Learning Principles

Module 3

What's going on here?

• As you might have deduced, you are classically conditioning your friends eyes! Here's how:

  When confronted with darkness, the autonomic nervous system responds by enlarging the pupil of the eye. This completely involuntary response allows more light to hit the retina, thereby increasing vision. This response forms the basis for the classical conditioning model:

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  Unconditioned Stimulus  =======> Unconditioned Response 

  Darkness ====================> Pupil Dilation

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  We have then added a new Stimulus (whistle) and by presenting it in close proximity to the presentation of the unconditioned stimulus (darkness), we have established a pairing between the whistle and the pupil dilation. This completes the model:

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  Conditioned Stimulus  ======> Conditioned Response 

  Whistle ==================> Pupil Dilation

  Conditioning -- IT WORKS!

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