PSYA01H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6.1: Classical Conditioning, Behaviorism, Autonomic Nervous System
Document Summary
Ex (pavlov"s dog): neutral stimulus = sound; sound was paired with meat powder that elicits salivation. One of the foundations of behaviourism: line of inquiry focused on observable behaviours rather than unobservable mental events: stimulus: an external event/cue that elicits a response (ex: food, water, pain, sexual contact) Unconditioned stimulus (us): stimulus that elicits a reflexive response without learning: can elicit a response in the absence of any learning (hence unconditioned, unconditioned response (ur): a reflexive, unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus (ex: flinching, blinking) Link between us & ur is that it"s unlearned; everything happens naturally. Can occur in extremely simple organisms suggests that classical conditioning is a simple biological process. Connections between specific groups of neurons become strengthened during each instance of classical conditioning. Us reliably triggers ur: thought to be represented by strong neural connections between groups of neurons in temporal lobes. Spontaneous recovery: (reoccurrence of a previously extinguished.
