General Psychology 300 - Phobias and Addictions

Phobias and Addictions

Jonda C. Hopper

General Psychology 300

September 23, 2013

Dr. Liz L.West

Phobias and Addictions

 This paper covers how classical conditioning and operant conditioning can affect phobias and addictions. It also covers how extinction is used in classical and operant conditioning                       Phobias and Addictions

 A very significant way that classical conditioning can affect different behavior is in the conditioning of emotional responses. Many fears are acquired and elicited through the activation of subcortical neural pathway between the visual system and amygdala (LeDoux, 1995).

Phobias can be developed through classical conditioning by the pairing of neutral stimulus with something that can cause pain or fear. Phobias can be created by a person being constantly exposed to something that may not initiate fear, (such as a puppy or kitten) but when another stimulus that elicits fear is paired with the object, over time it will create a phobia (fear) of the object. When one stimulus is paired with another, it then changes the original reflexive response to the original stimulus.

One of the most famous examples of a phobia being created through classical conditioning is the case of Little Albert. John Watson and Rosalie Rayner (1920) took a small child that appear4ed to be healthy and unemotional and exposed him to different stimuli. The child was introduced to a dog, a rabbit, a white rat, a Santa Claus mask and a fur coat. The child showed no fear of any of the objects and would even play with the rat. They then examined his reaction by creating a loud noise. His reaction was to be startled and show fear. They then began to pair the white rat with the noise, and each time Albert was exposed to them together he would show fear. The white rat was replaced with the other white objects and also paired with the loud noise. It was noted that his fear was transferred onto all of the white objects that he came into contact with.  Because the noise caused fear, when it was paired with the other objects it then created a fear of the white objects.

Since this study was conducted, classical conditioning has been used as an explanations regarding some human phobias (Ost., 1991; Wolpe, 1958).

Addiction is defined as a primary chronic disease characterized by an inability to control the use of psychoactive substances (Sanchez, 2002). Addiction also relates compulsions and the need to engage in a specific activity repeatedly despite the dangerous magnitude. When a person is stimulated by doing a certain activity and responds to the activity by experiencing a certain sensation, (like a high) this will cause a person to want more of the sensation. In turn the person will increase the activity that is causing the sensation which can create an addiction. A person’s behavior is positively reinforced according to operant conditioning that states that the behavior followed by a stimulus that is peasant will cause an increase in the frequency of the behavior (Kowalski & Westen, 2009). As the positive reinforcement continues, a strong association between the behavior and response will occur.