1. CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING
By Madi Muscat

2. KEY TERMS
Reinforcement = the process of encouraging or
establishing a belief or pattern of behaviour
Learnt = when knowledge has been acquired
through study, experience or being taught
Response = a reaction to something
Stimulus = a thing/event that evokes a specific
reaction
Antecedent = a thing/event that existed before

3. KEY TERMS
Consequence = a result/effect of an action
Classical conditioning = a simple form of
learning, which occurs through repeated
association of two (or more) different stimuli
Neutral stimulus (NS) = the conditioned stimulus
before it becomes conditioned
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) = any stimulus that
consistently produces a particular response
Unconditioned response (UCR) = a response which
occurs automatically when the UCS is presented

4. KEY TERMS
Conditioned stimulus = the stimulus which is neutral at
the start of conditioning. Wouldn’t normally produce
the UCR, but does so eventually because of its
association with the UCS.
Conditioned response = a response which occurs
automatically when the UCS is presented.
Acquisition = the learning/developing of a skill, habit, or
quality
Acquisition phase = The consistent pairings of the CS and
the UCS that produces a CR.
Extinction = When the UCS is no longer presented along
with the CS.

5. KEY TERMS
Spontaneous recovery = When CS is
reintroduced after extinction and a period of
rest has occurred, and the CR again appears
Stimulus generation = When the organism will
respond by producing a CR to stimuli that are
similar to the CS
Stimulus discrimination =When the organism
only responds to the CS and no other similar
stimuli

6. THE PROCESS OF CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING
(Before conditioning)
Unconditioned stimulus = unconditioned
response
Neutral stimulus = no unconditioned response

7. THE PROCESS OF CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING
(During conditioning)
Neutral stimulus + unconditioned stimulus =
unconditioned response

8. THE PROCESS OF CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING
(After conditioning)
Conditioned stimulus = conditioned response