How is classical conditioning defined, and how is it different from other forms of conditioning?

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By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

  • Competency 1: Use information technology and tools to identify information in the domain of learning and cognition.▪Summarize a scholarly research article regarding the treatment of phobias.
  • Competency 2: Assess the important theories, paradigms, research findings, and conclusions in human learning and cognition. 
▪Describe aspects of a scholarly research article that reflects behaviorist principles. ▪ Analyze how behaviorism is relevant today.
  • Competency 5: Apply knowledge of theory and research in learning and cognition to inform personal behavior, professional goals, and values in order to understand social policy. 
▪Apply behaviorist theory and research to personal learning experiences.
  • Competency 6: Communicate effectively in a variety of formats.
▪Write coherently to support a central idea in appropriate APA format with correct grammar, usage, and 
mechanics as expected of a psychology professional.
  • Context
  • Stimulus Learning 
Psychologists who study learning in humans and other animals examine an event’s relationship (or association) to a stimulus or stimuli. Some argue that this associative relationship underlies all instances of learning; others make distinctions between associative and non-associative, or stimulus, learning. This assessment focuses on the latter—single-event, non-associative learning and the waxing and waning of habituation. 
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The Assessment 2 Context document contains additional key information about stimulus learning, covering the following topics: 
• Classical Conditioning.
• Instrumental Conditioning
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Questions To Consider
  • 
To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community. 
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  • How do non-associative learning and associative learning differ? That is, how is each defined, studied, and 
exemplified?

How has associative learning (that is, stimulus learning), including habituation and sensitization, been studied? • What is the difference between habitual learning and perceptual learning?
• Is habituation a form of learning?
• What is the connection between exposure therapies and habituation?

  • How is classical conditioning defined, and how is it different from other forms of conditioning? • What are the basic phenomena involved in classical conditioning?
• What is learned through classical conditioning?
• What are some real-world applications of classical conditioning?
  • How can classical conditioning theory be used to alleviate fears and phobias?
• What is instrumental conditioning, and how does it differ from classical conditioning? • What are reinforcers and punishers?
• What is the connection between instrumental conditioning and learning?
• How is instrumental conditioning applied to real-world settings?
• Has cognitive psychology overthrown behaviorism?
• What applications are there today for behaviorism?

Resources Suggested Resources
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