Classic Conditioning ... On the Job

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING…ON THE JOB

Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which an originally neutral stimulus comes to elicit a new response after having been paired with a stimulus that reflexively elicits that same response. To demonstrate classical conditioning, an unconditioned stimulus—one that consistently produces a predictable response, or unconditioned response, is paired with a neutral stimulus—one that, when presented, produces a minimal response, or a response of no particular interest.

When first presented with a neutral stimulus, by itself, a subject will exhibit a response known as an orienting reflex—the subject will simply attend to the stimulus. After a while, however, the subject will get used to the stimulus and will ignore it. This process is known as habituation. After this has been achieved, both stimuli are paired, that is; they are presented at about the same time—the neutral stimulus first and then the unconditioned stimulus right after. If this process is repeated several times, conditioning, or learning, takes place.

Now when the subject is presented with the neutral stimulus by itself, it will have the same effect on the subject as the unconditioned stimulus has. The neutral stimulus is no longer neutral. It is now referred to as a conditioned stimulus, which elicits a conditioned response.

In short, classical conditioning starts with two stimuli: the neutral stimulus, which elicits no response, and the unconditioned stimulus, which elicits an unconditioned response. The two stimuli are then repeatedly presented together. As a result, when the conditioned stimulus is presented alone, it now elicits a conditioned response.

The man responsible for discovering the concept of classical conditioning was a physiologist named Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov actually founded the concept while studying the basic processes of digestion. In his study, he was focusing on the salivation reflex in dogs. While performing his experiments, he noticed that the dogs would sometimes salivate at the mere sight of food or even just at the sight of the assistant who brought the food.

From this observation, Pavlov designed the test, which proved and introduced the concept of classical conditioning into the psychology world. In his experiment, the neutral stimulus was a tone and the unconditioned stimulus was food powder. After being repeatedly paired, the neutral stimulus became a conditioned stimulus—the tone now elicited salivation by itself; an unconditioned response.

I, myself, have unwittingly undergone classical conditioning. At the time this took place, I did not realize that classical conditioning had taken place; I didn’t even know what classical conditioning was. It was not until I studied the chapter on learning, that I came to realize that I actually had been classically conditioned. It is only now, after having taken this psychology course that I am able to identify and understand a particular occurrence in my daily life that I would have otherwise remained oblivious to.

Over the summer, I acquired a night job as a telemarketer for a newspaper company. During my first days on the job, I would hear a beeping noise when the clock reached 7:15 p.m. When I asked my boss why the clock sounded off at 7:15 every night, she told me that up until recently, the alarm was