Ψ  The behaviorist school of thought ran concurrently & shared commonalities with the psychoanalytic & Gestalt movements in 
psychology; but also differed from the mental philosophy of the Gestalt psychologists in critical ways. Its main influences were 
Ivan Pavlov, who investigated classical conditioning, Edward Lee Thorndike who purposed the law of effect, John B. Watson who 
rejected introspective methods & sought to restrict psychology to experimental methods, & B.F. Skinner who conducted 
research on operant conditioning.

Classical Conditioning

Three Kinds of Learning:

       1. Classical Conditioning
              2. Operant Conditioning
                      3. Cognitive learning

      Classical conditioning: A process of behavior modification by which a subject comes to 
respond (conditioned reflex) in a desired manner to a previously neutral stimulus that has 
been repeatedly presented along with an unconditioned stimulus that elicits the desired response.

Procedure for Classical Conditioning

Step 1: Selecting stimulus & response (terms)
       
        Neutral Stimulus (NS) (bell)
        UnConditioned Stimulus (UCS) (bone)
        UnConditioned Response (UCR) (drool)

Step 2: Establishing classical conditioning (repeated trials)
       
        Neutral Stimulus (bell) (by trial becomes the) ---> Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
        Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) (bone)
        Unconditioned response (UCR) (drool)

Step 3: Testing for conditioning (note the absence of the UCS) (only CS)
       
        Conditioned stimulus (CS) (bell)
        Conditioned response (CR) (drool)

Other Conditioning Concepts

        Generalization - similar stimuli elicit similar responses. 
        Discrimination - response to specific stimuli excluding others. 
  
        Extinction - reverse the containing procedure without the UCS 
        Spontaneous recovery - when responses reappear after extinction

Adaptive Value
 
       Adaptive Value refers to the usefulness of certain abilities or traits that have evolved in 
animals & humans and tend to increase their chances of survival.

Terms related to Adaptive Value:

        Taste-aversion learning refers to associating a particular sensory cue (smell, sight, taste, 
or sound) with getting sick & thereafter avoiding that cue in the future. Has adaptive value in 
warning us of bad things. One trial learning can occur!

        Preparedness refers to the phenomenon that we are biologically prepared to associate 
some combinations of conditioned & unconditioned stimuli more easily than others.

Three explanations of classical conditioning:

       •  Stimulus substitution - An account of respondent conditioning, no longer widely accepted, 
stating that the CS becomes a substitute for the US.
 
       •  Contiguity theory - A response that occurs when a stimulus is present will automatically 
become associated with it.
 
       •  Cognitive perspective - classical conditioning occurs because an organism learns what to 
expect (is able to predict). Backward conditioning where the UCS occurs before the NS 
does not work.

Systematic Desensitization Procedure

    Systematic desensitization is a type of behavioral therapy used in the field of psychology to
 help effectively overcome phobias & other anxiety disorders. To begin the process of systematic 
desensitization, one must first be taught relaxation skills in order to control fear & anxiety 
responses to specific phobias. Once the individual has been taught these skills, he or she must 
use them to react towards & overcome situations in an established hierarchy of fears. The goal of 
this process is that an individual will learn to cope & overcome the fear in each step of the 
hierarchy, which will lead to overcoming the last step of the fear in the hierarchy.

Step 1.: Learn to relax on cue
  Step 2.: Make an anxiety hierarchy (from least to most)
    Step 3.: Combine relaxation with each item in the anxiety hierarchy
                    from the easiest to the hardest.
        Step 4.: Overcome the last step in the anxiety hierarchy

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                 Topics in Psychology
                      Robert C. Gates