Phobias and Addictions

There two ways that one learns behaviors and actions, classical conditioning and aberrant conditioning. Classical conditioning revolves around the idea that one learns certain behaviors, whereas aberrant conditioning revolves around one naturally responding to stimuli.

Classical conditioning leads to phobias by the way of learning. For example, if someone gets bitten by a dog, they might develop a fear of dogs. They might also become weary for their entire life and never be able to approach another dog without feeling immense fear that they might be bitten again. People do not generally develop fears when they have no prior, negative correlation between an object and the feeling of fear. Something must stimulate a person to evoke a feeling of fear.

There are different phobias that can be excluded from classical conditioning as a reason behind the development of such phobias. Phobias that are not rationalized can include a fear of heights or fear of an inanimate object such as pickle. Just because someone is afraid of heights does not mean that have fallen from a great height, it is a non-rationalized fear. A fear of pickles does not mean that someone had to have had a bad experience about them, it just means that there is an unknown reason as to why they fear this object. There is no presence of classical conditioning apparent in these phobias.

Extinction within classical conditioning refers to a process in which a classical conditioned response is weakened with the presentation of the conditional stimulus without the unconditioned response. In other words, without our natural response our learned responses will disappear, causing extinction. If we are not rewarded with the same reactions that we received before, we are less likely to repeat that specific action because we desire the rewards. If we want to remove a certain behavior, we must remove the rewards that are associated with it, such as a child getting what they want just because they throw a tantrum or giving into an employee just to have them work as hard as they are supposed to. By showing a person that they will not be rewarded or given in to when they want something, they will learn that there are certain actions they must take as a basic part of life and know they will not be rewarded just by doing something.

A rationalized fear of uncleanliness or failing a class can be contributed to an underlying cause or previously bad experience. Someone that has an obsessive compulsive fear of dirt or filth can be contributed to the idea that things that are unclean can cause illness or is punishable. A mother might put it in a child's mind that if they do not clean, they will become very ill and suffer certain consequences. Failing might scare someone to the point of phobia because they have learned that there are negative reactions to their failure, such as a spanking or being shunned. Typically, these phobias develop due to an operant conditioned response.

Operant conditioning involves the idea that the actions that we take lead to either rewards or consequences. Within operant conditioning, there is environmental response provoked. How does this relate to addiction? The feelings that one might get when they are doing something that makes them "high", whether it be drugs or base jumping, it's a feeling that they are unable to achieve when they are in their normal state. Though, operant conditioning does not necessarily have to be a negative thing, it can be a mannerism that we do compulsively such as obsessively washing one's hands or locking and unlocking a deadbolt several times to verify that it is locked. These people that have strange obsessions feel a sense of fulfillment when they complete these tasks.

Base jumpers, for example, feel a rush when they jump off of buildings. The feeling that they get is the positive consequence that they will feel a "high" when they do things that are risky or daring. They understand that if they do these adventurous things, they will be rewarded with a feeling that they can only achieve by doing more risky things.

So how do we stop a person from behaving in a certain way? With extinction in operant conditioning, we remove the correlation between the action and the response that is a result of their actions. By showing someone the negative consequences of their actions, we can remove their obsession with dangerous acts. The same can be said for children that are rewarded for studying hard and getting good grades. If we take the rewards away from a child, we will also remove their desire to accomplish this task. By doing so, we are taking the positive (or negative) responses away and we will show a person that their actions will not result in the same effect that was once related to their initial action.

The differences between classical conditioning are pretty severe. In classical conditioning, we find that we can provoke an automatic response without using a stimulus that would normally result in said response. Also we can force an association between a stimulus that would not normally produce a response and a stimulus that would. The prime example would be the way Pavlov made dogs drool, by associating the sound of a bell with receiving food. He presented the dogs with a stimulus that would not normally make dogs drool and showed the dogs that every time they hear a bell, they receive food, thus forcing an automatic response of dogs drooling at the sound of a bell.

In operant conditioning, we find that there is an association between a behavior and its consequence. If we respond in a certain way, there is a stimulus that follows. As an example with operant conditioning, a child knows that they will a new toy if they throw a fit. No matter how young or how old, people learn that if they behave or respond in a certain way, they know it will result in some sort of consequence, whether good or bad. This is why certain behaviors are exhibited, simply on the fact that they will get what they want by behaving in a specific manner.

Classical and operant conditioning can allow a person to develop a specific response that can be awoken by certain stimuli. It can also force a new response that would not typically be a natural response based on stimuli that is unrelated to specific situations. By using these conditioning methods, we can change the way that we think and the way that we respond, by introducing new stimuli that will produce new reactions or showing others that certain behaviors are rewarded or punishable.