PSYC 2010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Classical Conditioning, Contiguity

• School: Auburn University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 2010
• Professor: Seth A Gitter

Document Summary

Its easier to condition some things than others. How close in time and space the stimulus appears the easier it is to associate: short contiguity. Pairings (time & space: strong contiguity. Higher stimulus value: what organism cares about. Dogs care about food and when they hear it being poured into a bowl they will be stimulated by it whether they receive the food or not because it is of high value. Previously we made the dog associate the bell with receiving food but if we later try to associate the bell with going outside the previous association will distract from the current learning. As hunter/gatherers; we developed that if we eat food and then get sick afterwards we blame it on the food even if its not the cause. When we ate poisonous berries, for example, we would get nauseous and get them out of the body. Biological preparedness: taste aversion, fear responses.