15. Describe stimulus generalization, higher order conditioning, discrimination, and extinction in classical conditioning.
A stimulus generalization is when the conditioned stimulus produces similar responses after the response has been conditioned. An example of this would be the Little Albert experiment. Researchers conditioned a child to be afraid of a white rat. The child then showed similar reactions to other objects that were white.
Higher order conditioning is when a stimulus that used to be neutral is paired with the conditioned stimulus to get the same conditioned response as the conditioned stimulus.
Discrimination in classical conditioning is the ability to differentiate between the conditioned stimulus and other similar stimuli. An example of this is when Pavlov would ring the bell for the dog, the dog would salivate, but if a similar sound were to go off, would the dog salivate?
Extinction refers to the gradual weakening of the conditioned response to the point where it either decreases or disappears. This is when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with unconditioned stimulus
Sources:
http://psychology.about.com/od/sindex/g/stimgen.htm
http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Higher%20Order%20Conditioning
http://psychology.about.com/od/dindex/g/discrimination.htm
A stimulus generalization is when the conditioned stimulus produces similar responses after the response has been conditioned. An example of this would be the Little Albert experiment. Researchers conditioned a child to be afraid of a white rat. The child then showed similar reactions to other objects that were white.
Higher order conditioning is when a stimulus that used to be neutral is paired with the conditioned stimulus to get the same conditioned response as the conditioned stimulus.
Discrimination in classical conditioning is the ability to differentiate between the conditioned stimulus and other similar stimuli. An example of this is when Pavlov would ring the bell for the dog, the dog would salivate, but if a similar sound were to go off, would the dog salivate?
Extinction refers to the gradual weakening of the conditioned response to the point where it either decreases or disappears. This is when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with unconditioned stimulus
Sources:
http://psychology.about.com/od/sindex/g/stimgen.htm
http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Higher%20Order%20Conditioning
http://psychology.about.com/od/dindex/g/discrimination.htm
I chose the picture of the snails and the tape roll because it is an example of stimulus generalization. If someone was conditioned to fear snails, they may also fear the tape roll because it has a similar shape and size. The picture of the dog, ball, and bell is an example of higher order conditioning. It is higher order conditioning because the ball was a neutral stimulus until is was paired with the conditioned stimulus. The picture of the woman afraid of thunder is an example of discrimination. It is an example because when the woman sees lightening she begins to anticipate thunder, so she winces. The last picture refers to an experiment with pigeons. The pigeon began to stop reacting after more trials until the pigeon stopped reacting all together. This is an example of extinction because the response disappeared.