Classical conditioning is a learning process where one is automatically responding by associating between unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and neutral stimulus (NS). The NS is presented before a naturally occurring reflex, making one learn to associate events with certain stimuli. In Pavlov’s experiment, a dog would salivate after tasting food. When you ring a bell before presenting the meat, initially, the dog will not salivate. If a bell is rung every time the meat is given to the dog, eventually, the dog would salivate to the sound of the bell since it has associated the ringing of the bell and the meat. The meat is UCS because dogs salivate every time they see meat, while the unconditioned response (UCR) would be salivating because it is natural for the dog. The neutral stimulus (NS) would be ringing the bell before the dog was presented with the food. Conditioned stimulus (CS) would be the bell’s sound, so the dog was conditioned to expect meat every time a specific tone was heard. The conditioned response (CR) would be salivating after hearing the bell’s sound before seeing the meat.
When I went to the hospital for my immunization, the doctor in a white lab coat injected me, which made me cry. The UCS was the injection, and the UCR was crying due to the pain I felt. I began fearing any person in a white jacket since I had learned to associate injection with a white coat. The CS was the doctor wearing a white lab coat, and the CR was crying anytime I saw anyone in a white coat since I would automatically remember the pain I went through after the injection given to me by the doctor in white.