When a neutral stimulus, something that does not cause fear, is associated with an unconditioned stimulus, something that causes fear; the process then leads to the response of fear towards the previously neutral stimulus. Similarly, are Phobias classical conditioning? According to classical conditioning , phobias can be acquired through classical conditioning and associative learning. This process can be used to explain the acquisition of phobias , for example, a fear of dogs.
Systematic desensitization is a type of behavioural therapy based on the principle of classical conditioning.
It was developed by Wolpe during the s. This therapy aims to remove the fear response of a phobia , and substitute a relaxation response to the conditional stimulus gradually using counter conditioning. Operant conditioning can help to explain how the phobia is maintained. The conditioned i.
The reward negative reinforcement strengths the avoidance behavior, and the phobia is maintained. Asked by: Madalina Rodenbucher asked in category: General Last Updated: 7th March, How does classical conditioning explain phobias? The process of classical conditioning can explain how we acquire phobias. For example, we learn to associate something we do not fear, such as a dog neutral stimulus , with something that triggers a fear response, such as being bitten unconditioned stimulus.
What is Pavlov's theory? Pavlovian theory is a learning procedure that involves pairing a stimulus with a conditioned response. In the famous experiments that Ivan Pavlov conducted with his dogs, Pavlov found that objects or events could trigger a conditioned response.
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Psychology Explore Psychology Search Go. Psychology Topics. Overview Latest Topics Watch now. What has happened, according to classical conditioning , is that the biting incident has taught Chase to associate the unconditioned stimulus bite with the once-neutral stimulus snake. That is, the snake has become the learned or conditioned stimulus.
As a conditioned stimulus , the sight of snake now evokes the same response of fear and pain i. See Figure 1. Now that we are hopefully clear on what classical conditioning is, we can review research on the role of conditioning in etiology of fears.
Informational learning. Direct contact with the source of danger is not always necessary for learning. Examples of this mode of learning include parents warning children about strangers, teachers cautioning students about drugs, and doctors warning patients about overeating. As the following brief review of research shows, this mode of learning is quite common. In research by Muris et al. Lastly, Doogan and Thomas did not find any differences between their high and low dog-fearful groups, in their recall of parental warnings.
Thus it appears that despite its ubiquity, informational learning can not elucidate the etiology of some fears. Observational learning. Some of the most convincing evidence for this mode of learning comes from research on monkeys. A number of studies have also evaluated the role of modeling in acquisition of fears in humans. In their investigation of fear of snakes, Murray and Foote , p. However, in their research on fears in children, Muris et al. Doogan and Thomas , p. In light of these findings, modeling appears to have limited explanatory power as a causal pathway.
Indeed, learning approaches as a whole might not be able to explain certain puzzling findings. Evolutionary psychology might be able to provide an answer to our puzzle. As you may know, evolutionary theory describes changes in inherited traits of populations across generations.
Since there is competition for limited resources in every generation, the organisms that happen to be better adapted to survive and reproduce under the local circumstances, are more likely to pass on their genes to future generations. Is fear of snakes one such adaptation? Isbell, an anthropologist, believes so; she has presented evidence that our complex visual system was in part shaped by the presence of venomous snakes that preyed on our primate ancestors , But primates like lemurs, which never co-existed with venomous snakes, did not evolve an advanced visual system, nor learned to fear snakes Isbell, Psychologists Menzies and Clarke , building on the evolutionary approach, have proposed that we are born afraid of certain stimuli, stimuli that were relevant to the survival of our ancestors in the dangerous environment of millions of years ago e.
Learning to fear flowers or rabbits, on the other hand, had no survival advantage. Here is one more puzzle. How might evolutionary-based approaches help us understand our lack of fear of mushrooms?
Why should we fear mushrooms, you ask? Because poisonous mushrooms have posed a survival threat perhaps even greater than those of spiders and snakes Delprato, Could it be that spiders and snakes, but not mushrooms, appear more dangerous?
If so, we may need to explore the role of cognitions —mental processes associated with the expectations or perceptions of danger e. For instance, it has been suggested that our fear response is evoked not by an animal as a whole, but only by its salient qualities e. The implication is that if we were to come across a new stimulus e. What other features? Disgustingness, for one. Perceptions of disgustingness are influenced by personality traits —dispositions to think, feel, and behave in particular and stable patterns across situations.
What this means is that some people are more likely to experience disgust, when exposed to disgust-related fear stimuli like saliva or feces , and more likely to fear contact with such stimuli.
Disgust-relevant stimuli are often those that are able to carry disease e. Davey notes that the reason some other stimuli like worms, slugs, or snakes are considered disgusting is perhaps because they resemble the major disgust-inducing stimuli e. Nevertheless, disgust has been implicated in the genesis of a large number of fears and phobias i. Having considered the main theories of origins of fears, we can now briefly consider the workings of an approach that combines and integrates various elements from these theories.
What is contained inside the schema? Because of the complexity of the model and limited empirical research e. Looking back, have any of the theories discussed shed light on the genesis of your own fears? Several of these theories have? None of them?
Based on the findings reviewed in this paper, however, I propose that no single theory can describe the origins of all the common fears examined, though some approaches appear better suited to describing the genesis of particular fears or the presence of fears in certain individuals.
Cognitive and personality theories, on the other hand, in addition to complementing other approaches, are more suited to describing the genesis of fears related to novel stimuli, ones that may appear unpredictable and uncontrollable, unusual, or disgusting. Accordingly, these theories may explain our fears of a strange-looking alien, a slimy insect, or a robot that acts in sudden and unpredictable ways.
Some of the studies used in this review were small, and many relied on self-reports—which are not always reliable e. In addition, the research questions addressed and the measures used varied across investigations, making direct comparisons difficult.
His experiment on his dog Circa lead him to discoveries of underlying principles of Classical Conditioning. The more important question that stuck around was if the experiment would work on humans. The task was to prove the theory was then taken on by JB Watson and Rayner, and conducted the Little Albert experiment in The experiment not only concluded that Classical Conditioning worked on humans, but also that phobias could be caused by conditioned learning. The experiment was done on a 9 month old infant by the name of Albert.
To begin the process, Little Albert was tested on his reactions to various stimuli such as white rat, rabbit, monkey, masks and so on. Kid showed no signs of fear towards these stimuli. Upon testing his reactions by striking the hammer against a steel bar, it was seen that Little Albert was startled at the loud sound of the sudden noise and he would immediately burst into tears.
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