● Respond to at least two (2) peers

● APA format in-text citations

● 200 words each

Peer 1: Carlynn

Reflecting on patterns and routines in life that emulate aspects of classical conditioning has allowed me to realize it has been more common than not. As a child, going to my grandmother’s house was always a special treat because she would have freshly made cookies right out of the oven waiting for me when I arrived. The unconditioned stimulus of the cookies (US) would elicit the unconditioned response of my tummy rumbling from the smell (UR). At some point, my mother told my grandmother that I needed to eat something healthy before I had cookies, so my grandmother paired the cookies (US) with a veggie pasta salad (NS). As a kid, the veggie pasta salad (NS) did not make my tummy rumble like the cookies. However, with each visit, the combination of the two made my tummy rumble, and soon, the veggies pasta salad (CS) elicited the (CR) of my tummy rumbling even when there weren’t any cookies.

A recent example of classical conditioning in my life stems from my pregnancy and the development of food aversions. Before I was pregnant, I enjoyed eating spicy Thai food (US) because it satiated my appetite and made me feel good (UR). However, when I became pregnant, I ordered the Thai food I usually ate, and it caused me to become sick. Now, whenever I think, smell, or see Thai food (CS), I am conditioned to feel ill (CR). According to Bouton (2018) taste aversion learning is one of the robust ways to example classical conditioning. The association between Thai food and illness illuminates the power of taste aversion and how I store that information after the acquisition process (Chambers, 2018). There may also be a chance that I will not like eating Thai food after my pregnancy because of how aversions are learned, which impacts future tasting experiences, and I may continue to avoid Thai food for quite a while (Chambers, 2018). While the pregnancy impacts my taste and the development of specific aversions, the learning association between the US, UR, CS, and CR, will ultimately dictate how I view food for the remainder of my pregnancy and thereafter.

References:

Bouton, M. E. (2018). Learning and behavior: A contemporary synthesis (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Chambers K. C. (2018). Conditioned taste aversions. World journal of otorhinolaryngology – head and neck surgery, 4(1), 92–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wjorl.2018.02.003

Peer 2: Maya

Throughout our lives, we have been classically conditioned. Understanding classical conditioning took me a while, and I often struggle with perfect examples. Many basic definitions tell us that classical conditioning is when someone responds to certain stimuli, but we need more in-depth meaning. Researching examples helped me understand exactly what classical conditioning is. Allen and Madden (1985) provided various examples that helped me truly understand classical conditioning, such as pleasant music, attractive colors, humor, or celebrity spokespersons to influence our responses. Allen and Madden (1985) also mentioned that classical conditioning can involve causing salivation or eye blinks. When I read the examples, I summarized classical conditioning as adding stimuli to my natural or neutral stimuli to get a reaction.

After doing some research, I can find examples within my life where I experienced classical conditioning, such as watching food commercials or knowing when my dad was about to ask me to taste his food. These days, food commercials include celebrities, slow and smooth music, and a smooth-talking commentator. I usually do not eat beef, let alone burgers, but each time a burger commercial plays the smooth music and displays a huge burger that appears to be juicy with fresh and wet lettuce and gooey cheese, it makes my mouth water without me even realizing it. Regarding my dad, he always cooked whenever I was at his house, and he always tasted his food before making plates. To taste his food, he would always get this giant, bright yellow spoon, stir the food, tap the spoon on the pan, blow off the spoon, taste the food, and nod. After he nodded, he would always look at me, tap the pan again, and call me over to taste. Anytime I heard the spoon tapping the pan with the spoon, I knew I would get a taste of the food.

For my classical conditioning experiences, the unconditioned stimulus (US) is seeing a regular burger without music and seeing my dad cook. The conditioned stimulus (CS) involved the presentation of the burger with the music in the commercials and the sound of the spoon tapping on the pot. The conditioned response (CR) is salivating over the juicy burger paired with smooth music and my excitement that I can taste the food before plating dinner which makes me run to the stove. The unconditioned response (UR) was feeling hungry when I saw the burger and my dad cooking.

Hopefully, I didn’t get the stimuli and responses mixed up, but I reviewed the examples that Allen and Madden (1985) explained and the posts listed here.

References

Allen, C. T., & Madden, T. J. (1985). A closer look at classical conditioning. Journal of Consumer Research, 12(3), 301–316. https://doi.org/10.1086/208517