AQA PSYCHOLOGY (A-LEVEL) -
APPROACHES - CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING QUESTIONS &
ACCURATE CORRECT ANSWERS
What is classical conditioning? - Correct Answer ✔✔ Learning through association
What are the five parts to classical conditioning? - Correct Answer ✔✔ Unconditioned
stimulus, unconditioned response, neutral stimulus, conditioned stimulus and
conditioned response
Example of classical conditioning - Correct Answer ✔✔ Pavlov's dogs experiment.
Unconditioned stimulus -> the dog food
Unconditioned response -> salivation
Neutral stimulus -> bell
Conditioned stimulus -> bell
Conditioned response -> food
Before conditioning, the dog has no reaction to the bell, but salivates upon seeing the
food. During conditioning, Pavlov rang the bell while giving the dog the food - the dog
salivating. After conditioning, Pavlov rang the bell, and the dog associated it with
receiving food, so salivated.
Four features - Correct Answer ✔✔ Timing, extinction, spontaneous recovery and
stimulus generalisation
Timing - Correct Answer ✔✔ If the neutral stimulus can't be used to predict the
unconditioned stimulus (for example, if it happens after the unconditioned stimulus or
any time interval between the two is too long), conditioning doesn't take place.
Extinction - Correct Answer ✔✔ Pavlov found that, unlike the unconditioned response,
the conditioned response doesn't become permanently established as a response,
because following a few presentations of the conditioned response without the
unconditioned response present it loses the ability to be able to produce the conditioned
response.
Stimulus generalisation - Correct Answer ✔✔ Pavlov discovered that once an animal
has undergone conditioning, they will respond to other stimuli with similarities to the
conditioned stimulus.
APPROACHES - CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING QUESTIONS &
ACCURATE CORRECT ANSWERS
What is classical conditioning? - Correct Answer ✔✔ Learning through association
What are the five parts to classical conditioning? - Correct Answer ✔✔ Unconditioned
stimulus, unconditioned response, neutral stimulus, conditioned stimulus and
conditioned response
Example of classical conditioning - Correct Answer ✔✔ Pavlov's dogs experiment.
Unconditioned stimulus -> the dog food
Unconditioned response -> salivation
Neutral stimulus -> bell
Conditioned stimulus -> bell
Conditioned response -> food
Before conditioning, the dog has no reaction to the bell, but salivates upon seeing the
food. During conditioning, Pavlov rang the bell while giving the dog the food - the dog
salivating. After conditioning, Pavlov rang the bell, and the dog associated it with
receiving food, so salivated.
Four features - Correct Answer ✔✔ Timing, extinction, spontaneous recovery and
stimulus generalisation
Timing - Correct Answer ✔✔ If the neutral stimulus can't be used to predict the
unconditioned stimulus (for example, if it happens after the unconditioned stimulus or
any time interval between the two is too long), conditioning doesn't take place.
Extinction - Correct Answer ✔✔ Pavlov found that, unlike the unconditioned response,
the conditioned response doesn't become permanently established as a response,
because following a few presentations of the conditioned response without the
unconditioned response present it loses the ability to be able to produce the conditioned
response.
Stimulus generalisation - Correct Answer ✔✔ Pavlov discovered that once an animal
has undergone conditioning, they will respond to other stimuli with similarities to the
conditioned stimulus.
