The components of classical conditioning in real-life situations
o identify the components of classical conditioning in real-life situations. Please identify appropriate components in each of the situations listed below and write a two-paragraph summary sharing what you learned in this assignment.
1. Geraldine had an automobile accident at the corner of 32nd Street and Cherry Avenue. Whenever she approaches the intersection now, she begins to feel uncomfortable; her heart begins to beat faster, she gets butterflies in her stomach, and her palms become sweaty.
US:
UR:
CS:
CR:
2. Calvin was chased and assaulted by an aggressive rooster when he was just barely three years old. As an adult, he still gets little blips in his stomach when he hears the word rooster, and he claims that birds make him nervous.
US:
UR:
CS:
CR:
Why do all birds make Calvin nervous?
Why does the word “rooster” cause him to have belly blips?
3. When Jim met Judy, it was love at first sight. Jim cannot explain why it is that Judy turns him on because he knows girls that are prettier and who have more outstanding personalities. At their wedding, a perceptive family friend commented that there is something about Judy that reminds her of Jim’s mother; maybe it is the way she smiles or the pattern of freckles across her nose.
US:
UR:
Sample Solution
Classical conditioning refers to learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus (e.g., a tone) becomes associated with a stimulus (e.g., food) that naturally produces a behavior. After the association is learned, the previously neutral stimulus is sufficient to produce the behavior. Psychologists use specific terms to identify the stimuli and the responses in classical conditioning. The unconditioned stimulus (US) is something (such as food) that triggers a naturally occurring response, and the unconditioned response (UR) is the naturally occurring response (such as salivation) that follows the unconditioned stimulus. The conditioned stimulus (CS) is a neutral stimulus that, after being repeatedly presented prior to the unconditioned stimulus, evokes a similar response as the unconditioned stimulus. Conditioned response (CR) is the acquired response to the formerly neutral stimulus.
