Classical Conditioning Examples
Classical Conditioning: Helpful Hints
• To find:
• 1
st
find response (usually the same or similar)
• Next, find 1
st
thing that caused that response. This will
be your UCS- it causes the unlearned response (UCR).
• Then, find the 2
nd
thing that caused that response.
This will be your CS. This causes a learned response
(CR) because of the connection between the UCS and
CS.
• The UCS and UCR usually appear in the beginning of
the example and the CS and CR are towards the end
of the example.
1. Fred has a fluffy down pillow with some of the down
sticking out of the fabric. When he first tries out the pillow,
a piece of down tickles his nose and he sneezes. This
happens every time he goes to bed. Soon he sneezes every
time he lays down on any kind of pillow.
– US- piece of down
– UR- sneezes
– CS- pillow
– CR- sneezes
– Generalization- any kind of pillow
2. Every time you take a shower, someone in the house flushes
the toilet causing the water to turn cold and you to become
cold. Now every time you hear a toilet flush, you get cold.
– US- cold water
– UR- feel cold
– CS- hear a flush
– CR- feel cold
3. It is springtime and the pollen from the flowers causes you to
sneeze. Soon you are sneezing every time you see a flower.
– US- pollen
– UR- sneezes
– CS- see a flower
– CR- sneezes
4. In order to treat bed wetting, a pad that is sensitive to dampness
is placed under the sheets. When this pad becomes wet, it sounds
an alarm and you wake up. Eventually you don't need the alarm to
wake up and your full bladder will wake you up.
– US- alarm
– UR- wake up
– CS- full bladder
– CR- wake up
5. People receiving chemotherapy often vomit during or shortly
after the procedure. After several chemotherapy sessions, people
begin feeling sick at the sight of the treatment room.
– US- chemotherapy
– UR- vomit
– CS- treatment room
– CR- feeling sick
6. Often times physicians will give treatments that make people
feel uncomfortable (a shot for example). After this happens
several times, people will begin feeling uncomfortable at the
sight of anyone in a white lab coat.
– US- treatments, shots
– UR- feeling uncomfortable
– CS- white lab coat
– CR- feeling uncomfortable
– Generalization- anyone in a white
lab coat
7. Your significant other often yells at you and makes you feel
bad. Pretty soon you can't stand the look of that person and
end the relationship. You meet another person who looks like
your ex. Although this person seems nice, you find yourself
feeling bad every time you are around him/her.
– US- yelling
– UR- feeling bad
– CS- significant other
– CR- can't stand them
– Generalization – last sentence
8. The sight of food makes you hungry. Soon every time you go
into the kitchen, you feel hungry.
– US- sight of food
– UR- hungry
– CS- kitchen
– CR- hungry
9. One of your friends drinks several sodas while eating
pepperoni pizza. After becoming sick, she refuses to eat
pepperoni pizza.
– US- sodas
– UR- feeling sick
– CS- pepperoni pizza
– CR- feeling sick
10. You meet a new person who is an excellent cook. After a
few superb meals you find yourself liking that person very
much.
– US- superb meals
– UR- good feeling about the food
– CS- person who is an excellent cook
– CR- liking, good feeling about the person
11. Whenever you see a scary movie, you always eat a box of
thin mints. Now you find that just seeing thin mints makes you
feel scared.
– US- scary movie
– UR- feeling scared
– CS- thin mints
– CR- feeling scared
12. Whenever you go to bed you fall asleep very quickly. On
week you have a lot of stress and instead of falling asleep you
lie awake several nights in a row. Now, even though the stress
is gone, you have difficulty sleeping in your bed. Eventually,
after several nights without stress, you fall to sleep quickly.
– US- stress
– UR- lie awake/ difficulty sleeping
– CS- bed
– CR- difficulty sleeping
– Extinction- last sentence
