Running head: CLASSICAL CONDITIONING !

Classical Conditioning

Helen Rosas Costa

Salt Lake Community College

Running head: CLASSICAL CONDITIONING !2

Introduction

Classical conditioning is defined as, when a person or animal learns to associate a

neutral stimulus (the sound) with a meaningful stimulus (the food), gradually reacting to the

neutral stimulus in the same way as to the meaningful one (Berger, 2016). As stated by the

author classical conditioning was when Ivan Pavlov was studying digestion the experiment dogs

drooled not only when they saw and smelled food but also when they heard the footsteps of the

attendants who brought the food. This observation led Pavlov to hypotheses and experiments in

which he conditioned dogs to salivate when they heard a specific noise. Pavlov began by

sounding a tone just before presenting food. After a number of repetitions of the tone-then-food

sequence, dogs began salivating at the sound, even when there was no food (Berger, 2016). In the

case of Pavlovs dogs the experience was a fairly neutral or positive experience but classical

conditioning may also be used to create negative or adverse experiences. Studies have been done

to try to correlate anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the

following studies it will show the attempts to research on fear conditioning and how it is

perceived by the subjects.

Classical Fear Conditioning

As Duits, P., Cath, D. C., Lissek, S., etc. have studied, when attempting to do classical

conditioning with subjects if the conditioned stimulus no longer associates with the

unconditioned stimulus after some time the classical conditioning become extinct but what they

had discovered was that the unconditioned stimulus may associate with another unconditioned

stimulus that when the second unconditioned stimuli is present it causes the first unconditioned

stimuli to occur and becomes a conditioned reaction. With that statement, anxiety disorders like
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PTSD may not be able to be conditioned in a way where it has a positive effect instead of a

negative effect because of possible unconditioned stimuli present from the initial fear

conditioning and impedes on the process of attempting to reverse the adverse affects of PTSD.

However, these findings not only represent negative classical conditioning but also the neutral

and positive conditioning. With that said, depending on the environment that the conditioning

had taken place, there can be those other unconditioned stimuli that might be present that can

possibly alter the effect of the other unconditioned stimuli and/or create a secondary conditioned

reaction.

Acquired Fears

More research done in regards to classical fear conditioning done by Miskovic, V., &

Keil, A. in regards to seeing how the classical fear conditioning affected the biology and survival

instincts of the subjects. Similar to the results by Duits, P., Cath, D. C., Lissek, S., etc., there was

other unconditioned stimuli present besides the initial unconditioned stimulus and conditioned

stimuli. In this research they had conditioned the subjects to associate the unconditioned stimuli,

which resulted in them being afraid or showing fear, with the conditioned stimuli. When the

subjects were exposed to the conditioned stimuli they went into a fight-or-flight state, which

means their body will move their blood to the extremities in order to either fight whatever is

causing the fear or to run away from the fear. A way to remove a conditioned reaction is to make

the reaction extinct. To make the reaction extinct, the conditioned stimuli is removed while the

unconditioned stimuli is still present. After some time, the subject no longer associates the

conditioned stimuli with the unconditioned stimuli which makes the reaction extinct. They

attempted to make this conditioned reaction extinct by removing the conditioned stimuli but
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because of the previous mentioned secondary unconditioned stimuli the reaction was still present

and had basically made the secondary unconditioned stimuli into a new conditioned stimuli.

Because of the new conditioned stimuli, the subjects still showed the same response as the initial

conditioned reaction even though the initial conditioned stimulus had been removed in attempt to

make the reaction extinct.

Hypothesis

From both of the articles and the research done it concludes that fear conditioning is

difficult to control because of other stimuli present that prevents from being able to get the

reaction to become extinct. Because of this, researchers are unable to assist with anxiety

disorders such as PTSD because of other underlying factors and stimuli that cannot be traced.

My hypothesis is if there is more research done to attempt to single out the secondary, tertiary, or

other unconditioned stimuli in the environment that may be able to either be associated with

other conditioned stimuli or to make it so it is not acknowledged as another unconditioned

stimuli by the subject it may make it to where it the conditioned fear reaction can be made to be

extinct. Simulation of environments where one may develop an anxiety disorder may make it to

where more research can be done on what factors and stimuli may be associated with the

conditioning and can be traced enough to where these anxiety disorders may be conditioned to be

extinct and rid the subject of the disorder.

Conclusion

In conclusion, classical conditioning can be used and result in both positive and negative

experiences for the subjects. While in the original experiment Ivan Pavlov had made the

experience fairly neutral or slightly positive, testing the dogs to see if they would salivate while
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awaiting for food, since then classical conditioning has spread to many other outlets. Examples

of different kinds of classical conditioning are; animals doing tricks for treats, veterans suffering

from PTSD, and also fear conditioning in general. A possible solution to PTSD classical

conditioning is possibly conditioning the subjects to positive stimuli to try to associate the

unconditioned stimulus. As Miskovic, V., & Keil, A. have researched, the issue with attempting

this is the presence of other unconditioned stimulus that may already associate in the subjects

mind. Because of this it may cause the positive classical conditioning to be null. Further research

may be done to attempt this theory. We may be able to use classical conditioning for further use

as to assist in the coping of conditioned fears or even to attempt to advance further skills in life

such as studying and other aspects of life. While the focus of this research is attempting to

remove the negative conditioned reactions, once that has more evidence and research available it

can be used in more of a positive light or in other scenarios.

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References

Berger, Kathleen Stassen. Invitation to the Life Span (Page 27). Worth Publishers. Kindle

Edition.

Duits, P., Cath, D. C., Lissek, S., Hox, J. J., Hamm, A. O., Engelhard, I. M., & ... Baas, J. P.

(2015). UPDATED META-ANALYSIS OF CLASSICAL FEAR CONDITIONING IN

THE ANXIETY DISORDERS. Depression & Anxiety (1091-4269), 32(4), 239-253.

Miskovic, V., & Keil, A. (2012). Acquired fears reflected in cortical sensory processing: A

review of electrophysiological studies of human classical conditioning.

Psychophysiology, 49(9), 1230-1241.