Behaviours Learned Through Classical Conditioning

Nirjhari Chhaya
N01007956
Practical Nursing
November 27, 2014
Psychology: Introduction PSYC 150

Classical conditioning is one of many the ways to condition a persons behaviour. It

involves learning through association by relating two stimuli together (Wood, S., Wood, E. G.,
Boyd, Wood, E., Desmarais, 2013, p. 126). In this essay, I will discuss how classical conditioning
works and give an example of when I learned through classical conditioning and how it changed
my behaviour. The behaviour I will discuss is the fear and nervousness I experience when I am
on a moving escalators. I have associated this behaviour to almost falling off a moving escalator.
I will also examine two classical conditioning processes and how they have come forth due to
my learned behaviour.
As mentioned previously, classical conditioning is learned by associating one stimulus to
another. A Russian physiologist, by the name of Ivan Pavlov, discovered this method of learning.
He did an experiment on digestion in dogs and while doing this experiment he noticed that the
dogs started salivating even before the food was brought to them. Therefore, he decided to test
his findings further and see if the dogs would salivate to a neutral stimulus such as a bell. Thus,
he told his lab technicians to ring a bell, every time, before serving the dogs their food. After a
while, he noticed that the dogs started salivating to the sound of the bell and he called this
learned behaviour through association classical conditioning. There are four components of
classical conditioning: unconditioned stimulus (UCS), unconditioned response (UCR),
conditioned stimulus (CS), and conditioned response (CR). The unconditioned stimulus is the
natural stimulus that elicits a natural reflexive response, also known as the unconditioned
response. A conditioned stimulus is neutral stimulus, something that would not otherwise
produce the same reaction, which elicits a natural reflexive response after being coupled with the
unconditioned stimulus. The conditioned response is then the learned reflexive response to the
conditioned stimulus. In Pavlovs experiment, the UCS was the food, the UCR was salivating to

the food, the CS was bell that was rung before serving the food, and the CR was salivating to the
bell. Therefore, Pavlov, with his experiment on dogs, was able to discover and support his theory
of learning through association.
According to Pavlovs theory of learning through classical conditioning, the CS needs to
be paired with the UCS in order to produce the CR. An example in my life where I have learned
through the process of classical conditioning was when I connected the fear of almost falling off
a moving escalator to fear of the moving escalator, refer to Appendix A. I have attained this
behaviour through classical conditioning because a moving escalator broke down while I was
going up on it. I almost fell of the escalator, which elicited the fear and nervousness response in
me and now every time I go on an escalator I feel the same fear and nervousness. In my example
the UCS was almost falling down and the UCR was the fear and nervousness brought on by
almost falling down. The CS, in my case, was the moving escalator and the CR was the fear and
nervousness faced when on the moving escalator. Through this example, I have been able to
learn the fear and nervousness response of being on a moving escalator by relating the moving
escalator to almost falling down while being on a moving escalator. Hence, this proves that the
classical conditioning theory works.
Classical conditioning has many processes involved in it, two of which are generalization
and higher-order conditioning. Generalization is producing the CR to a stimulus that is similar to
the CS. In my example, the CS is the moving escalator and I have generalized the fear and
nervousness of the moving escalator to stairs. When I am climbing up or down the stairs, I feel
the same fear and nervousness I feel when I am on a moving escalator. The more crowded the
stairs are the more fear and nervousness I feel. The fear is also higher depending on which part of
the stairs I am on, for example if I am in the middle of the stairs the fear is higher compared to

when I am closer to the side where I can hold the railing. This shows that the process of
generalization does happen if the stimulus is similar to the CS. Another process is higher-order
conditioning, which occurs when a neutral stimulus is paired with an existing conditioned
stimulus, becomes associated with it, and gains the power to elicit the same conditioned
response (Wood et al, 2013, p.131). Therefore, higher-order conditioning takes place when the
CS acts like an UCS and produces the same CR. I have experienced higher-order conditioning
related to my example. In my case, the elevator acts like the UCS of almost falling down and
elicits the same fear and nervousness response. When I am on the elevator and it suddenly goes
down or up, I feel the same fear I felt when I almost fell down from the escalator. This example
proves that a higher-order conditioning can occur. Furthermore, it is evident that the different
types of classical conditioning processes are influenced by a behaviour learned through
association, and they can further enhance the effects of the learned behaviour.
The effects of classical conditioning can be seen through experiments such as the one
done by Pavlov as well as in everyday life. Classical conditioning is one of the easiest ways of
learning. However, it can have an impact on your emotional responses, attitudes, and likes and
dislikes. It can also change your behaviour towards things and change the way you perceive
things. The processes involved in classical conditioning can further influence the learned
behaviour both positively and negatively. The classical conditioning method has a disadvantage;
it is limited in its range of use as it can only be applied when a CR is associated with the reflex.
Nevertheless, the classical conditioning method is affective in teaching desirable behaviours and
treating many psychological conditions such as phobias or anxiety.

Appendix A. My Classical Conditioning Example of the Moving Escalator

Moving Escalator
(conditioned stimulus)

Fear and Nervousness

(conditioned response)

Almost Falling Down

Fear and Nervousness

(unconditioned stimulus)

(unconditioned response)

Reference List
Wood, S.E., Wood, E. G., Boyd, D., Wood, E., & Desmarais, S. (2013). The world of psychology
(7th Canadian ed.). Toronto: Pearson Canada.