PSYC 281 – Classical Conditioning Assignment

Classical conditioning is process through which we learn by association. As we have learned inlecture, the pairing of stimuli can result in an association of a previously neutral stimulus withanother previously experienced stimulus. Classical conditioning occurs in many areas of oureveryday life. For example, many people experience taste aversion to foods that have beenpreviously associated with nausea. This assignment will help you better understand, anddemonstrate your understanding, of classical conditioning through your own life experiences.You are responsible for completing both part one and part two of the assignment in a written paragraph format using APA style.

Part One:
Think of a classically conditioned response you have experienced and describe the response itself and your process of learning this response. In other words what was the process you wentthrough in becoming classically conditioned, how were the stimuli paired, when did youexperience the stimuli, how long did it take before the response (association) was learned? Besure to identify the following in your description: neutral stimulus, unconditioned stimulus,unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, and conditioned response.

Part Two:
Answer the following questions (in paragraph format) as they relate to your described classically conditioned response.
a) What function does the classically conditioned association serve?

b) Could this association be extinguished? Explain in detail the extinction procedure and how you would conduct it.

c) What is spontaneous recovery and how would you determine whether it had occurred duringyour procedure?
d) Could your conditioned association/response become generalized? Describe how the process of generalization would occur for your association.

Format Instructions:
2. Please use 12 point Times / Times New Roman font, double-spaced throughout the paper. The report will be no longer than three pages.
3. Number the pages of your paper. Use APA formatting for any citations and for the various title, heading and subheadings within the assignment.