment)
2 Forms:
1. classical conditioning (made famous by Ivan
Pavlov’s experiments with dogs)
2. operant conditioning.
Reference: David L, "Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)," in Learning Theories, July 24, 2014,
https://www.learning-theories.com/classical-conditioning-pavlov.html.

5. Image from: https://fos.cmb.ac.lk/blog/wp-
content/uploads/2017/07/pavlovdog.jpg

6. IVAN PAVLOV: CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING WITH DOGS
UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS (UCS)
 the meat powder
UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE (UCR)
 the dog’s salivation
NEUTRAL STIMULUS
 the bell
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.
Reference: David L, "Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)," in Learning Theories, July 24, 2014,
https://www.learning-theories.com/classical-conditioning-pavlov.html.

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8. JOHN B. WATSON: EARLY CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING WITH HUMANS
• Watson further extended Pavlov’s work and
applied it to human beings
• In 1921, Watson studied Albert, an 11 month old
infant child. The goal of the study was to
condition Albert to become afraid of a white rat
by pairing the white rat with a very loud, jarring
noise (UCS).
Reference: David L, "Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)," in Learning Theories, July 24, 2014,
https://www.learning-theories.com/classical-conditioning-pavlov.html.

9. JOHN B. WATSON: EARLY CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING WITH HUMANS
• At first, Albert showed no sign of fear when he
was presented with rats, but once the rat was
repeatedly paired with the loud noise, slammed a
hammer with a steel bar (UCS), Albert developed
a fear of rats.
• It could be said that the loud noise (UCS) induced
fear (UCR).
Reference: David L, "Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)," in Learning Theories, July 24, 2014,
https://www.learning-theories.com/classical-conditioning-pavlov.html.

10. JOHN B. WATSON: EARLY CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING WITH HUMANS
Results:
- Watson removed the loud noise, but Little
Albert continued to demonstrate an aversion to
the white rat and would wriggle away when the
rat appeared
Reference: Edward, Daniel (2017). Classical Conditioning. Retrieved February 28, 2020, from
http://www.psychologyunlocked.com/classical-conditioning/.

11. JOHN B. WATSON: EARLY CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING WITH HUMANS
Albert generalized his learned phobia of white rats to
soft, white, fluffy objects.
He was scared of white rabbits and even Santa
Claus, for no reason other than he had associated a
neutral stimulus (white and fluffy) with an
unconditioned stimulus (unpleasant loud noise).
Reference: Edward, Daniel (2017). Classical Conditioning. Retrieved February 28, 2020, from
http://www.psychologyunlocked.com/classical-conditioning/.

12. JOHN B. WATSON: EARLY CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING WITH HUMANS
IMPLICATION OF WATSON’S EXPERIMENT:
- suggested that classical conditioning could
cause some phobias in humans
Reference: David L, "Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)," in Learning Theories, July 24, 2014,
https://www.learning-theories.com/classical-conditioning-pavlov.html.

13. EXAMPLES OF CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING IN THE SCHOOL
STAGE 1 (BEFORE CONDITIONING)
A stomach virus (UCS) would produce a response
of nausea (UCR)
A perfume (UCS) could create a response of
happiness or desire (UCR).
Reference: McLeod, S. A. (2018, Aug 21). Classical conditioning. Simply psychology:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/classical-conditioning.html

14. EXAMPLES OF CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING IN THE SCHOOL
STAGE 2 (DURING CONDITIONING)
A stomach virus (UCS) might be associated with
eating a certain food such as chocolate (CS)
A perfume (UCS) might be associated with a
specific person (CS).
Reference: McLeod, S. A. (2018, Aug 21). Classical conditioning. Simply psychology:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/classical-conditioning.html

15. EXAMPLES OF CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING IN THE SCHOOL
STAGE 3 (AFTER CONDITIONING
A chocolate (CS) which was eaten before a person
was sick with a virus (UCS) now produces a
response of nausea (CR).
A person (CS) who has been associated with nice
perfume (UCS) is now found attractive (CR)
Reference: McLeod, S. A. (2018, Aug 21). Classical conditioning. Simply psychology:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/classical-conditioning.html

16. IMPLICATION OF CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING IN THE SCHOOL
If a student is bullied at school they may learn to
associate the school with fear.
It could also explain why some students show a
particular dislike of certain subjects that
continue throughout their academic career. This
could happen if a student is humiliated or
punished in class by a teacher.
Reference: McLeod, S. A. (2018, Aug 21). Classical conditioning. Simply psychology:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/classical-conditioning.html

17. REFERENCES
David L, "Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)," in Learning Theories, July 24, 2014, https://www.learning-
theories.com/classical-conditioning-pavlov.html.
Edward, Daniel (2017). Classical Conditioning. Retrieved February 28, 2020, from
http://www.psychologyunlocked.com/classical-conditioning/.
McLeod, S. A. (2018, Aug 21). Classical conditioning. Simply psychology:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/classical-conditioning.html