Four Principles Of Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning is the basic learning process that involves repeatedly pairing a neutral stimulus with a response- producing stimulus until the neutral stimulus elicits the same response. It deals with behaviors that are elicited automatically by some stimulus. There are four principles of classical conditioning. The first is the unconditioned stimulus which is the natural stimulus that reflexively produces a response without prior learning. Next is the unconditioned response which is the unlearned reflexive response. Following that is the conditioned stimulus which is the stimulus that is originally neutral but comes to elicit a reflexive response. Last is the conditioned response which is the learned reflexive response to a previously …show more content…
In observational learning, there are four cognitive processes that interact to determine whether imitation will occur. First, you must pay attention to the other person 's behavior. Second, you must remember the person 's behavior so that you can perform it at a later time. That is, you must form and store a mental representation of the behavior to be imitated. Third, you must be able to transform the mental representation into action that you are capable of reproducing. Fourth, there must be some motivation for you to imitate the behavior. For instance, since Renee is interested in trying out for a sport, she most likely has seen people play the sport whether it would be at an event or through television. If she wants to perform well during team tryouts, she may watch professional players of the particular sport and try to imitate some of the good plays made during a game. If all the four factors are taken into account, then she will be able to imitate the plays she saw in her team tryouts. But it could also go the opposite way if she were to imitate the wrong plays made during the game. She could then make incorrect plays during her team tryouts and eventually being turned down from the team. One form of observational learning is vicarious punishment, which occurs when the tendency to engage in a behavior is weakened after having observed the negative consequences for another engaging in that behavior. This could be a good or bad thing for Renee’s performance during team tryouts. For example, if during a soccer match, someone tried to score a goal from across the field and missed then she is more likely to avoid that behavior when playing the game. On the other hand, if a soccer goal defender missed blocking the opposing team from scoring, she will more likely not want to play that specific role. All these principles could have a positive or negative influence on Renee’s