Pavlov's classical conditioning model

Definition

Pavlov's classical conditioning model is a theory that explains how organisms learn to associate a neutral stimulus with a meaningful stimulus, resulting in the neutral stimulus acquiring the ability to elicit a response.

Theoretical Perspectives

Classical conditioning is rooted in behaviorism, a perspective emphasizing observable behaviors over internal mental processes. It views learning as a process of acquiring new behaviors through associations.

Study And Research Findings

Ivan Pavlov's work with dogs, demonstrating that a neutral stimulus (bell) paired with an unconditioned stimulus (food) could produce a conditioned response (salivation), is foundational to classical conditioning research.

Related terms

Unconditioned Stimulus (US):

The unconditioned stimulus is the original meaningful stimulus that naturally triggers a response without any prior learning.

Unconditioned Response (UR):

The unconditioned response is the automatic or reflexive response elicited by the unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS):

The conditioned stimulus is initially neutral but acquires the ability to elicit a response after being consistently paired with an unconditioned stimulus.