PSYC23H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Aplysia Gill And Siphon Withdrawal Reflex, Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, Temporal Lobe
Document Summary
Learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour due to experience. There are 2 different types of learning, 1) associative learning (classical conditioning) that involved forming a connection between two elements and 2) nonassociative learning (habituation and sensitization) that do not involve forming a connection between two elements. Habituation occurs when an organism reduces its response to a repeated stimulus. Often habituation occurs to unchanging, harmless stimuli as a means of focusing our attention on relevant stimuli. Eg when you do not notice trucks and cars driving by. Sensitization occurs when an exposure to a strong stimulus actually heightens an organisms level of response to other environmental stimuli. Eg when a blackout (strong sensory stimulus) causes sensitization (learning to intensify your response to all stimuli). Eg a tree branch waving during a blackout. Classical conditioning occurs when an organism learns that stimuli may act as signals that predict the occurrence of other important events.
