Effects of Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning is a learning procedure that involves the association of a natural stimulus with environmental stimulus; pairing to elicit a given response and consequently the behavior. It is also knowns as Pavlovian conditioning named after a Russian scientist who investigated the phenomenon in 1902 in a dog. Classical conditioning involves various stimuli; Neutral Stimulus(NS) is a stimulus that induces no specific response other than to focus attention. Unconditioned Stimulus ( UCS) is a stimulus that automatically provokes a response or a reaction, Unconditioned Response ( UCR) is a reaction created by Unconditioned Stimulus(UCS) automatically. Conditioned Stimulus (CS), is a neutral reaction trigger, usually paired to unconditioned stimulus UCS to produce a conditioned response after learning for a time. For instance, a bell can be paired with food such that whenever the bell rings, food is given, now that they are paired, the ringing of the bell will provoke salivation. Conditioned Response (CR) comes with a response to Conditioned Stimulus, CS, salivation starts with a sound of the bell without food. At a young age, it is difficult for self-control but through classical conditioning, I managed to wake up for school at the sound of alarm depicting the sound of a toasting machine. I loved toasted bread and with this sound, my parents managed to nurture me for an early morning riser to date.
Behaviors, especially in young ones and animals, can be tilted but through monitoring, can be corrected. Inducing a reinforcement increases the likelihood of behavior while inducing punishment decreases the likelihood of a behavior. Both can be either positive or negative depending on the way they are induced. Positive reinforcement; is the most effective way to train a person or an animal. An instance of positive reinforcement is to promise a young boy in school a toy if he cleans his room, a desirable stimulus has been added to increase the behavior. Negative reinforcement involves the removal of undesirable stimuli to increase the likelihood of a behavior. For instance, car manufacturers principally use this in seatbelts system which needs to be fastened to a good position or else an annoying alarm is activated, this annoying sound makes one be more punctual and do the correct thing to avoid alarm activation. Punishments, however, decrease behavior in all instances; positive punishment involves adding undesirable stimuli to decrease the likelihood of a behavior. Negative punishment involves removing pleasant stimuli to decrease the likelihood of a behavior. people need to embrace gifts for good deeds and punishments for bad I hated being scolded or punished, but now I understand why it is good to carry out designated punishment as they shape up behaviors and instills morality and self-discipline.
Memory
There are three stages of memory namely, encoding, storing, and retrieval. Encoding is the first process that occurs when one is exposed to any form of information. It involves receiving, and processing then combining the information from outside into the memory. Secondly, storage takes the stage; a lasting record of the gathered information to maintain it is created. This can either be into the short term or in the long term memory. Finally, retrieval is the last stage where recognition or recall occurs. One must locate the information and return it to consciousness, this process is difficult and can lead to forgetfulness especially from distractions. A problem at any of the stages may be extreme that can lead to amnesia.
The short term memory is the working memory that stores the current information for a few seconds. However, the information can be quickly moved to long-term memory through rehearsing for future recognition. But this process can be interrupted when one is distracted or a question is posed. Long term memories are the lasting memories that one holds for periods. It encompasses all the information from childhood to yesterday and everyday attires to work. The long term memory has a huge storage space that some memories last from the time of acquisition to death. Long term memory is divided into types; declarative or explicit memory that recalls in consciousness and the memory consists of consciously stored and retrieved information. This memory is further subdivided into semantic memories consisting of contextual facts such as the capital city of a given nation. And episodic which describes the memories when one visited a place. I planned well during high school diplomas through rehearsals that made me recall things better although I did not understand how these pieces of information were processed to give me a good memory for exams. The push to rehearse made my performances tremendous and now I understand why it is important to keep the memory fresh.
Amnesia
Amnesia is losing long term memory due to defects in the brain, trauma, or diseases. Amnesia is in two types; anterograde and retrograde. The anterograde amnesia usually results due to severe injuries to the head and brain and no current information can be recalled. This is due to the inability of the brain to consolidate the memories through the transfer of information between short-term and long-term memories. Semantic and episodic memories cannot be formed. In retrograde amnesia, memories before the trauma cannot be recalled. The patient may not remember some or all the incidences of the past. The amnesia makes one forget or lack any memories and this is the reality I faced in school when my closest friend got involved in a fatal accident with him becoming the only survivor. He lost all the memories which we didn’t understand then. But now I have learned on the amnesia I now have a view of how the memories got lost.