Classical conditioning works with people, too. Go to any department store and watch what happens when a sale is announced. Cost conscious shoppers will make a beeline to that table because they associate a good sale with a sudden announcement. (And, the research proves that people are more likely to buy the sale item even if the item isn’t a good value.)
And classical conditioning works with advertising. For example, many beer ads prominently feature attractive young fit women wearing bikinis. The young women (Unconditioned Stimulus/US) naturally elicit a favorable, mildly aroused feeling (Unconditioned Response/UR) in most men. The beer is simply associated with this effect. The same thing applies with the jingles and music that accompany many advertisements.
Modern advertising strategies evolved from classical conditioning. The approach is to link an attractive US with a CS (the product being sold that was neutral before) so the consumer will feel positively toward the product just like they do with the US.
attractive person –> car –> pleasant emotional response
Exercise: Conditioning in Advertisements: Describe and critique two commericials that you think may involve classical conditioning. The ads may be from any periodical. Briefly describe each ad and what the UCS, UCR, CS, CR are, and ways of improving the ad.
Today, we will look at the different types of conditioning, stimulus and responses.
As you watch Pavlov’s experiments, think of :
Theory into practice:
Remember Little Albert? How was fear conditioned and what types of stimulus and responses did you notice in the experiment?
Exercise: Think of one of your own fears.
For one specific fear that you have, list the UCS, UCR, CS, CR.
We will discuss in our groups.