Cognitive, Neurophysiological, and Evolutionary Theories

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Cognitive, Neurophysiological, and Evolutionary Theories

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Piaget Chart

Piaget Chart

Stage	Description	Task
Sensorimotor Stage	Occurs between Birth and age 2. Child can construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences with physical actions, progresses from reflexive and instinctual action to the beginning of symbolic thought, begins to develop object permanence and motor skills, has little to no capacity for symbolic representation and has an absence of language.	Child begins to understand that during a game of peek - a - boo, the person has not disappeared. This is the beginning of object permanence.
Preoperational Stage	Occurs between ages two and seven. The child represents the world with words and images, has increased symbolic thinking, develops language, has egocentric thinking, and begins to understand the principle of conservation. This stage has two substages: preconceptual thinking and period of intuitive thought.	During this stage, a child understands that a ball is a ball. The child associates the word “ball” with the image of a ball.
Concrete Operational Stage	Occurs between the ages of seven and eleven. The child can reason logically about concrete events, can classify objects into sets, masters the principle of conservation, and understands the concept of reversibility.	The child sees two rows of four quarters each. Row one has the quarters close together but the second row has a space between the coins. The child is able to understand that both rows have the same amount of coins despite the spacing.
Formal Operational Stage	Occurs from age eleven and through adulthood. The child can reason in more abstract, idealistic, and logical ways, can entertain possibilities of the future, and is more systematic in problem solving.	The child is able to work through algebra problems.

References

McGraw - Hill (2011). Psychsmart. New York, NY: Author.

Olson, M. H., & Hergenhahn, B. R. (2009). An introduction to theories of learning (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Santrock, J. W. (2010). Children (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw - Hill.

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Using someone else's work without giving proper credit, is plagiarism. If you use my work, please reference it.

Classical Conditioning

Classical Conditioning

Within psychology there are several types of learning. Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov discovered one type of learning accidentally (Wood, Wood,  & Boyd, 2011). While studying the digestive system of dogs, Pavlov became interested with his observation that the dogs responded to the sight of the experimenter just as they did to food. Thus, classical conditioning was born. While Pavlov first used animals in experiments, it was discovered that classical conditioning principles were evident in many aspects of everyday human behavior (McGraw - Hill, 2011). The classical conditioning method of learning is evident throughout the life span and may be used to create a behavior, such as fear, or erase a previously learned behavior, such as addiction.

Classical Conditioning Theory

Classical conditioning is a basic form of associative learning (Malaka, 1999). After Ivan Pavlov made the connection between salivating dogs and the experimenter’s footsteps, he began to study the components of classical conditioning. Pavlov stated that the most important factor was the connection between the stimulus and response. In a basic definition, classical conditioning occurs when a neutral stimulus is paired with another stimulus to elicit the response naturally brought about by the second stimulus. A neutral stimulus brings about a response before conditioning. This response is the response of interest to the experimenter. The main components involved in classical conditioning are the unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, and the conditioned response. An unconditioned stimulus is one in which a response is brought without being learned. A conditioned stimulus is a once neutral stimulus when paired with the unconditioned stimulus brings about the response that was once caused by the unconditioned stimulus. How can one tell if a stimulus is conditioned or unconditioned? A person must consider if the stimulus causes the unconditioned response in every normal human (McGraw - Hill, 2011). The unconditioned response is natural and requires no training. A term associated with the unconditioned response is reflex (Wood, Wood,  & Boyd, 2011). A conditioned response is one that occurs after conditioning following the addition of a neutral stimulus. Pavlov also explained extinction in relation to classical conditioning. Extinction, in this sense, occurs when a conditioned response decreases in frequency and disappears. In order for extinction to occur, the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus association must end. Also included in classical conditioning theory is spontaneous recovery, stimulus generalization, stimulus discrimination, and higher – order conditioning. Spontaneous recovery explains the “reemergence of an extinguished response after a period of rest and no further conditioning” (McGraw - Hill, 2011, p. 116). Spontaneous recovery explains the reason why some drug addictions are difficult to overcome. Sometimes in classical conditioning the two stimuli are similar or distinct. Stimulus generalization occurs when a conditioned response follows two stimuli that are similar. Generalization is more likely to occur when the two stimuli have a high similarity. Stimulus discrimination occurs when two stimuli are distinct from each other to the point that one stimulus results in a conditioned response but the other does not. Higher – order conditioning occurs when the “conditioned stimuli are linked together and form a series of signals” (Wood, Wood,  & Boyd, 2011, p. 153) . An example of this is the fear of the dentist. The waiting room, dentist chair, and tools may all be stimuli causing the fear.

 Classical Conditioning Scenario

For my scenario, I have chosen to illustrate the dinner routine in my home. We do not have a typical routine as other families. Our dinner routine consists of each child coming to the kitchen, receiving his or her plate, and then sitting at the table to eat. Previously I had to call for the children to come to the kitchen, even if I was within sight. One day I took the plates and utensils out as dinner was finishing and then called the children to the table. After several days of this method, I stopped calling the names and only took the plates and utensils out and sat them on the counter.  The children came to the kitchen upon hearing them placed on the counter. The children had learned to come to the kitchen when I took the plates and utensils out.

Classical Conditioning Chart

            US(calling the children’s name) -> UR(coming for dinner)
            CS(Getting plates and utensils) + US(Calling children’s names) -> UR(coming for dinner)
            CS(Getting plates and utensils out) -> CR(coming for dinner)

Conclusion

Classical conditioning is an important learning tool in a human’s life. This type of learning can be used throughout the life span. Through the use of classical conditioning, a person may be helped through a fear or addiction. Classical conditioning can also cause harmful behaviors in a person. Ivan Pavlov, although accidentally, discovered an important model in the learning process.

References

Malaka, R. (1999). Models of Classical Conditioning. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 61(1), 33-83.

McGraw - Hill (2011). Psychsmart. New York, NY: Author.

Wood, S. E., Wood, E. G., & Boyd, D. (2011). The world of psychology (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

Plagiarism:

Using someone else's work without giving proper credit, is plagiarism. If you use my work, please reference it.