Author: Reagan Balaam

 Classical conditioning is something we discussed and learned about over the past few weeks of class. Classical conditioning is the process of learning that occurs when a person or animal learns to associate a neutral stimulus (conditioned stimulus, or CS) with a stimulus (the unconditioned stimulus, or US) which will naturally produce a behavior (the unconditioned response, or UR). An example of classical conditioning would be making an association between the doctor’s office and receiving a vaccination; so next time you go to the doctor’s office you become anxious because you are associating it with getting a vaccination. In this case the doctor’s office is the neutral stimulus or conditioned stimulus and the vaccination would be the unconditioned stimulus, resulting in the anxiety response which is known as the unconditioned response. Classical conditioning is seen in people’s everyday lives and has happened to me as well. In my case I have noticed classical conditioning with food. I have always liked sushi and it used to be something I craved all the time. The last time I got sushi it was really good, but later that night I ended up getting sick from it. This resulted in me never wanting or craving sushi at all recently, and any time I think of it I feel sick to my stomach. This is classical conditioned because the previously neutral stimulus (the food) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (getting sick from the food), and this leads to an unconditioned response (feeling sick). Overall, this is a very common form of classical conditioning which many people experience over the course of their lives.  

Reagan Balaam 

03/17/2024 

Psychology 100 

Utilizing Schemas  

In this unit we learned about development through schemas, assimilation, accommodation, and how we use them in our everyday lives. We learned that schemas are mental concepts that organize information. Past experiences are used to predict what will happen in future situations. The use of assimilation and accommodation are also used when we have new experiences or meet new people. Assimilation of information uses previous experiences and leads to predicting that new information will be the same. Though predictions are not always accurate, accommodation is used. We adjust our feelings or actions when things are not how we expect them to be. I can relate this to many experiences I have had and continue to use it in my everyday life. One experience in particular where I noticed myself using accommodation was interviewing for my first job. From what I have heard about applying for jobs and the interview process, I thought that all interviews were very formal and included answering questions on the spot. When I applied to work at a frozen yogurt shop, I expected the interview to be as I had thought it would be. But when I walked in it was very informal and not very question based. The boss was super nice and chill, and I found out I got the job on the spot. Through this experience I used accommodation, I had to change what I was expecting to what was actually happening. After having this experience, I was able to add more information to my schema about the interview process. Overall, though it may not be apparent because it is something we do without even thinking about it, everyone uses schemas on a day-to-day basis. Experiences are taken and put them into groups in our head. When having new experiences, we use this knowledge and either assimilate or accommodate and continue to add information to our schemas.