Classical conditioning has a fairly simple and straightforward definition as an automatic response to a stimulus which is derived from a process in which an organism learns to associate new stimulus from their environments. Classical Conditioning is comprised of 4 main parts: an Unconditioned Stimulus (which naturally elicits the response you are trying to condition), an Unconditioned Response (that is a naturally occurring response in response to an Unconditioned Stimulus), a Conditioned Stimulus (which was originally irrelevant as a stimulus until it is used), and a Conditioned Response (which is learned from conditioning). These 4 parts are the bread and butter of Classical (and even other forms of) Conditioning. Classical Conditioning can be applied and used in a variety of applications. Classical Conditioning has the ability to shape one’s behavior, and this can be used to elicit certain responses to certain stimulus.
While this concept may seem to affect a very small portion of our understanding and learning, the potential that classical conditioning has is that we can teach and learn in a much more diversified and unique way. The reason that Conditioning works on us humans, in addition to a variety of other species as well, is because we learn by association. Our brains are made up of billions of interconnected cells known as neurons, and many of our formative and sensory memories are entangled in this web of neurons. Many of our intrinsic capabilities such as memory work in the same way, which makes sense for us to use conditioning to our advantage. Classical Conditioning has the ability to shape one’s behavior, and this can be used to elicit certain responses to certain stimulus. An example of an experiment that successfully used conditioning would be Ivan Pavlov’s experiment, where he trained dogs to salivate to the sound of a bell. In the context of Pavlov’s experiment, the conditioning of food (Unconditional Stimulus) produced salivation (the Conditioned Response). Classical Conditioning requires a neutral stimulus to produce its effects, and this can be anything that does not produce an Unconditioned response already. For Pavlov, he used a bell as the neutral stimulus and this bell was consistently used in the same way throughout the experiment: to signal to the dogs that food was on the way. During conditioning of the dogs, the bell is paired with the food and this eventually creates (after a few trials and errors). The bell was eventually paired with the signaling of food, and this eventually led to the dogs salivating to the sound of the bell under the preemptive impression that food was on the way.
While Pavlov’s experiment demonstrated the positive effects of classical conditioning, the potential of using classical conditioning to shape behavior in other applications seems very plausible. John Garcia did a later experiment where he exposed rats to radiation but first warned them by using taste, sound, and sight to signal the start of the radiation. Garcia later learned and proved the concept of taste aversion, and this happens when an organism associates a bad taste to something (in this case, the radiation). Inherently, classical conditioning enables researchers to test and prove behaviors in a controlled environment with proven results. Humans can also be classically conditioned in the same ways that dogs and rats can be classically conditioned, as long as the stimulus is regularly present. A loss of the stimulus may lead to extinction, which can cause the Conditioned Response to diminish over time. An example of this happening in my life would be when I smell rubbing alcohol in the first few weeks after getting a vaccine, I wince because of my fear of vaccinations. Throughout my childhood, the doctors would wipe rubbing alcohol on my skin, and I was conditioned into believing the smell of rubbing alcohol meant that I was getting a shot, similar to how the bell signaled to the dogs that food was on the way. This is something that only affects me in the first few weeks after getting vaccines, indicating that while I am also able to be conditioned, it can go away over time. Perhaps further down the road, we could condition humans to help guide their behaviors and decisions throughout their lives with the purpose of bettering everyone’s lives in the process. We could condition subjects to avoid drugs, smoking, and any other behaviors that might be detrimental for their own good and for the good of society as a whole.