Learning

Learning Psychologists believe that children learn to control their bladders during sleep through classical conditioning, a type of learning in which an organism comes to associate different events. Normally, a wet bed or diaper causes a child to awaken. Through repeated pairings, bladder tension becomes associated with the sensation of wetness and children wake up when they sense that the bladder is full. Imagine that you are baby-sitting a 6-year-old bed-wetter who has not yet learned the connection between bladder tension and wetness. In desperation, the child's parents consult a behavioral psychologist who has developed a classical conditioning technique for controlling bed-wetting, using a special sheet containing fine electric wires. When a sleeping child wets the bed, the urine (which conducts electricity) immediately completes an electrical circuit and causes a loud bell to ring, awakening the child. Over time, bladder tension becomes associated with the bell and the child is conditioned to wake up before actually wetting the bed. Although the parents have read a pamphlet that explains the basic principles underlying the conditioning technique, they are seeking your help in understanding exactly why it stimulus, child, means, behavior, conditioning, conditioned, frequency, classical, brain, bed, response, negative, example, children, bladder, wake, positive, drugs, bell, advertisement, unconditioned, studying, learning, learn, good, frying, decreases, causes, before, awakens, wetting, wetness, wet, using, through