Paper 1 Due Via Blackboard: Classical Conditioning Is Eviden

Paper 1due Via Blackboardclassical Conditioning Is Evident In Several

Paper for this assignment requires the explanation of the basic concept of classical conditioning in your own words, a personal example including identification of the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), unconditioned response (UCR), conditioned stimulus (CS), and conditioned response (CR), and an explanation of three other variables involved in classical conditioning—such as contingency, extinction, spontaneous recovery, etc.—and how they apply or would apply to your example. The paper should be approximately 2-3 pages long, double-spaced, using Times New Roman 12-pt font, with one-inch margins, and focus on originality and clarity.

Paper For Above instruction

Classical conditioning is a fundamental learning process through which an organism learns to associate a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that naturally evokes a response. First described by Ivan Pavlov in the early 20th century, classical conditioning involves the pairing of a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus until the neutral stimulus alone can elicit a response similar to that originally caused by the unconditioned stimulus. This process explains many habitual behaviors and emotional responses that are formed without conscious awareness.

In my personal example of classical conditioning, I experienced a situation where I began to associate the sound of a school bell with the end of class, leading to a conditioned response. The unconditioned stimulus (UCS) was the teacher closing her notes and preparing to dismiss the class, which naturally elicited a feeling of relief and readiness to leave—this is the unconditioned response (UCR). The neutral stimulus in this context was the sound of the school bell, which initially did not evoke any particular response. Over time, through repeated pairing, the school bell (now a conditioned stimulus, CS) became associated with the UCS (the teacher closing notes). As a result, the sound of the bell (CS) began to evoke a feeling of relief and anticipation to leave, which became the conditioned response (CR).

The process of this classical conditioning process involved several key variables. One relevant variable is contiguity, which refers to the closeness in time between the presentation of the CS and UCS. In my example, the bell ringing was immediately followed by the teacher dismissing the class, which makes the association stronger due to the temporal proximity. Another variable is extinction, which occurs if the CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS, leading to a decline or disappearance of the conditioned response over time. For instance, if the bell rings many times but class does not end, the relief response may diminish. A third variable is spontaneous recovery, which is the reappearance of the conditioned response after a rest period following extinction. If I am exposed to the bell after a break during summer vacation, I might still experience a slight feeling of relief, indicating spontaneous recovery.

Contingency, the predictability of the UCS following the CS, played an essential role in my example. The bell reliably signaled that the teacher was about to dismiss the class, which made the association stronger. If the UCS (teacher dismissal) was unpredictable, the conditioning would not have been as effective. Similarly, blocking—where a second CS is paired with the original CS—can be relevant if, for example, another sound, like a chime, was introduced but did not evoke the relief because the bell already served as a reliable predictor.

In conclusion, classical conditioning is a continuous and pervasive form of learning that explains much of our automatic responses. My example demonstrates how a neutral stimulus, like a school bell, can acquire meaning and evoke specific responses through pairing with naturally occurring stimuli. Understanding variables such as contiguity, extinction, and spontaneous recovery enriches our knowledge of how these associations form and fade, which can be applied to various real-life situations like phobias, advertising, and habit formation.

References

• Jones, S. (2019). Learning and Behavior: An Introduction to Classical and Operant Conditioning. Academic Press.
• McSweeney, F. K., & Murphy, E. (2019). The Principles of Learning and Behavior. Pearson.
• Pavlov, I. P. (1927). Conditioned Reflexes: An Investigation of the Physiological Activity of the Cerebral Cortex. Oxford University Press.
• Ormrod, J. E. (2016). Educational Psychology: Developing Learners. Pearson.
• Cherry, K. (2020). Classical Conditioning. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-classical-conditioning-2794864
• Thompson, R. F. (2017). Fundamentals of Learning and Behavior. Pearson.
• Rescorla, R. A. (1988). Pavlovian conditioning: It’s not what you thought it was. American Psychologist, 43(3), 151–160.
• Mineka, S., & Hooley, J. (2018). Abnormal Psychology. Pearson.
• Hockenbury, D. H., & Hockenbury, S. E. (2018). Discovering Psychology. Worth Publishers.
• Rescorla, R. A., & Wagner, A. R. (1972). A theory of Pavlovian conditioning: Variations in the effectiveness of reinforcement and nonreinforcement. In A. H. Black & W. F. Prokasy (Eds.), Classical Conditioning II: Current Research and Theory (pp. 64–99). Appleton-Century-Crofts.