Phobias and Addictions

There are an infinite amount of phobias and addictions. It is the author of this paper's belief that people can be afraid of, or addicted to, anything if put in a particular type of situation.

Classical conditioning, commonly referred to as respondent conditioning was actually the first type of learning that was studied in a systematic style (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). Ivan Pavlov, a Russian psychologist, conducted a study of the digestive system of dogs. Throughout his studies, he discovered a habitual recurrence. Typically, dogs will salivate just prior to receiving food. This is a normal reflex. Pavlov came to the instant realization that if a certain stimulus, for example, a ringing bell that sounded just prior to the dog receiving food, the dog would begin salivating when it heard the ringing, regardless of whether the food was or was available! Pavlov's rationale was that the dog had developed an instant association with the bell to the food. Hence, the food spurred salivation reflex, the bell also produced the same reflex.

That reflex is called an unconditioned reflex. Conditioning is a type of learning. Consequently, an unconditional reflex that just naturally occurs bears no trace of previous learning. This research conducted by Pavlov generated genuine documentation the classical conditional phenomenon.

Classical conditioning clearly affects human behavior by means of different types of emotional responses and impulses. The case of Little Albert is probably one of the best examples of classic conditioning of an emotional response. This study was conducted by the founder of American behaviorism, John Watson, and his partner, Rosalie Rayner. The main reason why Albert was selected was because of his good health and unemotional behavior (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). Watson and Rayner found Albert when he was just nine months old. They conducted numerous experiments and examinations and carefully observed his reactionary behavioral traits and characteristics.

Studies since Watson and Rayner's time have proposed classical conditioning as an explanation for some human phobias (Ost, 1991; Wolpe, 1958).

Phobias

Phobias are a specific type of anxiety disorder. They are created when someone possesses a fear for an object. According to the author of this paper, there is no determined amount, or numbers of phobias. People can essentially be afraid of anything. Phobias can be generated by common learning. Fear can derive from basic forms of classical conditioning. A prime example can be a common fear of getting shots with needles. Extinction is relevant when it comes to both operant and classical conditioning. Extinction, from a classical conditioning standpoint, is a process involving a conditioned response that is vastly reduced by a presentation from the conditioned stimulus without an unconditioned stimulus (Kowalski &