Unit 4 PS515

Part 1:

When Classical Conditioning Is Dysfunctional

Imagine you are a psychologist researching one of the following phenomena:

• Phobias
• Prejudice
• Drug overdoses

Choose one of these, and describe how classical conditioning is used to better understand the topic you selected. Then complete the following:

1. Clearly identify the US, UR, CS, and CR.
2. Use additional, appropriate conditioning terms to explain how the disorder/issue may develop and/or how it might be treated with conditioning.

Readings: Please have at least 2 references

Read the following in your text, Introduction to Learning and Behavior:

• Chapter 5: Classical Conditioning: Underlying Processes and Practical Applications

Peer respond, please use references as you respond to the peers

Peer #1 Skyler Rosenthal

Classical conditioning is a very helpful way to understand how phobias can develop and then stick around much longer than is useful. In many cases, a phobia starts when a previously neutral stimulus is paired with a very aversive event, and that neutral stimulus eventually begins to trigger fear on its own (Powell et al., 2023). For example, imagine a client who develops a strong fear of dogs after being bitten. In that situation, the unconditioned stimulus (US) is the painful bite, and the unconditioned response (UR) is the natural fear and panic reaction: crying, increased heart rate, startle, and wanting to escape. Before the bite, the dog itself is more or less a neutral stimulus. After they were bit, the dog becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) for the client, and now the sight or sound of a dog (CS) elicits a conditioned response (CR) of fear and anxiety, even when the dog is calm, on a leash, or across the street (Powell et al., 2023).

Some classical conditioning terms help to explain how this turns into a full-blown phobia instead of just a onetime scare. First, this is clearly aversive conditioning because the US, the bite and pain, is highly unpleasant, startling, and biologically significant. Due to this, learning can happen very quickly, sometimes after only a single intense pairing (Powell et al., 2023).

Once the dog is established as a CS for fear, stimulus generalization often kicks in. The person may start to feel the same fear around other dogs that look different from the original one, as well as when they hear barking, see dog pictures, or visit places where dogs are likely to be. Cooper et al. (2020) also points out that a persons broader learning history matters as well. If after the bite, their parent is inclined to pull them away and tell them be careful or they see additional negative dogrelated events, those experiences can act like extra conditioning trials that reinforce and widen their fear network. On top of that, avoidance becomes a big maintaining factor. When the person stays away from dogs or leaves situations where dogs are present, their anxiety drops in the moment, which negatively reinforces the avoidance pattern and blocks potential opportunities for the fear to naturally extinguish (Cooper et al., 2020).

The same classical conditioning principles that help explain how the phobia develops also show up in how we treat it. Exposurebased interventions rely heavily on extinction. The conditioned stimulus (dogs) will be presented repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulus (bites or attacks), which gradually over time weakens the CSUS association reduces the conditioned fear response (Powell et al., 2023). In practice, this often looks like systematic desensitization or graduated exposure. A client might start by imagining a dog, then move to looking at photos or videos, then being in the same room as a calm dog, and eventually working up to petting or walking the dog. Throughout this process, the dog is present but nothing bad happens, so the prediction dog = danger is slowly disconfirmed. When relaxation or coping skills are used alongside exposure, that will add counterconditioning components: the dog (CS) starts to be paired with calmer physiological states instead of intense fear (Cooper et al., 2020).

From this perspective, a phobia is essentially a case of classical conditioning gone too far, and treatment is about carefully applying extinction and counterconditioning to help the person build a more adaptive response.

References

Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2020). Applied behavior analysis (3rd ed.). Pearson.

Powell, R. A., Symbaluk, D. G., & Honey, P. L. (2023). Introduction to learning and behavior (6th ed.). Cengage.

feedback from previous Discussion Post:

Overall Feedback

Hi . For full credit main posts require at least two sources. Please have references in APA format (Powell). Good work responding to others over different days.

Overall Feedback

Hi. For full credit please have references in APA format (Domjan). Good work responding to others over different days.

Peer #2 Maria Gomez Yanez

Phobias demonstrate how classical conditioning can become maladaptive when neutral stimuli are paired with traumatic or aversive experiences. Through conditioning, stimuli that were once neutral can begin to elicit intense fear responses even when no immediate danger is present (Cooper et al., 2020).

For example, consider the development of a driving phobia following a serious car accident. In this case, the unconditioned stimulus (US) is the car accident, which naturally produces fear and physiological distress, the unconditioned response (UR). Prior to the accident, driving functioned as a neutral stimulus. After the traumatic pairing, driving or being in a vehicle becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) that elicits anxiety, fear, and avoidance behaviors, which now represent the conditioned response (CR) (Cooper et al., 2020).

Several classical conditioning processes help explain how this phobia develops and persists. Stimulus generalization may occur, such that fear extends to similar stimuli including highways, intersections, or even riding as a passenger. Extinction often fails to occur because individuals avoid driving situations, preventing exposure to the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus. This avoidance temporarily reduces anxiety but ultimately maintains the conditioned fear response over time (Bouton, 2016).

Classical conditioning principles are also applied in the treatment of driving phobias. Exposure therapy involves repeated contact with driving-related stimuli in the absence of an accident, allowing extinction of the conditioned response. Systematic desensitization uses counterconditioning by pairing gradual exposure to driving situations with relaxation techniques, helping replace fear responses with more adaptive emotional reactions (Cooper et al., 2020).

Overall, driving phobias illustrate how classical conditioning can result in dysfunctional fear responses, while also demonstrating how conditioning principles can be effectively applied to treatment.

References

Bouton, M. E. (2016). Learning and behavior: A contemporary synthesis (2nd ed.). Sinauer Associates.

Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2020). Applied behavior analysis (3rd ed.). Pearson.

Part 2:

Write a summary of the seminar, I will attached screenshots of the seminar. Please make it sound as if you watch the seminar.

Part 3:

Classical conditioning is the basis of the most effective treatment for specific phobia. For this assignment, you will write a 3- to 5-page essay that describes how you would apply classical conditioning to modify behavior. You will use systematic desensitization to rid your client of a specific phobia.

• Briefly describe your client, including sociocultural factors that should be considered.
• Identify the specific phobia and the criteria (use ) (https://psychiatryonline.org/dsm) that indicate they do have a phobia.
• Discuss the concept of reciprocal inhibition and how it can be useful in the treatment of anxiety. Explain how you would facilitate this process with your client.
• Create a detailed fear hierarchy of your clients phobia-related stimuli and discuss how you developed it.
• Describe how you would take your client through systematic desensitization.
• Discuss the best way for your client to remain phobia-free.

Your assignment should be a 3- to 5-page essay, not including the title and reference pages, and should include the following elements:

• Title page: Provide your name, title of assignment, course and section number, and date.
• Body: Answer all the questions in complete sentences and paragraphs.
• Your responses should reflect professional writing standards, using proper tone and language. The writing and writing style should be correct and accurate and reflect knowledge of skills and practice of the psychology profession.
• Reference page: Sources listed in current APA format.
• Include a minimum of three scholarly or academic sources to support your responses and conclusions.
• Use Arial or Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced and left aligned.
• Use standard 1″ margins on all sides.
• Use current APA formatting and citation style.
• If you need assistance with APA style, please visit .

I will attached a document as an example on how this assigment should look like. I will also attached the past assignment I submitted with comments from my professor on why I lost points.

Here are some og his comments ” Hi and thank you for your efforts. The five schools of behaviorism were confusingly written. The five schools that needed review (please see sample paper) were: Methodological behaviorism (Watson); (Hull Neobehaviorism); (Tolman, Cognitive Behaviorism); (Skinner, Radical Behaviorism; (Bandura, Social Learning Theory). Please remember to avoid use of first person. Please consider tightening APA format (referencing). Hope these tips help for upcoming assignments.

Thanks,

Jim”