Why We Made This:
We created this visual guide to help folks clearly understand and apply one of the most foundational concepts in psychology. Many of us struggle to distinguish between unconditioned and conditioned stimuli and responses, as well as to grasp key principles like extinction and generalization. This guide uses clear visuals, real-world examples, and step-by-step explanations to make learning about classical conditioning digestable and memorable.
 
Learning Objectives:
Explain how classical conditioning works as automatic, unconscious learning.
Differentiate between stimulus and response.
Identify unconditioned stimulus (US), unconditioned response (UR), conditioned stimulus (CS), and conditioned response (CR).
Understand Pavlov’s experiment and how repeated pairings lead to learned behavior.
Describe key phenomena such as extinction and spontaneous recovery.
Explain stimulus generalization and recognize examples in real life.
Differentiate between primary and secondary reinforcers.