ABSTRACT
Research on classical conditioning has gone through cycles in its 100-year history. At first eagerly grasped as a tool to study learning, Pavlovian conditioning was replaced by reward conditioning with its emphasis on the modification of voluntary behavior. However, research into Pavlovian conditioning once again became popular. This chapter presents many experimental variables that influence classical conditioning. One variable not considered elsewhere is that of individual differences: Different individuals show different amounts of conditioning. Pavlov described temperamental differences among his dogs that he believed affected ease of conditioning. Surely people differ from one another also. One personality variable that has been well studied is that of anxiety. The Rescorla-Wagner model provides a trial-by-trial description of the learning that accrues to each conditioned stimulus (CS) that is present. Classical conditioning is an example of associative learning. According to the stimulus–response (S–R) theory, the CS becomes associated with the unconditioned response (UR).
