Classical Conditioning

About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about classical conditioning, a form of learning by association, focusing in particular on: (i) the research of Ivan Pavlov who showed that dogs can be conditioned to salivate at the presentation of a particular stimulus through a process of associative learning; (ii) definitions of the unconditioned stimulus, the unconditioned response, the conditioned stimulus and the conditioned response, all coined by Pavlov; (iii) how these terms can be applied to other forms of classical conditioning; (iv) the ‘Little Albert Study’ by Watson and Rayner (1920); (v) the use of classical conditioning techniques in advertising; (vi) how the salience of a stimulus (e.g. the amount of food presented) impacts how quickly associative learning occurs.

About the lecturer

Martyn Quigley is a Teaching Associate in the School of Psychology at the University of Nottingham. His research interests include the mechanisms which underpin learning in a whole manner of circumstances, and how these can be linked to applied settings (e.g. educational and medical settings). He is also interested in the philosophy of science and how this relates to psychology and the replication crisis.