Final answer:
Backward conditioning is a less effective form of classical conditioning where the unconditioned stimulus precedes the conditioned stimulus, such as trying to condition someone to blink from a tone by presenting the puff of air before the tone.
Step-by-step explanation:
Backward conditioning is a form of classical conditioning where the presentation of the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) precedes the introduction of the conditioned stimulus (CS). This is opposite to the more traditional forward conditioning where the CS comes before the UCS. An example of this would be if we tried to condition someone to blink (which is an unconditioned reflex) to a tone. In backward conditioning, the puff of air (UCS) that naturally triggers a blinking response (unconditioned response, UCR) would come before the sound of the tone (CS). The aim would be to have the sound of the tone alone eventually trigger the blinking (now a conditioned response, CR), but backward conditioning is generally considered much less effective, and typically does not lead to a strong association between the CS and the UCS.