Is the tone really a neutral stimulus? Or will the woman blink when she hears the tone?
Let’s find out. Select the PLAY TONE button three times and watch for an eyeblink in response to the tone.
Chapter 12. Conditioning an Eyeblink
Introduction
classical conditioning
a simple form of learning that involves forming an association between two stimuli
stimulus
an external event, such as a light or sound, detected by our senses
conditioned response (CR)
a response that, after conditioning, is triggered by a formerly neutral stimulus
unconditioned response (UR)
in classical conditioning, a response that is automatically triggered by a stimulus event
conditioned stimulus (CS)
in classical conditioning, an initially neutral stimulus that, after conditioning, is able to trigger a response
unconditioned stimulus (US)
in classical conditioning, an event that automatically triggers a response; no learning is required
neutral stimulus (NS)
in classical conditioning, an event that produces no response (is ignored)
Сondit Eye Blink
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Learning Objectives:
Describe a sequence of events that could lead a person to form a classically conditioned eyeblink response.
Apply classical conditioning terminology to a learned eyeblink response.
Review
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Review
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1. In classical conditioning, a person or animal learns to associate two stimulus events that occur close together in time.
12.0.1 Review
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2. One of these events (called the unconditioned stimulus, or US) automatically produces a reaction (called the unconditioned response, or UR) in the learner. The other event is initially a neutral stimulus (NS), because it doesn't produce a reaction.
12.0.2 Review
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3. In this simulated eyeblink conditioning experiment, the unconditioned stimulus (US) is a puff of air that automatically always produces an eyeblink response (the unconditioned response, or UR). The puff of air will be preceded by a tone, which initially is a neutral stimulus (NS) that doesn’t produce any response.
12.0.3 Review
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4. But if that neutral stimulus (NS) repeatedly occurs just before the unconditioned stimulus (US), eventually the learner recognizes the connection between the two stimuli.
12.0.4 Review
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5. After that point, the neutral stimulus (NS) (the tone) is called the conditioned stimulus (CS), because it will produce the same eyeblink response (now called the conditioned response, or CR) even in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus (US).
12.1 Practice 1: Introducing the Experiment
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Practice 1: Introducing the Experiment
After reading this screen, select the NEXT button to test the tone and verify that it is initially a neutral stimulus (NS).
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In this experiment, your task is to condition this woman to blink her eyes whenever she hears a certain tone.
In the terminology of classical conditioning, the conditioned response (CR) we hope to produce is an involuntary eyeblink.
The conditioned stimulus (CS) is the tone. We'll test it before we begin to show that it is a neutral stimulus (NS) — that is, it is unlikely to cause an eyeblink before we begin the conditioning trials.
Next, we need to find an unconditioned stimulus (US) that always produces an eyeblink as an unconditioned response (UR) — that is, a response that occurs without any prior learning. Researchers typically use a puff of air directed at the eyeball through a small tube. Subjects can't see the air coming, but they blink involuntarily when the puff is administered.
So, the puff of air is the US and the eyeblink to the puff is the UR.
12.2 Practice 2: Testing the Tone
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Practice 2: Testing the Tone
Select the PLAY TONE button to test the tone. Watch for an eyeblink.
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She seems to be an ideal subject. She shows no evidence of a blink reaction to the tone.
Now, select the NEXT button to run the experiment
12.3 Practice 3: Running the Experiment
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Practice 3: Running the Experiment
Select the PLAY TONE button to begin each trial, then watch what happens.
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On each trial, a tone (the CS) will sound. After it ends, it will be immediately followed by a puff of air (the US). The puff of air always produces an eyeblink (the UR), which means an eyeblink will occur on every trial. But only those blinks produced before the puff occurs are counted as CRs.
We will now do 20 conditioning trials, pairing the tone with the puff of air. For each trial, a black dot will appear on the graph to indicate the exact time when the eyeblink occurred.
It appears that the conditioning was successful. At first, she blinked after the puff of air arrived (so the blink was a UR to the puff). But after 10 or so trials, she usually blinked before the puff arrived (so the blink was a CR to the tone.)
Congratulations! Her involuntary eyeblink response has been conditioned to occur whenever she hears the tone.
Quiz
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Quiz
Match the terms with the conditioning items by dragging each term to the appropriate item (in the context of this eyeblink conditioning simulation). When all the terms have been placed, select the CHECK ANSWER button.
Conclusion
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Congratulations!
You have completed the activity
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