Good Example Of Learning And Memory Essay

1. Whenever Herbie takes his dog for a walk, he puts on a red jacket.  He noticed that one day when he reached for the jacket; the dog got all excited and ran to the door.
Answer: Herbie performed the best example of classical conditioning in this scenario. Similar to Pavlov’s experiment, Herbie conditioned his dog by repeatedly pairing the red jacket (neutral stimulus) to the event of going out for a walk which is an unconditioned stimulus (Aguirre, et al, 92). The dog eventually learned and associated the two things together; hence, the dog’s ‘excited’ reaction is the result of the classical conditioning.
2. Your best friend has the air conditioning set very low at her house.  You experienced shivering when you have been there because you were so cold.  Now as you approach her house you start to shiver.
Answer: The above example is also classical conditioning because the person learned to associate the feeling of coldness to the low temperature set in the house. The low air conditioning is a neutral stimulus because it does not automatically provides a responsive action from the organism being conditioned. The shiver is the unconditioned stimulus whilst the act of shivering is the unconditioned response, which can be classified as inborn reflex (Aguirre, et al, 92). The human body reacts to certain changes in temperatures; of course it is natural for the body to shiver in cold environments.
3. Herbie parked in a handicapped parking space and got a ticket with a huge fine.  Now he is willing to park blocks away and walk to his destination.
Answer: Herbie’s case in this scenario is an example of operant conditioning. According to Skinner, this type of learning typically accelerates the high probability of receiving similar responses due to the presence of reinforcement (Aguirre et al, 94). In this case, Herbie was punished by paying huge fine due to his behavioral response of parking in a handicapped space.
4. Your psychology teacher decided that dissecting a sheep brain would be beneficial.  You decided that it was absolutely gross.  At dinner, your mom put mashed potatoes on your plate and then put a platter of a steamed cauliflower on the table.  You looked at both the potatoes and cauliflower and imagined the sheep brain and left the table screaming.
Answer: This is also an example of classical conditioning because the person associated the act of dissecting a sheep’s brain to the mashed potatoes and cauliflower on the table. The result of the experience is the act of ‘screaming’ at the sight because the association of the two stimuli is the reminder of the gruesome sheep brain dissection.
5. Your friend complimented you on your new shorter haircut and since then you have decided to keep your hair short.
Answer: This scenario is one of the best examples of operant conditioning by Skinner. The point of operant conditioning is to reward the positive traits and remove the negative ones (Aguirre et al, 94). In this case, the new short haircut led to a reward of acquiring a positive compliment from a friend which eventually served as reinforcement for the person to continue shaping her hair in similar fashion probably to obtain more similar responses.

Works Cited

Aguirre, Felisa, et al. Introduction to Psychology. Valenzuela: Mutya Publishing House, 2008. Print.