A PSY 380 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Edward C. Tolman

• School: SUNY Albany
• Department: Psychology
• Course: A PSY 380
• Professor: Stephanie Crocco

Document Summary

Hull theorized that a non-specific intense arousal, aka drive, motivates behavior. Several classes of stimuli are capable of initiating drive. Guthrie on the other hand proposed that contiguity was sufficient enough to establish an. He stated that if a response occurs when a particular stimulus is present, the stimulus and response will automatically become associated. According to guthrie, many responses can become conditioned to a stimulus, and the response exhibited just prior to reward will be associated with the stimulus and occur when the stimulus is experienced again. The reward should be given as soon as possible after the response. Guthrie suggested that punishment may not always eliminate the undesired, punished behavior. Punishing a child may not suppress inappropriate behavior in anyone. According to guthrie, learning occurs in a single trial; meaning, the strength of an s-r association reaches its maximum value following a single pairing of the stimulus and response.