This section tells us the dynamics involved in Pavlov's accidental discovery of Classical Conditioning. Do you believe an understanding of this phenomena gives us insight into certain human behaviors? Which ones? Predict how this concept can be applied to humans.
Response due Wednesday, April 22.
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Classical conditioning is the basic learning process that involves repeatedly pairing a neutral stimulus with a response-producing stimulus until the neutral stimulus elicits the same response. When people understand this concept, you can see why some people do certain things. One thing you can connect to people is when a person recieves a reward for doing something. Then the reward is taken away and the person still does it at least for some time.
ReplyDeleteThis concept can definitely be applied to humans. Humans have to learn things just like animals do. There is no reason to think that we would learn them in a different way. In many cases you can observe conditioned responses to stimuli in humans. People associate things all the time. For example, I know someone who was swimming at the beach when the waves were somewhat large. She got pushed under the water by one of the waves and when she came up she was terrified. Whenever she would go to the beach after that she would get nervous when the waves were large. This is a case where the bad experience conditioned the response to the waves. This can be applied to humans beset in things like advertising. By associating products with good stimuli repeatedly in commercials, the companies can condition people to respond to their products in a favorable way.
ReplyDeleteThere have been many times in my life where I have reacted to this classical conditioning and I am sure that it is the same for most humans. We all go through the learning process in life and experience different instances that make us remember certain things. For example,my aunt has been diagnosed with breast cancer and everytime she goes for chemo therapy she becomes nauseau in the hospital. Now everytime she steps into a hospital or talks about the hospital she becomes nauseau because she remembers that one time where she became sick. Another example is when my dog is in the car and drives by my grandparents house he starts to cry because he knows that my grandfather feeds him table food. This type of psychology could be used with humans in a positive way by rewarding small children for doing good things so they remember the did something good and got a prize so they will do it again. For example, when some people give their children presents for going to the bathroom on the real potty hey will remember that they got something good out of it so they will perform the action again. These conditioned responses are used frequently with all humans when you don't even realize it.
ReplyDeleteLauren Doucette
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the section, I now have a better understanding of what classical conditioning actually is. Classical conditioning is a process of learning associations between stimuli. I do believe that this phenomenon gives us insight into certain human behaviors. Just like animals, humans also need to learn how to do things. Both human and animals need to learn however, we learn in very similar ways. In today’s society there are many examples of association. For example, at my uncle’s wedding my mom had a drink that did not agree with her and caused her to be sick. She liked the drink however, for whatever reason it made her nauseas. Ever since this day she can not even look at the drink. It just causes her to have bad memories. In this specific incident she had a negative association. This concept can be and is applied in everyday life. I think that classical conditioning and can be used very successfully with children. For example, when a parent is trying to instill a certain rule to the child, they should reward them when they do the correct thing, and punish them by putting them in time out if they are to do a bad thing. Classical conditioning is used in everyday life, however many people are oblivious to it.
Classical conditioning involves pairing a neutral stimulus with a response-producing stimulus until the neutral stimulus elicits the same response. I think classical conditioning can explain some human behaviors. One example I can think of is when I got sick from eating my favorite kind of pasta sauce, and then after that I never wanted to have it anymore because I always got a sick feeling in my stomach when I looked at it or smelled it. In this sense, our minds work similar to an animals in the way our memory links different stimuli and associates them with one another even when they're not presented together any longer.
ReplyDeleteNathan Doucette
ReplyDeleteWell to begin, classical conditioning is the learning process involving association of neutral stimulus and response, producing stimulus until neutral stimulus causes the same response. This concept can be connected into human behaviors. An example would be like the one in class that if say I got $100 for slapping someone in the head, i would continue to slap that person in hopes that i would get $100 again. Then there is the example that Lauren had that i remember, which was a fun day. And the one i remember the best is the one of my brother. We went to Johnny Rockets to eat, that night he got sick, the next time we went he broke his arm and needed to get it in a cast that same day. So whenever we go by Johnny Rockets i remember it as a place where bad things happen to my brother. And we dont go there anymore.
**Julie**
ReplyDeleteI would have to say that I do believe in the phenomena of classical condition because it is what helps the human being learn. I strongly agree with the learning association concept because I see it happening all the time. For instance when I was younger I got into a bike accident that painfully scraped my skin off and now I can never step foot on a bike ever again. Also, now whenever I look at bikes I associate it with pain. I also believe in the concept of the operant, and observational conditioning. It happens everyday whether we believe it or not. We most of the time acquire some of our behaviors by observing the actions of others and it seems to be set within us to have an automatic response to certain situations. Like if someone throws a rock at you, you without even thinking duck. This concept can easily be applied to humans because we can all relate to it and hopefully help us get more of an understanding between human and learning.
Classical conditioning involves association of a neutral stimulus with a response-producing stimulus until the neutral stimulus brings forward the same response. I think that this is a very reasonable explanation for some human behavior, for example certain songs I associate with certain times. The summer that I was 16 my favorite song was Jenny by The Click Five, that summer I went to see The Click Five perform at Six Flags, now whenever I hear that song I always get that excited feeling that I always get right before a concert.
ReplyDeleteUpon reading this section, I am more familiar with what Pavlov did and how Classical Conditioning is apparent in our daliy lives. Classical Conditioning (let's start calling it CC) is the process of making a neutral stimulus cause a conditioned response. CC is very practical for training animals. Just like Pavlov did, we can condition animals to associate something that it senses to be normal, to respond in a special way. This is how trainers train show dogs and dolphins to perform tricks and such. This can be used on all kinds of animals including humans. We are extremely conditioned to bells. We are smart enough to know that when the bell rings it means hey time to go to class but even if we sit there and think about ignoring the bell, when it goes off we still flinch to get up. I've seen it before where a teacher says don't leave right at the bell because they're still explaining something, but none the less when it eventually goes off, everyone jerks to get up. Or when we're sitting there anxiously finishing a tough test and the bell goes off, we feel a sense of pressure and urgency to finish quickly and get outta there! We can be conditioned to do many things. Humans are so smart that we sometimes only need to experience the neutral stimulus paired with the unconditioned stimulus one time to respond conditionally every time afterward. For example, a toddler sees the stove top as harmless and fun or whatever and goes to touch it, it is off and cool. Another time, he notices the stovetop glowing a pinkish red and thinks it's super exciting so he goes to touch it again and *insert onomatopoeia for burning one's hand* they get hurt and cry. Will they ever touch a red glowing stove again? Highly unlikely. The same thing goes for traumatic experiences and phobeias. When something ordinary gets paired with something that stimulates a sense to a high degree, we are conditioned to respond to that ordinary stimulus with the strong sense. We can even harness CC and teach behaviors to humans with it.
ReplyDeleteThis phenomena is completely applicable to human behavior. Classical conditioning, whether or not it is recognized as such, plays a significant role in the way humans learn. As children, humans act and learn from the reaction; if a person has never experienced a situation before, they may not know what to expect and may exhibit something like an unconditional response. Once that same person is exposed to a situation that he or she has already encountered, the person may have an altered reaction, something like a conditioned response.
ReplyDeleteClassical conditioning seems to be one of the primary ways that children learn, because it involves real-life experience before they can read to acquire knowledge. For example, in a situation that mirrors that of the Pavlovian experiments, a young child can be trained to understand “feeding time” by the sight or sound of the refrigerator opening and closing. At first, the refrigerator is merely a neutral stimulus, but after the child’s impatience and hunger have been pacified by the stuff that comes out of the fridge many times, the child may feel satisfied and calmed by the sound of the fridge opening. He or she has associated the feeling of satiation and quelled hunger with the refrigerator.
After reading this section and discussing classical conditioning in class, it it clear that humans are being manipulated everyday. Often we don't realize it when we are influenced by certain images or ideas. When we buy a certain product becasue of a commercial advertising it or because a celebrity endorced it, we are being manipulized. Needless to say I believe that Pavlov's discovery of classical conditioning gives us insight to certain human behaviors. Often times, kids will drift to the kitchen not because they smell food, but becasue they hear pans rattling and they know that means that dinner is being cooked. It is inevitable to see that certain parts of our everyday life is motivated by unconcious stimulus. Just like a fire drill tells us to get outside or a school bell means move on to another class. Although Pavlov exerimented on dogs and not humans, the results are much the same. It is reflexive that we associate things together and are therefore motivated by conditioning.
ReplyDeleteMike
ReplyDeleteI personally believe that alot of life is based on this not the discovery of the concept of classical conditioning but the concept itself. What im trying to say most things we do are based on this think about it... What do you do every morning when your alarm goes? You get up and begin the day. What do you do every morning? You eat breakfast. What do you do while getting ready for bed? You brush your teeth then set your alarm so you can do it all over again the next day... Not to be pessimistic but in many, not all mind you, but many cases life itself is a vicious circle wrapped around the concept of classical conditioning. Merchandisers such as coca-cola can use this to their advantage by finding a way, such as advertising, to get their product into a persons daily routine and once they do that the person will constantly be buying their product because they are conditioned to.
Mike has a very good point. Classical conditioning affects us every day, and the alarm clock is a great example. One example that students can rleate to is the bell that rings between classes. As soon as the familiar ringing is heard, the automatic reaction to to pack up your backpack and head to the next class. Most people can't ingnore the bell because they have been trained to learn that the first time the bell rings, they need to leave. The second time it rings, they need to be in their class, otherwise they could be punished. If no punishment was involved for students being tardy after the bell, more people would take their time and not care if they were a bit late to class. I believe this phenomena gives us insight into certain human behaviors. For example, a few years ago, my brother sprayed oust in our bathroom while their was a candle lit. After the fire was put out, the firefighters found "the cause" of the flame. All i remember is a charred can of Oust air sanitizing spray. Now whenever i see a can, i think of fire and get a quick panicked feeling.
ReplyDeleteBrittany
Classic condition works for both humans and animals. As kids if we get away with something we will keep trying to get away with it until it no longer gives us the result that we want. Also what we talked about in class helps this make a lot of sense too. When we discussed how something give us a bad memory so we don’t enjoy it anymore that makes complete sense. I was on a cruise when I was younger and I had sea food on a night when the ocean was really rocky and I got sea sick. Since then I have not been able to eat sea food the smell of it makes me feel sick. But on the other hand if we see something that makes us happy we would tend to want it more that’s why advertising helps company’s because they target the things that make people feel happy so they will buy there products.
ReplyDeleteThe first question a scientist should ask is: "What level of analysis provides the most explanatory power?" In order to answer this question, the predictive power of differing theories must be tested empirically. Further exploration should be concentrated on the level of the best theory.
ReplyDeleteVery granular levels are not always best, and reductionism can be carried too far – quantum theory, for example, is too unwieldy to model an airplane’s flight. Brain scans, too, are specious. Some processing occurs across the entire brain, defying the modular assumptions of many cognitive theories. Also, modern brain imagers operate at very slow time scales, slower than many mental processes. Therefore, our coarse, innate intuitions about motivation are much more reliable than the conclusions drawn by this reductionist field.* [Read the New Atlantis. See how much I (seem) to know about this topic after reading one of their articles?]
So, does the classical conditioning framework provide the most scientific fruit? I would argue that it does, for studying simpler animals and when studying reflexive behaviors of complex animals. Speculating about conscious states in sea worms, or during the cringe reflex, is foolish.*
For complex cognition, like Type 2 processing in humans, examining behavior is not useful, so it is worth examining mental states. Cognitive scientists have formed a theory of innate causation attribution that explains a great deal. It would take oceans of data to uncover the same process through behavioral methods – sometimes, speculation about mental states provides the most direct route.
*Still, better techniques might render brain scans more useful in the future. Perhaps over-enthusiasm is important in the development of budding technologies.
* With increases in computing power, it might be wiser to study the neural wiring of simple behaviors. Orthodox behaviorism might take us only so far, making reduction necessary.
Classical conditioning works for humans and animals. If you get something you want by doing something, you’re going to keep doing it. Just like we did in class when we did an experiment with the M&M’s, I was like a lab rat, and even though I looked totally stupid doing what I was doing, I did it because I wanted the M&M’s, and we’ll do whatever it takes to get what we want.
ReplyDeleterichard votta
-SHIRLEY POULIOT
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this sections i now have a better understand of what Classical conditioning really is. Classical condonitioning is where you take a neutral stimulus with a response-producing stimulus until the neutral stimulus elicits the same response. This applys and works for both humans and animals because all are life we grow up trying to get what we want and if we get a reward everytime for doing something we are going to keep doing it, we will even keep doing it after the reward is taking away for some time. classical conditioning is all around us. We have kinda all ben made to be conditioned. All of us have a routine and we stick to it everyday and like mike said life and the media and many things influence us everyday and we make that are routine. We think that it is on are own free will but in a way we just kinda take it in and its kinda like we get used to it so it become part of us.
Classical conditioning works for everyone, both humans and animals. If we get what we want by doing something, then we are going to keep doing it as long as we keep getting rewarded for it. Like the experiment in class with the m+m's where we tried to get someone to do something we wanted by giving the m+ms for getting close. So as long as they kept getting m+m's the would keep trying to figure it out. But if they stop getting rewarded after a couple more times they are going to stop trying.
ReplyDeleteNate Paterson
It is no surprise that studying the basic behavior of less complex species can lend us insight into our own actions. Testing the existence of classical conditioning in humans is relatively simple and can easily show the correlation. In Pavlov's experiment with the dogs, his neutral stimuli was the bell. On it's own, the dogs would not salivate at first. The reaction producing stimulus was the food. When presented with the food, the dogs eventually made an association between the bell and the food and began to salivate at the ring of the bell before any food was presented. This was a perfect example of classical conditioning. In humans, the evidence is just as accessible. One night, my brother ate pesto pizza and then became ill. Pesto pizza had been one of his very favorites. It became the neutral stimuli that he grew to associate with his sickness. Because he made a negative association between the two, he would no longer eat anything that had pesto in it. It disgusted him. It wasn't even that he had gotten food poisoning, his sickness was no fault of the pesto but that was his reaction. Things like this are common in everyone's lives. Classical conditioning most certainly exists in our society whether it be with animals or humans.
ReplyDelete