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Phobias & Addictions

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Phobias & Addictions
Jessica Riggs
PSY/300
08/27/2014
Carl Grossen

How and why do people develop phobias and addictions? Some people believe that these conditions come from a person’s environment and the way they were raised. There have been many studies to determine how people develop addictions through operant conditioning and how phobias develop through classical conditioning. To understand how these conditions develop one must first define and understand the differences between classical and operant conditioning. By learning how these conditions are created will in turn help achieve the process of extinction this is a technique to help overcome phobias and addictions.
Classical and operant conditioning is two types of behaviors in psychology. These two processes are very different, but they both result in learning. Classical conditioning has an impact on behaviorism that is a school of thought in psychology. Behaviorism is a theory that is learned through experiences in the environment. Classical conditioning involves an environmental stimulus that automatically triggers a response. Phobias are created through classical conditioning. An example of this would be if a snake bit someone as a child they might form a phobia of snakes.
Operant conditioning is a method of learning that happens through punishments or reinforcements to increase or decrease someone’s behavior. There are two types of reinforcements; one is positive reinforcements with this the behavior is strengthened by a direct reward. For example with a child who is potty training which is given a sticker on the chart each time a child makes it to the potty. They will want to use the potty more, so they can get a sticker as a positive reinforcement. The second is negative reinforcements this is when you reinforce bad behavior. An example of this would be giving in to a child’s screaming

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