classical conditioning

noun

1. conditioning ( def 2 ).

classical conditioning

noun

1. psychol the alteration in responding that occurs when two stimuli are regularly paired in close succession: the response originally given to the second stimulus comes to be given to the first See also conditioned response

classical conditioning

/ klăs′ĭ-kəl /

1. A process of behavior modification in which a subject learns to respond in a desired manner such that a neutral stimulus (the conditioned stimulus ) is repeatedly presented in association with a stimulus (the unconditioned stimulus ) that elicits a natural response (the unconditioned response ) until the neutral stimulus alone elicits the same response (now called the conditioned response ). For example, in Pavlov's experiments, food is the unconditioned stimulus that produces salivation, a reflex or unconditioned response. The bell is the conditioned stimulus, which eventually produces salivation in the absence of food. This salivation is the conditioned response.

Word History and Origins

Origin of classical conditioning¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Notar said the results are "exciting" because "classical conditioning hasn't really been shown definitively in this group of animals before."

From Science Daily

Associative learning, which includes classical conditioning, is one of the simplest types of learning and has been studied intensively over the past century.

From Science Daily

Associative memories induced by classical conditioning, moreover, are thought to be analogous to traumatic memories that cause PTSD.

From Salon

In an example of classical conditioning, ferrets trained to associate a signal with a stimulus that causes a blink at regular intervals will blink at the appropriate moment after hearing the signal alone.

From Scientific American

“I brought him as many good things as bad things. That disrupts that kind of classical conditioning.”

From New York Times