Classical conditioning

Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is a learning process in which an innate response to a potent stimulus comes to be elicited in response to a previously neutral stimulus; this is achieved by repeated pairings of the neutral stimulus with the potent stimulus. The basic facts about classical conditioning were discovered by Ivan Pavlov through his famous experiments with dogs. Together with operant conditioning, classical conditioning became the foundation of Behaviorism, a school of psychology which was dominant in the mid-20th century and is still an important influence on the practice of psychological therapy and the study of animal behaviour (ethology). Classical conditioning is now the best understood of the basic learning processes, and its neural substrates are beginning to be understood.

Definition

Classical conditioning occurs when a conditioned stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus. Usually, the conditioned stimulus (CS) is a neutral stimulus (e.g., the sound of a tuning fork), the unconditioned stimulus (US) is biologically potent (e.g., the taste of food) and the unconditioned response (UR) to the unconditioned stimulus is an unlearned reflex response (e.g., salivation). After pairing is repeated (some learning may occur already after only one pairing), the organism exhibits a conditioned response (CR) to the conditioned stimulus when the conditioned stimulus is presented alone. The conditioned response is usually similar to the unconditioned response (see below), but unlike the unconditioned response, it must be acquired through experience and is relatively impermanent.

Cannon Falls, Minnesota

Cannon Falls is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,083 at the 2010 census. Located along U.S. Route 52 to the southeast of the Twin Cities, Cannon Falls may be best known as the home of Pachyderm Studio, where many famous musicians have recorded their music. Nirvana is probably the best known band to use the site. The group recorded In Utero at the studio.

Cannon Falls is named for the falls along the Cannon River and serves as the western trailhead for the Cannon Valley Trail. Colonel William J. Colvill, a hero of the Battle of Gettysburg, is buried in the Cannon Falls Cemetery. Two American presidents have visited the city. The first, Calvin Coolidge, visited in 1928 to dedicate the memorial erected in honor of Colonel Colvill. The second, Barack Obama, visited on August 15, 2011, to kick off the first day of his campaign for a second term.

History

The first settler was Edway Stoughton. Charles Parks settled the land that is now the village of Cannon Falls in July 1854. Cannon Falls village proper was laid out by Richard and William Freeborn and was platted in 1855 by county surveyor S. A. Hart. The village was incorporated March 10, 1857. A post office was established as Cannon River Falls in 1855, and the name of the post office was shortened to Cannon Falls in 1889. Cannon Falls was reincorporated as a city in 1905.