...Phobias and Addictions Paper Psy/300 4/26/14 Phobias and Addictions Paper Introduction Several individuals develop phobias or addictions in their lifetime. Phobias are an illogical fear that is of no danger to anyone else. Phobias are developed through classical conditioning. According to Barlett (2013) “addiction is defined as the need for and use of a habit forming substance despite knowledge that the substance is harmful” (p. 349). Additions can be developed through operant conditioning. Phobias and addictions are different forms of behaviors just as classical and operant conditioning are responses learn responses. Extinction is also a form of classical conditioning. Both classical and operant conditioning differ in how an individual responds. Phobias and Addictions Phobias are human developed fears. They are fears seem irrational or harmless to other individuals. Phobias can be developed through classical conditioning according to Kowaski and Westen (2011) “In classical conditioning, an environmental stimulus leads to a learned response, through pairing of an unconditioned stimulus with a previously neutral conditioned stimulus” (p. 169). An environmental stimulus anything in an individual’s surroundings that may affect them. A neutral conditioned stimulus is when a response does not happen automatically. This means that an environment that may not affect others has the potential to leave a person frightened based on a negative experience. For example, if a woman...
Words: 824 - Pages: 4
...Phobias and Addiction Eugene McDaniel PSY/300 May 22, 2012 Deandriea Bass Abstract * This paper explore how phobias can be developed through classical conditioning this can be thought of as a reaction that is learned through the pairing of stimuli. How addictions can be developed through operant conditioning. Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a method for modifying behavior an operant which utilizes contingencies between a discriminative stimulus, an operant response, a reinforce to change the probability of a response occurring again in that situation. This paper also Distinguishes between classical and operant conditioning. One of the major differences involves the types of behaviors that are conditioned. While classical conditioning is centered on involuntary, automatic behaviors, operant conditioning is focused on voluntary behaviors. * While these two conditioning techniques share some similarities, it is important to understand the differences between them. What extinction means and how it is achieved in both classical and operant conditioning. * * Phobias and Addictions Phobias are an irrational and excessive fear of an object or situation. In most cases, the phobia involves a sense of endangerment or a fear of harm. For example, those suffering from agoraphobia fear being trapped in an inescapable place. Addiction has long been understood to mean an uncontrollable habit of using alcohol or other drugs. Because of the physical...
Words: 895 - Pages: 4
...Addiction and Phobias Nina Hernandez PSY/300 February 19, 2014 Kirsten Fowler Phobias and Addictions People are diagnosed with phobias and addictions that keep them in a personal prison everyday. Many cases are studied and researched to find how and why individuals have phobias and addictions. The key points to these studies are to find if it is possible to cure individuals with phobias and assist those with addictions to quit or be cured. This paper will give definitions of phobias and addictions, types of phobias and addictions, and how they were developed. It will also discuss classical and operant conditioning and what extinction means and how it is achieved using both conditioning’s. Phobias Definition Before speaking of phobias one should understand the definition of the word phobia the definition from the text book Psychology (6th ed.) it states “an irrational fear of a specific object or situation” Kowalski, R. & Westen, D. (2014). Another definition from the Encyclopaedia Britannica Online also states that it is classified as an anxiety disorder (2014). Many phobias are believed to be learned emotional reactions that can occur when a fear is exhibited via a tragic situation or an alarming event. This in turn can be conveyed to similar events and can resurface as if they are feeling it for the first time. There are many phobias that exist; some examples are claustrophobia, arachnophobia, and acrophobia. Types ...
Words: 915 - Pages: 4
...Phobias & Addictions PSY/300 December 17, 2013 Betsy Ferronato Phobias & Addictions Within society, many individuals suffer from phobias or addictions and sometimes even both. A phobia is an irrational fear of a specific object or situation. Addiction is a need or enslavement to a substance, an object, an activity, or a habit that is psychologically or physically habit-forming such as narcotics are, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma and most often an interruption in a person’s life (Robinson & Berridge, 2003). For the most part, addiction is a disease. When we are born, we start experimenting and learning for survival among other things. Phobias can develop through learning. The two most common and prominent ways or styles of learning are classical and operant learning. Classical and operant conditioning are psychological processes in which a person learns. Therefore, phobias and addictions are associated to classical and operant conditioning. Learning theorist, Edward Thorndike and Albert Bandura can account for two emotional difficulties, which are phobias and addictions. Learning theorist also include behaviorist Edward Tolman, Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, and British naturalist Charles Darwin. Phobias and addictions are emotional issues or difficulties that many people have to cope with daily. Phobias are irrational fear. These fears can be powerful and at times devastating yet they are unfounded and are not based on fact or reality...
Words: 1217 - Pages: 5
...Phobias and Addictions Paper Viktorija Canevik-Alex PSY/300 Jacqueline Hall July 20, 2013 University of Phoenix Phobias and Addiction Paper In this paper I will discuss how phobias and addiction are connected to the classical and operant conditioning. I will explain how phobias and addiction are evolve through classical and operant conditioning, what is the difference between classical and operant conditioning, what is extinction and how extinction is accomplish in the classical and operant conditioning. Phobia occur when people are scared or fear without stopping of something genuine and hard to control and usually occur in young age but also it can occur in older age. Phobia is something very common and it influence peoples life every day, but important thing about phobias is that it can be treated. Here are some examples of phobias, like fear from: kissing, drugs, cold, taking medicine, mother-in-law, children, and others. Addiction can occur when people have hard time to control or stop use, do or take something. People can be addictive to many things, not only to alcohol and drugs, people also can be addictive...
Words: 855 - Pages: 4
...Phobias & Addictions Psy/300 05/21/2014 Phobias & Addictions According to the Merriam – Webster Dictionary a “phobia” is an irrational persistent fear or dread of something. Phobias are disorders humans possess that are triggered by subconscious fears they may have about something directly or indirectly related to their particular phobia. Phobias are more operant conditions rather than classical conditions; meaning they are more dictated because of environment or other factors surrounding oneself than occurring without any sort of studied behavior. Phobias and addictions are two emotional difficulties which learning theorists can account for. Addiction is both a physiological and psychological disorder where individuals become dependent upon one thing or another. Phobias can be developed through classical as well as operant conditioning. There are distinct factors that play a role in distinguishing between classical and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning plays an important role in the development of certain phobias. This type of conditioning means that certain sounds or circumstances can trigger or elicit certain emotion and/or make a person react in a particular fashion over a period of time and thru trial and error. A phobia can be triggered or made prevalent in the conscious mind because of an idiosyncrasy assisted by one of the five senses. Many circumstances can factor in to addiction. Addiction can be dangerous as well as beneficial in certain...
Words: 963 - Pages: 4
...Addictions and Phobias Psychology 300 September 24, 2010 Why do we behave the way that we do. Maybe our behaviors are the results of the type of family we come from, cultural, our environment or the examples set before us. All these situations can play apart in shaping the behaviors we exhibit; this process is known as conditioning, which is a form of learning. Classical conditioning is a learned process by which a response is prompted by an outside stimulus or the thought of such stimulus. For example, experimenter presented a small child with a white rat, a dog, and a few other furry items. Initially the child showed no fear of the items. Whenever the child would reach out for the white rat the experimenter would hit a metal pipe behind the child resulting a fear response in the child. As a result the child associated the frightening sound with reaching for the white rat. When experimenter later presented the same white rat the child once reached for with no fear he cried, and was fearful of the rat. The same fearful reaction was evoked when experimenters presented the child with other white furry items (Kowaski & Westen, 2004). The process of classical conditioning can cause the development of phobias, as with the case of the small child and the rat. Even though the startling sound that initially scared the child was no longer present just the sight of the rat evokes the same fearful reaction once evoked by the startling noise. Although classical conditioning...
Words: 1175 - Pages: 5
...Phobias and Addictions PSY/300 July 29, 2013 Abstract Week Two of PSY/300, which is the General Psychology class, has an assignment of writing a paper regarding phobias and addictions. It includes the meanings and the differences between classical conditioning and operant conditioning. The paper explains what phobias are as compared to addictions and how each of them affects behavior in individuals. It also explains what classical conditioning means to phobias as well as what operant conditioning means to addictions. Phobias and Addictions Every person is in one way or another, conditioned by either operant or classical conditioning. Phobias develop through classical conditioning, whereas addictions develop through operant conditioning. The classical conditioning theory involves learning a new behavior via the process of association, (McLeod, 2012). Operant conditioning is the other type of conditioning whereas an individual learns through a reward system. It is more or less association made between behavior and consequence of that behavior. Phobias and addictions develop through these two types of conditioning. Phobias develop through classical conditioning and addictions through operant conditioning. Through the past decades, psychologists studied these two relationships to develop a more understanding of these emotional disorders. Phobias and addictions are negative behaviors and usually come from classical conditioning or operant conditioning. Phobias happen...
Words: 1112 - Pages: 5
...Phobias and Addictions Samuel Medina Psy/300 December 10, 2013 Prof. Kathy M. Rupe Phobias and Addictions It is interesting to think about some of the results of learning that can be on the opposite ends of their respective spectrum. For example, when it comes to Phobias and Addictions although these learned behaviors are opposites they both can stem from different learning techniques. A phobia is, “An exaggerated usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situations” (Merriam-Webster, 2013). On the other hand an addiction can be defined as, “A persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful” (Merriam-Webster, 2013). The similarity between these two behaviors lies in the compulsive and persistent fear or desire of the object or situation. Two of the well-known learning methods, classical and operant conditioning, can contribute to developing phobias and addictions. One behavior that can be developed by classical conditioning is a Phobia. The concept of developing phobia through classical conditioning occurs when one stimulus is paired with another resulting in a different response (Kowalski & Weston, 2011, p. 165). In 1920, John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner conducted a classical conditioning study that paved the way for the development of phobias. In this study, they surmised that emotional responses could be learned from the “Little Albert” experiment. They first frightened...
Words: 969 - Pages: 4
...Phobias and Addictions Chantel Billingsley PSY/300 May 30, 2014 Brian Hawkins Abstract This paper provides a broad overview of phobias and addictions. The difference between classical conditioning and how it relates to phobias will be dicussed, as well as operant conditioning and how it develops into addictions. Distinguishing between classical and operant conditioning, will show the differences between the two. I will cover what extinction means and how it is achieved in both types of conditioning. "Phobia" means "morbid fear" in greek (What is Phobia, 2014). Fear is a natural response to a genuine danger. Phobias are the emotional and physical reactions to feared objects or situations; this fear becomes irrational and excessive. Feelings of horror, panic and terror may occur. Reactions become automatic and uncontrollable, taking over a person's thoughts and sometimes causing physical symptoms. These symptoms can include rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, trembling and overwhelming desire to avoid the feared object or situation. There are three major categories of phobias. First category called specific phobias focuses on certain objects, animals, people and situations. Some of the most recognized phobias fall under this category; the fear of heights (acrophobia), the fear of spiders (arachnophobia) and the fear of enclosed spaces(claustrophobia). The second major category is the fear of open spaces (agoraphobia). Most individual...
Words: 1345 - Pages: 6
...Phobias and Addictions Phobias and Addictions Everyone has a phobia and an addiction. A phobia is an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something: "he had a phobia about being under water"; "a phobia of germs.” An addiction is the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity. Phobias and addictions are related to classical and operant conditioning. Phobias and addictions are two emotional difficulties, which theorists can account for. Phobias can be acquired through classical conditioning by pairing a neutral stimulus with something that causes pain. Phobia responses can be permanent unless the organism is subjected to the extinction process. In the extinction process, one must confront the fear without the presence of the unconditioned stimulus. For example, in Watson’s experiment, Little Albert developed a phobia of white rats (and other furry objects) as a result of pairing the white rat with a loud bang. The phobia could have been extinguished by repeatedly exposing Little Albert to the white rat without the loud bang. Another way to extinguish a phobia is through counter conditioning. In counter conditioning, the conditioned stimulus is paired with a pleasant stimulus. Little Albert could have extinguished his phobia of the white rat by pairing it with something pleasant (e.g., food, praise) ("Phobias,” 2010). Ivan Pavlov is known for his theory...
Words: 965 - Pages: 4
...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...
Words: 942 - Pages: 4
...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...
Words: 1013 - Pages: 5
...Phobias and Addictions Ashlee D. Niland PSY300 October 22, 2012 Dr. Erickson Phobias and Addictions “According to Kowalski and Westen, the concept that learning shapes behavior, forms the fundamental concepts of the behaviorist perspective. Known together as associative learning, classical and operant conditioning are common, yet distinct ways in which humans learn behavior”(Kowalski & Weston, 2009, p. 157) Classical conditioning, also known as Pavlovian conditioning or respondent conditioning, is like having a bell that rings every time a dog gets his food. The dog then learns that the sound of that bell means food is there. The learning of the bell and food correlating to one another is classical conditioning. Operant conditioning was created by B.F Skinner. Operant conditioning is the positive and negatives of an acted motion; like a child who makes good grades in school will be rewarded by his parents or if the child makes bad grades the parents will discipline the child. If the child makes good grades but the parents continually fail to reward the child, the child may begin to slack in his school work. This is operant conditioning. Phobias “Phobias can interfere with the ability to work, socialize, and maintain a normal daily routine. They can cause such an overwhelming anxiety that people who have phobias may avoid any situation or object that is associated with the phobia” (Kowalski & Westen, 2009). Classical and operant conditioning both contribute...
Words: 907 - Pages: 4
...Phobias and Addictions Tenina M. Brown PSY/300 February 04, 2013 Richard Alpert Phobias and Addictions Phobias and Addictions are behaviors that are learned through association to a stimulus. A phobia is an irrational fear of a specific object or situation (Kowalski& Westen, 2011). Addiction is compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance. Both phobias and addictions are learned by association and by learning methods such as classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Some phobias are believed to be developed through classical conditioning. If a neutral stimulus is paired with and unconditioned stimulus that creates an unconditioned response that causes fear, a conditioned stimulus of fear will occur every time you encounter the neutral stimulus. In a study performed by JohnWatson, the founder of American behaviorism, he tested the theory of phobias developed through classical conditioning. Choosing a healthy nine month old baby, Little Albert, he experimented with a rat and loud banging of a steel hammer. After being presented with the rat, Little Albert played with the rat and had no fear. After being presented with the steel being banged, he became scared. After a few months of combining the rat with the loud banging, Little Albert became very fearful of the rat. Little Albert learned to associate the loud banging with the rat. This classical conditioning produced a conditioned stimulus or an emotional response of fear and a phobia. Addiction...
Words: 941 - Pages: 4
