Learning Through Conditioning - Essay Example

Psychem and quinine were mixed with the stimulating chemicals to provide the scent of street cocaine. The treatment room had pictures of instruments required for cocaine use. Patients were supposed to cut four lines of the mixture and snort them together with post-treatment medication. Nurses injected them with emetine and ephedrine to induce nausea within 8-10 minutes. The patient began snorting the lines at the onset of nausea until all lines were finished. This provided an aversive stimulus whenever the patient experienced cocaine stimulus.

Vomiting was induced during alcohol treatment to prevent any absorption of ingested alcohol (Frawley and Smith). Patients remained in the treatment room for forty five minutes and returned to their rooms lined up with cocaine and alcohol paraphernalia. Patients were supposed to mentally pair up those pictures with the negative consequences such as nausea and vomiting. Patients were discharged after completing the treatment and a follow up was conducted after six and eighteen months. After six months, 56 percent of cocaine and 70% of cocaine and alcohol patients had total abstinence from drugs.

At 18 months, 38% of cocaine addicts and 50 percent of cocaine-alcohol addicts abstained completely. Chemical conditioning during aversion therapy showed high acceptability by patients and produced positive outcomes. A big percentage of the patients abstained from drugs within the first six months, and some of them had total abstinence for 18 months. Treated outpatients recorded higher abstinence than untreated outpatients. Nurses used progressive loading during the treatment period. The number of lines snorted increased from 18, 30, 40, and 50 during the treatment period.

Alcoholic patients began by consuming 8 drinks, then 12, 16, and 20 progressively. The treatment specifically targeted alcohol and cocaine addicts. Different alcoholic beverages and chemical mixtures resembling street cocaine were used. Cocaine addicts received treatment within a range of 3-30 days per month and alcohol addicts consumed 1-6 drinks during each session. This was to incorporate individual differences during the treatment period to maximize the effect of treatment (Weiten, 2012).

Patients were monitored and assessed after 6 and 18 months after discharge. Patients spent 45 minutes in the treatment rooms, and they returned to their residential rooms for post treatment medication. Classical conditioning theory was developed by Pavlov, a Russian physiologist. It uses a conditioned stimulus to signal an unconditioned stimulus, which is usually biological. It creates an association between an environmental stimulus and a natural stimulus (Lieberman, 2012). Pavlov used a bell and a bone to cause the dog to salivate.

The dog could salivate when the bell rang even with the absence of the bone. The mind is able to associate a conditioned stimulus to an unconditioned stimulus in order to trigger a conditioned stimulus. Conditioning utilizes mental states such as emotions, feelings, and thoughts to shape behavior through environmental interactions. Teachers can create pleasant surroundings for students with anxiety problems. A positive classroom environment can help students overcome fear when making presentations.

Operant conditioning causes learning through rewarding or punishing certain behavior. The learner creates an association between a certain behavior and its consequences. This theory was coined by Skinner who believed internal motivation and