Excitatory Conditioning

Excitatory conditioning is a type of classical conditioning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a positive or rewarding event. As a result, this previously neutral stimulus elicits a response similar to the one originally produced by the positive event.

Process

In excitatory conditioning, the process involves pairing a neutral stimulus, known as the conditioned stimulus (CS), with an unconditioned stimulus (US) that naturally produces a specific response, known as the unconditioned response (UR). Through repeated pairings, the CS comes to elicit a response similar to the UR, known as the conditioned response (CR).

Example

An example of excitatory conditioning is Pavlov’s famous experiment with dogs. Initially, the sound of a bell had no effect on the dogs (neutral stimulus). However, when the bell was repeatedly paired with the presentation of food (positive event), the dogs began to associate the sound of the bell with the impending food delivery. Eventually, the sound of the bell alone caused the dogs to salivate (conditioned response) even in the absence of the food (unconditioned stimulus).

Applications

Excitatory conditioning plays a crucial role in many aspects of human and animal behavior. It forms the basis of learning, as new behaviors can be acquired through the association of stimuli with positive or negative events. This type of conditioning is frequently used in animal training, therapeutic interventions, and behavior modification programs.