Five Key Principles
Behaviorists have described a number of different phenomena associated with classical conditioning. Some of these elements involve the initial establishment of the response while others describe the disappearance of a response. These elements are important in understanding the classical conditioning process.
Acquisition
Acquisition is the initial stage of learning when a response is first established and gradually strengthened.
Extinction
Extinction is when the occurrences of a conditioned response decrease or disappear. In classical conditioning, this happens when a conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
For example, if the smell of food (unconditioned stimulus) had been paired with the sound of a whistle (conditioned stimulus), it would eventually come to evoke the conditioned response of hunger. However, if the unconditioned stimulus (the smell of food) were no longer paired with the conditioned stimulus (the whistle), eventually the conditioned response (hunger) would disappear. |
Spontaneous Recovery
Sometimes a learned response can suddenly reemerge even after a period of extinction. Spontaneous Recovery is the reappearance of the conditioned response after a rest period or period of lessened response.
For example, imagine that after training a dog to salivate to the sound of a bell, you stop reinforcing the behavior and the response eventually becomes extinct. After a rest period during which the conditioned stimulus is not presented, you suddenly ring the bell and the animal spontaneously recovers the previously learned response.
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Stimulus Generalization
Stimulus Generalization is the tendency for the conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses after the response has been conditioned.
Stimulus Discrimination
Discrimination is the ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have not been paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
For example, if a bell tone were the conditioned stimulus, discrimination would involve being able to tell the difference between the bell tone and other similar sounds. Because the subject is able to distinguish between these stimulus, he or she will only respond when the conditioned stimulus is presented.
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