Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)

Summary: Classical conditioning is a reflexive or automatic type of learning

in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was
originally evoked by another stimulus.
Originators and Key Contributors: First described by Ivan Pavlov (1849-
1936), Russian physiologist, in 1903, and studied in infants by John B.
Watson (1878-1958).
Classical Conditioning (Ivan Pavlov)
Several types of learning exist. The most basic form is associative learning,
i.e., making a new association between events in the environment. There
are two forms of associative learning: classical conditioning (made famous
by Ivan Pavlov’s experiments with dogs) and operant conditioning.
Pavlov’s Dogs
In the early twentieth century, Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov did Nobel
prize-winning work on digestion. While studying the role of saliva in dogs’
digestive processes, he stumbled upon a phenomenon he labeled “psychic
reflexes.” While an accidental discovery, he had the foresight to see the
importance of it. Pavlov’s dogs, restrained in an experimental chamber, were
presented with meat powder and they had their saliva collected via a
surgically implanted tube in their saliva glands. Over time, he noticed that
his dogs who begin salivation before the meat powder was even presented,
whether it was by the presence of the handler or merely by a clicking noise
produced by the device that distributed the meat powder.
Fascinated by this finding, Pavlov paired the meat powder with various
stimuli such as the ringing of a bell. After the meat powder and bell
(auditory stimulus) were presented together several times, the bell was used
alone. Pavlov’s dogs, as predicted, responded by salivating to the sound of
the bell (without the food). The bell began as a neutral stimulus (i.e. the bell
itself did not produce the dogs’ salivation). However, by pairing the bell with
the stimulus that did produce the salivation response, the bell was able to
acquire the ability to trigger the salivation response. Pavlov therefore
demonstrated how stimulus-response bonds (which some consider as the
basic building blocks of learning) are formed. He dedicated much of the rest
of his career further exploring this finding.
In technical terms, the meat powder is considered an unconditioned stimulus
(UCS) and the dog’s salivation is the unconditioned response (UCR). The bell
is a neutral stimulus until the dog learns to associate the bell with food.
Then the bell becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) which produces the
conditioned response (CR) of salivation after repeated pairings between the
bell and food.
 Learning Theory and Learning Theory
"Learning Theory" is a discipline of psychology that attempts to explain how an
organism learns. It consists of many different theories of learning, including instincts,
social facilitation, observation, formal teaching, memory, mimicry, and classical and
operant conditioning. It is these last two that are of most interest to animal
trainers.

Why should animal trainers be bothered with learning the theory behind how their
animals learn? Many excellent trainers have no formal schooling or organized
understanding of how their training is effective or how their charges work. But
training is both an art and a science. More and more trainers - pet owners, show
competitors, horseback riders, show-business trainers, zookeepers, aquarium trainers
and more - are finding that an understanding of learning theory helps them understand
their animals' behaviors better, and plan their training accordingly. So trainers are
learning the theory of learning theory!

Classical or "Pavlovian" Conditioning

Theory

Classical Conditioning is the type of learning made famous by Pavlov's experiments

with dogs. The gist of the experiment is this: Pavlov presented dogs with food, and
measured their salivary response (how much they drooled). Then he began ringing a
bell just before presenting the food. At first, the dogs did not begin salivating until the
food was presented. After a while, however, the dogs began to salivate when the
sound of the bell was presented. They learned to associate the sound of the bell with
the presentation of the food. As far as their immediate physiological responses were
concerned, the sound of the bell became equivalent to the presentation of the food.

Classical conditioning is used by trainers for two purposes: To condition (train)

autonomic responses, such as the drooling, producing adrenaline, or reducing
adrenaline (calming) without using the stimuli that would naturally create such a
response; and, to create an association between a stimulus that normally would not
have any effect on the animal and a stimulus that would.

Stimuli that animals react to without training are called primary or unconditioned

stimuli (US). They include food, pain, and other "hardwired" or "instinctive" stimuli.
Animals do not have to learn to react to an electric shock, for example. Pavlov's dogs
did not need to learn about food.

Stimuli that animals react to only after learning about them are
called secondary or conditioned stimuli (CS). These are stimuli that have been
associated with a primary stimulus. In Pavlov's experiment, the sound of the bell
meant nothing to the dogs at first. After its sound was associated with the presentation
of food, it became a conditioned stimulus. If a warning buzzer is associated with the
shock, the animals will learn to fear it.

Secondary stimuli are things that the trainee has to learn to like or dislike. Examples
include school grades and money. A slip of paper with an "A" or an "F" written on it
has no meaning to a person who has never learned the meaning of the grade. Yet
students work hard to gain "A's" and avoid "F's". A coin or piece of paper money has
no meaning to a person who doesn't use that sort of system. Yet people have been
known to work hard to gain this secondary reinforcer. (See an interactive visual guide
to CC here - and an amusing take on classical conditioning here.)

Application

Classical conditioning is very important to animal trainers, because it is difficult to

supply an animal with one of the things it naturally likes (or dislikes) in time for it to
be an important consequence of the behavior. In other words, it's hard to toss a fish to
a dolphin while it's in the middle of a jump or finding a piece of equipment on the
ocean floor a hundred meters below. So trainers will associate something that's easier
to "deliver" with something the animal wants through classical conditioning. Some
trainers call this a bridge (because it bridges the time between when the animal
performs a desired behavior and when it gets its reward). Marine mammal trainers use
a whistle. Many other trainers use a clicker, a cricket-like box with a metal tongue that
makes a click-click sound when you press it.

You can classically condition a clicker by clicking it and

delivering some desirable treat, many times in a row. Simply
click the clicker, pause a moment, and give the dog (or other
animal) the treat. After you've done this a few times, you may
see the animal visibly startle, look towards the treat, or look to
you. This indicates that she's starting to form the association. Some clicker trainers
call this "charging up the clicker". It's also called "creating a conditioned reinforcer".
The click sound becomes a signal for an upcoming reinforcement. As a shorthand,
some clicker trainers will say that the click = the treat. (Read more about how to get
started with clicker training here.)
 Operant Conditioning
Classical conditioning forms an association between two
stimuli. Operant conditioning forms an association between a behavior and a
consequence. (It is also calledresponse-stimulus or RS conditioning because it forms
an association between the animal's response [behavior] and the stimulus that follows
[consequence])

Four Possible Consequences

There are four possible consequences to any behavior. They are:

Something Good can start or be presented; 

Something Good can end or be taken away; 
Something Bad can start or be presented; 
Something Bad can end or be taken away.

Consequences have to be immediate, or clearly linked to the behavior. With verbal

humans, we can explain the connection between the consequence and the behavior,
even if they are separated in time. For example, you might tell a friend that you'll buy
dinner for them since they helped you move, or a parent might explain that the child
can't go to summer camp because of her bad grades. With very young children,
humans who don't have verbal skills, and animals, you can't explain the connection
between the consequence and the behavior. For the animal, the consequence has to be
immediate. The way to work around this is to use a bridge (see above).

Technical Terms

The technical term for "an event started" or "an item presented" is positive, since it's
something that's added to the animal's environment.

The technical term for "an event ended" or "an item taken away" is negative, since it's
something that's subtracted from the animal's environment.

Anything that increases a behavior - makes it occur more frequently, makes it

stronger, or makes it more likely to occur - is termed a reinforcer. Often, an animal
(or person) will perceive "starting Something Good" or "ending Something Bad" as
something worth pursuing, and they will repeat the behaviors that seem to cause these
consequences. These consequences will increase the behaviors that lead to them, so
they are reinforcers. These are consequences the animal will work to attain, so they
strengthen the behavior.

Anything that decreases a behavior - makes it occur less frequently, makes it weaker,

or makes it less likely to occur - is termed a punisher. Often, an animal (or person)
will perceive "ending Something Good" or "starting Something Bad" as something
worth avoiding, and they will not repeat the behaviors that seem to cause these
consequences. These consequences will decrease the behaviors that lead to them, so
they are punishers.

Applying these terms to the Four Possible Consequences, you get:

Something Good can start or be presented, so behavior increases = Positive

Reinforcement (R+)

Something Good can end or be taken away, so behavior decreases = Negative

Punishment (P-)

Something Bad can start or be presented, so behavior decreases = Positive Punishment

(P+)

Something Bad can end or be taken away, so behavior increases = Negative

Reinforcement (R-)

or:

Reinforcement Punishment
 
(behavior increases) (behavior decreases)
Positive
Positive  Positive Punishment 
Reinforcement: 
(something Something added decreases
Something added
added) behavior
increases behavior
Negative
Negative  Negative Punishment 
Reinforcement
(something Something removed
Something removed
removed) decreases behavior
increases behavior

Remember that these definitions are based on their actual effect on the behavior in
question: they must reduce or strengthen the behavior to be considered a consequence
and be defined as a punishment or reinforcement. Pleasures meant as rewards but that
do not strengthen a behavior are indulgences, not reinforcement; aversives meant as a
behavior weakener but which do not weaken a behavior are abuse, not punishment.

What is Social Learning Theory?

The social learning theory proposed by Albert Bandura has become perhaps the most
influential theory of learning and development. While rooted in many of the basic
concepts of traditional learning theory, Bandura believed that direct reinforcement could
not account for all types of learning.

His theory added a social element, arguing that people can learn new information and
behaviors by watching other people. Known as observational learning (or modeling), this
type of learning can be used to explain a wide variety of behaviors.

Basic Social Learning Concepts

1. People can learn through observation.

Observational Learning

In his famous "Bobo doll" studies, Bandura demonstrated that children learn and imitate
behaviors they have observed in other people. The children in Bandura’s studies observed
an adult acting violently toward a Bobo doll. When the children were later allowed to
play in a room with the Bobo doll, they began to imitate the aggressive actions they had
previously observed.

Bandura identified three basic models of observational learning:

1. A live model, which involves an actual individual demonstrating or acting out a

behavior.
2. A verbal instructional model, which involves descriptions and explanations of a
behavior.
3. A symbolic model, which involves real or fictional characters displaying behaviors
in books, films, television programs, or online media.

2. Mental states are important to learning.

Intrinsic Reinforcement
Bandura noted that external, environmental reinforcement was not the only factor to
influence learning and behavior. He described intrinsic reinforcement as a form of
internal reward, such as pride, satisfaction, and a sense of accomplishment. This
emphasis on internal thoughts and cognitions helps connect learning theories to cognitive
developmental theories. While many textbooks place social learning theory with
behavioral theories, Bandura himself describes his approach as a 'social cognitive theory.'

3. Learning does not necessarily lead to a change in behavior.

While behaviorists believed that learning led to a permanent change in behavior,

observational learning demonstrates that people can learn new information without
demonstrating new behaviors.

The Modeling Process

Not all observed behaviors are effectively learned. Factors involving both the model and
the learner can play a role in whether social learning is successful. Certain requirements
and steps must also be followed. The following steps are involved in the observational
learning and modeling process:

 Attention:
In order to learn, you need to be paying attention. Anything that detracts your
attention is going to have a negative effect on observational learning. If the model
interesting or there is a novel aspect to the situation, you are far more likely to
dedicate your full attention to learning.

 Retention:
The ability to store information is also an important part of the learning process.
Retention can be affected by a number of factors, but the ability to pull up
information later and act on it is vital to observational learning.

 Reproduction:
Once you have paid attention to the model and retained the information, it is time to
actually perform the behavior you observed. Further practice of the learned behavior
leads to improvement and skill advancement.
 Motivation:
Finally, in order for observational learning to be successful, you have to be motivated
to imitate the behavior that has been modeled. Reinforcement and punishment play an
important role in motivation. While experiencing these motivators can be highly
effective, so can observing other experience some type of reinforcement or
punishment. For example, if you see another student rewarded with extra credit for
being to class on time, you might start to show up a few minutes early each day.