biological constraints to classical conditioning Essay

Submitted By ksjassal5
Words: 1723
Pages: 7
Open Document
Are there any biological constraints in classical conditioning?
Classical conditioning is one of the well known systems that the behavourists have developed over the years. A question that has been addressed is whether there are any biological constraints to classical conditioning. This means , does a subjects biological makeup have an effect on the traditional propositions of classical conditioning.
An idea that has been put forward is that human beings have innate phobias which cause them to learn differently when exposed to CS and US associations. Support of this view is by Ohman, Dimberg and Ost (1985) , who have come to the conclusion that human beings have a innate predisposition to gain fears of things which have been a danger to our ancestors , such as spiders and snakes. A study conducted by McNally (1987) , involved skin conductance responses as a conditioned response. One group's CS were pictures of a spider , while the US was a shock. The group were then presented pictures of snakes followed by no shocks. This procedure allowed the participants to develop a conditional discrmination because the spiders where followed by a shock but the snakes were not. In the Second group the roles of spiders and snakes had been swapped. Furthermore, in one control groups , shocks were administrated after viewing pictures of flowers , but not after viewing mushrooms and again the roles were reversed for the next control group. Usually, a study like this generates results that participants exibit a consistant SCR to the CS followed by the shock , whilst the CS not followed by a shock does not cause a SCR. McNally found that , discrimination learning is just as effective with mushrooms and flowers as it is with snakes and spiders. This finding weakens the biological prepardeness hypothesis , however some studies have found that extiction was much slower in the groups conditioned to snakes and spiders (Ohman , Dimberg &Ost , 1985 ; Schell , Dawson & Marinkovic 1991). Further support of biological prepardness is , when told verbal instructions such as ' you will recieve no more shocks' , fear responses were harder to shrug off for groups exposed to snakes and spiders than to groups who were shown mushrooms and flowers (Huddahl & Ohman 1977). This shows that our evolutionary and biological foundations , effect the processes of classical conditioning.
There seems to be more stimuli that contain a biologically prepared response. For example , humans have a predisposition to be afraid of angry faces. The reason for this is due to the consquences our ancestors have faced after seeing an angry or intimidating face. Support of this view is by Dimberg & Ohman (1983) . These researchers conducted a study similiar to the snakes and spiders conditional discrimination experiment. The only difference was , one group saw an aggressive face followed by a shock and the other group observed a neutral or happy face followed by a shock. The findings were that participants exibited a stronger SCR if they saw an angry face rather than a neutral or happy face. These findings contribute to the proposition that classical conditioning contains biological constraints. However ,Packer, Clark , Bond & Siddle (1991) , replicated the study involving conditional discrimination using angry faces and happy faces. Their findings were the complete opposite to (Packer et.al) , which has raised some thoughts to whether a null hypothesis should have been accepted instead of accepting that the results were due to biological prepardness.
In classical conditioning , the principle of continguity is a important principle of association. We can see that if the CS and US are seperated by even a few seconds like in trace conditioning , the rate of learning decreases. Support of this is by Kimble (1961) who claimed , "At the present time it seems unlikely that learning can take place at all with delays of more then a few seconds" . Therefore, the principle of
Show More

Related Documents: biological constraints to classical conditioning Essay

Psychology: Reinforcement and Classical Conditioning Essay

we learn by watching others’ experiences, classical conditioning, an event that occurs naturally, or operant conditioning which is “a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher.” 2. “Classical conditioning, is an event that occurs naturally (such as salivation), in response to some stimulus, something that naturally and automatically, without learning. “Classical conditioning laid the foundation for behaviorism, the view…

Words 412 - Pages 2

Psychology: Intelligence and Classical Conditioning Essay

it has been six months since she got the shot and although she has since visited her doctor, she no longer feels a twinge when she sees the flower poster. In behavioral terms, this process is called?- extinction. Midterm Chpt. 1-9 1) Classical conditioning involves learning?- associations to stimuli. 2) Stacey has a long way to walk in between classes because the road she would normally take is blocked by construction. After the construction is over, Stacey keeps taking the longer route…

Words 2293 - Pages 10

Essay On Family Violence

Violence Macro ► The Foundations of Criminological theory  Classical School  Positive School  Conflict School ►We will look at the micro explanations within each theory…… Classical School ► Individuals choose to engage in crime. ► People possess a free will and have the ability to reason ► People are hedonistic (pleasure seeking) ► Written law helps people know that if they break the law, there will be a consequence Classical School ► The punishment must fit the crime ► The punishment…

Words 1934 - Pages 8

Organizational Behavior Research Paper

Organizational Behavior BUS 502 Md. Lutfar Rahman Faculty College of Business Administration IUBAT—International University of Business Agriculture and Technology Text • Organizational Behavior 13th Edition • Author: Stephen P. Robbins Chapter ONE What is Organizational Behavior? Organizational Behavior • Organizational behavior (often abbreviated OB) is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations, for the purpose…

Words 7733 - Pages 31

Essay about Psych Study Guide 2

Exam 2: Study Guide Consciousness- an awareness of one’s surroundings and of what’s in one’s mind at a given moment; includes aspects of being awake and aware Flow- Where we may become so involved in what we are doing that we lose a sense of time and forget where we are Mindfulness- a heightened awareness of the present moment, whether of events in one’s environment or in one’s own mind “Spotlight” of consciousness- idea that conscious “shines a light” on certain neural processes (sight, sound…

Words 1581 - Pages 7

Essay on Psychology and Behaviour Psychodynamic Approach

Biological Approach: The Biological approach is shaped by internal/physical factors. Biological psychologists to study mental processes and behaviour apply the principles of body: genes. The genes adopt behaviour to the environment; our intelligence depends on the genetic make-up. The assumptions of the biological approach are: Genes influence production of hormones, hormones influence the brain structure and the brain structure influences our behaviour. The nucleus (cell in the human body within…

Words 2005 - Pages 9

Psych 310 Notes Essay

bias contaminate the conclusion? * >conformation bias- biological in nature * >emotional bias- tendency to make judgments based on attitudes and feelings rather than the rational evidence * 5. Does the issue require multiple perspectives? * 6. Does the reasoning avoid common fallacies? * > common sense * >fallacies are when we rely on common sense * Psychology’s 6 main perspectives PG 16 SCIENTISTS 1. biological perspective- physical causes for mental disorders 2. modern…

Words 5474 - Pages 22

Essay A Description of Analytic Psychology

Advanced Counselling Skills Level 4 Assignment 0ne 1. Briefly describe Analytic Psychology www.jungclub-london.org C. G. Jung Analytical Psychology Club London. "Who looks outside, dreams, who looks inside, awakens," The term 'psychoanalyst' is currently used to cover all those facts and theories presented in the works of Freud, Jung, and Adler. However it is often recommended that it should be applied only to the theory and practice of Freud and his disciples, and that the theory and practice…

Words 4815 - Pages 20

The Causes And Stages Of Prenatal Development

infants when they are separated from people with whom they have formed an attachment. –peaks around 14-18 months and then starts to decline Harry Harlow: Experiment with cloth mothers and bottle mothers for monkeys.—proposed that attachment had a biological basis. Emit behaviors that adults are programmed to respond to with warmth, love, and protection Mary Ainsworth: Attachment falls into 3 categories: Secure attachment—upset when mother leaves, and quickly calmed when mother returns. Anxious ambivalent…

Words 5212 - Pages 21

Essay on Inappropriate Behavior in Schools: Causes and Solution

An essay that examines Possible Causes of Inappropriate Behaviour in Schools and Strategies that Combat Misbehaviour Misbehaviour in schools is a common occurrence and has been for some time. Schools have historically always been associated with misbehaviour and throughout recent years, misbehaviour has been consistently nominated as one of the leading problems that is faced by adults in educational settings (Deitz and Hummel, 1978:10). It is something that on a daily basis, members of the teaching…

Words 3776 - Pages 16