This means that it does not allow for any degree of free will in the individual.
Conditioning is appropriate in some cases - military training, athletics. Does it have a place in schools? If a behavior is conditioned, it is learned, but is that learned response able to push the learner to use it in next contexts?
Are some instances of conditioning more okay because they can be transferred? Or is all conditioning as learning mechanism dubious?
It is more likely that behavior is due to an interaction between nature (biology) and nurture (environment).
Environment and experiences!
The stimuli that have become associated with nicotine were neutral stimuli (NS) before “learning” took place but they became conditioned stimuli (CS), with repeated pairings. They can produce the conditioned response (CR).
We have no bearing toward or away from nicotine on it's own. It's the pairing of nicotine (via the cigarette) and the release of dopamine that our body learns to crave.
and these cues can trigger a feeling of craving
Step 1 of the habit cycle.
the conditioned stimulus acts as a type of signal or cue for the unconditioned stimulus
A stimulus that does not cause a response is paired with a stimulus that does cause a response, linking those to stimuli.
therefore is a natural response which has not been taught
Reflexes, natural responses to stimuli. Blinking in sunlight, yawning when tired, etc.
learning method in which a specific behavior is associated with either a positive or negative consequence.
Skinner.
Instead of feeling anxious and tense in these situations, the child will learn to stay relaxed and calm.
Conditioning is often presented as a way to achieve behaviors automatically. If those behaviors are things like self-regulation and awareness, is that a bad thing?
If we condition students to calm themselves at a sound (like the meditation bowl thing) have they learned self-regulation? Or are they simply responding to a stimulus out of habit?
Am I interested in forming habits which take over in specific situations or forming students who are aware of themselves and then choose the habits they want to develop?
However, if the smell of food were no longer paired with the whistle, eventually the conditioned response (hunger) would disappear.
Is this another method of learning? Or is it the same method - the same mechanism - just in the other direction?
If we remove conditioned stimuli from our schools, would students unlearn those conditioned responses?
the whistle sound would eventually trigger the conditioned response.
This makes it sound like it is an inevitable process. If we are aware of the conditioning, are we able to work against it somehow?
The conditioned stimulus is a previously neutral stimulus that, after becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus, eventually comes to trigger a conditioned response.
Is this a cue that can be interrupted with a new routine?
Behaviorism assumes that all learning occurs through interactions with the environment and that environment shapes behavior.
There is no self with behaviorism - all learning is due to the environment and the physical responses.
Holland JG. Behaviorism: Part of the problem or part of the solution. J Appl Behav Anal. 1978;11(1):163-74. doi:10.1901/jaba.1978.11-163
This learning process creates a conditioned response through associations between an unconditioned stimulus and a neutral stimulus.
The key is learned association. Conditioning is obviously important, but what role does it have in the context for formal schooling?
Wolpe J, Plaud JJ. Pavlov's contributions to behavior therapy. The obvious and not so obvious. Am Psychol. 1997;52(9):966-72.