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Phobias and Addictions

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Phobias and Addiction
For several decades, researchers and behaviorists have tried to determine what the best way to condition behaviors might be; however, the outcomes are still vast even with all the experiments that have been performed. Classical and operant conditioning are the main forms of tests or research that is used today. By definition, classical conditioning is the process of learning through a stimulus that brings about an elicited response in which it occurs as a consequence caused by an unconditioned stimulus (Colman, 2009). Operant conditioning is the exact opposite in learning; it is the process where the frequency of a response increases as a result of rewards or reinforcement that is dependent upon the response being emitted (Colman, 2009).
According to John B. Watson, classical conditioning can cause a phobia to become established due to the fear factor that is related to that phobia. Phobias are unrealistic, long-lasting intense fears of certain objects or situations (Colman, 2009). Watson believed that phobias can be learned through repeated introduction of different stimuli. He tested this theory on a little infant named Albert. Albert was not afraid of rats before the simulation was started, but after stimuli that scared him along with the association of the rat, he became fearful of the rat (Kowalski, 2011). Other phobias such as agoraphobia, which is the fear of having a panic attack in a public situation in which it would be difficult to escape, occur similarly for unknown reasons hence the reason why phobias are unrealistic fears (Gersley, 2001). There is a trigger that causes the person to fear a situation or object, even though the actual situation might not warrant the actual phobia. A phobia that occurs mostly during childhood is known as coulrophobia, which is the fear of clowns. As a child, I watched the Stephen King movie “IT”

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