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Conditioned Reflexes

Definition

Conditioned reflexes are automatic responses that are learned rather than naturally occurring. They occur when a previously neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus, leading to a conditioned response.

Analogy

Think of it like training your dog to sit every time you whistle. Initially, the whistle (neutral stimulus) has no meaning for the dog. But if you pair the whistle with a command to sit (unconditioned stimulus), eventually the dog will sit (conditioned response) just at the sound of the whistle.

Related terms

Unconditioned Stimulus: This is something that naturally and automatically triggers a response without any learning needed. For example, food is an unconditioned stimulus for a hungry animal.

Conditioned Stimulus: This is previously neutral but becomes meaningful after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus. In our analogy, the whistle becomes a conditioned stimulus after pairing it with the command to sit.

Neutral Stimulus: A neutral stimulus does not trigger any particular response until it's associated with an unconditioned stimulus. The whistle was initially a neutral stimulus for your dog.