PAPER #1: CONDITIONING

Definition of classical conditioning Classical conditioning is defined in Psychology as a process by which a stimulus that previously did not elicit a response comes to elicit a response, in reflexlike fashion, after it is paired with one or more trials with a stimulus that already elicits a response (Gray, 1999, p 100). Having to do with the reflexes, the definition of classical condition can be abbreviated into the idea of involuntary behavior. The example of Pavlovs dog illustrates this as the dog came to associate the sound of a bell with food, causing a reflexive action of salivating, resulting in salivation even when the bell was not paired with food. Personal experience with classical conditioning My boyfriend has two dogs whom he loves very dearly and spends much time playing with. They are both extremely affectionate and smother people with kisses. However, their overzealous behavior often leads to fighting between the two of them, especially over attention from any new corner to the house. They also have two different personalities: one is passive and one is very nervous, and sometimes has a problem with uncontrollable urination when very excited. On one occasion when I was at my boyfriends house, I was sitting with the passive dog in my lap, watching television when I saw the other dog approaching. Thinking nothing of it, I remained seated, stroking the fur of the dog on my lap. The other dog, watching this, suddenly ran towards me and jumped in my lap. Immediately after this I felt a warm sensation spreading on my lap and realized the dog had urinated on me. The feeling of discomfort immediately took hold and I jumped up, desperately wanting to shed the clothes I was in and take a bath. The dog ran around me in circles and I was scared it would urinate again on my feet so I ran from her as fast as I could into another room to tell my boyfriend what had happened and to borrow some extra clothes. Needless to say I am never at ease any more with this particular dog and from now on, any time I am sitting down and I see the dog approaching me, I immediately jump up and try to get away from her.

Analysis of behavior Maya, the dog who urinated on me, was an unconditioned stimulus prior to her accident that night. However, after she urinated on me, the sight of her became a conditioned stimulus and out of fear of another accident, I jumped up, which became the conditioned response. This process, which depended on conditions which were present in my previous experience, is known as a conditioned reflex, since the pairing of seeing the dog approaching me like she had the previous time and jumping on me resulted in a reflex motion of jumping up even without the urination which occurred the first time. To a certain degree I have experienced extjnction with this response to Maya. Sometimes after coming near me frequently throughout the evening without any type of accident I am able to relax and let her jump on me without jumping up and away from her. However, the next time I go over to my boyfriends house I repeat the entire process, resembling spontaneous recovery. The extinction in my case therefore only lasts for a brief passage of time and the conditioned reflex then comes back to me. Like Peter Gray says, a single pairing of the conditioned stimulus with the unconditioned stImulus can renew the conditioned reflex (Gray, 1999, p 105). My reflexive action of jumping up when I see Maya approaching me sometimes pertains to the other dog, Cleo. Although there was never any incident with Cleo, and although the unconditioned stimulus was never paired with her, I sometimes react in the same way as I do to Maya, which is the conditioned reflex. This action can be considered generalization as this new stimulus, Cieo, is similar to the other dog.
Definition of operant conditioning

Psychology defines operant conditioning as a process by which the consequences of a response Increase or decrease the likelihood that the response will occur again (Gray, 1999, p 100). Simply stated, operant conditioning has to do with voluntary behavior, as actions are performed for an effect. Skinners method of studying operant behavior is a good example because his apparatus allowed the rat inside of it to acquire a reward of a pellet or water by pressing a lever, but remained in the box afterwards to repeat the process if desired. This differed

from Thorndikes puzzle boxes because the animal would have to be put back at the beginning of the box, not allowing it the chance to continue the action. Personal experience with operant conditioning I dance for a halau, which is a dance school for the Hawaiian dance form, hula. There are two parts which we focus on in dancing, the feet movements, and the hand movements. As hula is a means of telling a story, the hands are the important method of accomplishing this, so precision Is a must. We dance In a studio which is mirrored and our kumu, or teacher, dances with us and we follow his example. My tendency would be to dance in the last row with my friends, but I found that this would bring attention to us and he would sometimes single us out and make one of us dance up front with him. He tended to notice our mistakes more and was quick to correct them. One night at practice I was in the front row because the back row was filled up already and there were many openings in the front. I was dancing almost directly in back of my teacher and he never made a single comment to me the entire evening, which was, needless to say, a first for me. He concentrated his efforts on those that were In the back row and overlooked me since I was right by him. I decided to try thIs out again the following week, with the same results. Ive danced in the front row every week since then, in the spot almost directly behind him, and Ive never been picked on again. Analysis of behavior Because I was constantly being picked on in the back row, moving up to the front row served as my operant response, as this action was carried out for the sake of finding the effect or outcome. The repetition of this act therefore became operant conditioning, as through this process I came to understand that the consequence of being in the front row meant little or no criticism, and so I continued to repeat this action. The reinforcer in this instance became the lack of criticism received when dancing in the front row, a sharp contrast to the response received when dancing in the back row. This change in response from my kumu increased the frequency of my own response to dance in the front row. I have to wonder if this is what he intended all along, because now that I reflect on this process, I can see he was using shaping to accomplish his goal of getting me to

dance in the front. Obviously he was not pleased with my placement in the back row and would therefore pick on me, or single me out. However there were times that I danced in the middle rows and he would not be as severe in his scoldings or he would actually give me compliments. Finally when I went to the front row he would either remain quiet or smile at me, which for kumu, is the nod of approval. By moving up in the lines I was approximating what I now come to believe was his intention, to have me dance in the front row. Kumus use of positive punishment, scolding and singling out, had a very negative effect on me. By scolding me he eventually decreased the likelihood of my dancing in the back row but it left an impression of fear in me of being singled out and that I wasnt up to par with the other girls. Psycholoqy says, positive punishment...often has undesired consequences. Punishment can elicit negative emotions such as fear and anger, which may result in further misbehavior (Gray, 1999, p 118). I agree with this as for some time I remained in the back row and goofed off, not wanting to put any effort in because I was certaIn I was going to be scolded anyway. After I moved up in the lines, the positive and negative reinforcement came into play at the same tIme. The negative reinforcement, or removal of his criticisms and scoidings, combined with the positive reinforcement, or arrival of praise, made my behavior of moving up to the front row a recurring action.

Conclusion My two experiences were both very different but share a common trait in that it brought about a behavior in me that did not exist before. My experience with classical conditioning had to do with the learning of reflexes, and was an automatic response related to the nervous system. My experience with operant conditioning, on the other hand, had more to do with the learning and maintaining of a behavior that in my case, may have been the goal of my teacher. Although these two types of conditioning differ in their characteristics and associated phenomena, they share one characteristic extinction. In the case of my classical conditioning experience, Ive experienced extinction to a certain degree, but recover it after another runin

with the conditioned stimulus. In the case of my operant conditioning example, I did not experience extinction, as the behavior that I finally elicited still remains to evoke a positive response and I hope it stays that way. Reference Gray, Pete (1999). Psycholoqy (Third Edition). Boston College: Worth Publishers, Inc.