The Concept of Classical Conditioning - Essay Example

Assessment and Ability to Apply the Psychological Knowledge Introduction ical conditioning occurs when a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus to produce the same response as the naturally occurring unconditioned stimulus. In operant conditioning, behaviour is maintained by conditioning of reflex actions that are elicited by antecedent conditions. Operant conditioning is critical in behaviour change and encouraging people to keep up with regular programs. Classical conditioning has a close relationship to development of phobias and observational learning. People develop phobias to objects, scenes and sounds that produce a great deal of fear. Observational learning enhances the ability of people to acquire new responses by observing the behaviour of others. Classical and operant conditioning are useful in eliciting behaviour change, enhancing classroom performance, marketing, and understanding behaviour. Classical Conditioning Classical conditioning is the type of learning that occurs when a conditioned stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus. According to Kingsbury (2011), unconditioned stimulus constitutes an unlearned reflex response and a conditioned response is a neutral agent that causes response. Consistent pairing of conditioned and neutral stimuli causes learning to occur; the organism beginning to exhibit conditioned response to the conditioned stimulus evidences this form of learning. Ivan Pavlov pioneered the concept of classical conditioning through a series of experiment; the dog-bell experiments led to the conclusion that dogs could salivate to the ringing of a bell (Kabitzke & Wiedenmayer, 2011). Principles of classical conditioning include acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, stimulus generalization, and discrimination. Operant Conditioning Operant conditioning involves forming an association between behaviour and its consequence. Kingsbury (2011) enumerates four possible consequences of behaviour that cause operant conditioning; these include something good starting of being presented, something good being taken away, something bad starting or being presented and something bad being taken away. The process of operant learning leads to formation of new neural pathways. The neurotransmitters of the brain reinforce the new neural pathways every time the organism experiences pleasure or pain emanating from a given behaviour. Proponents of operant conditioning argue that there are three consequences that shape behaviour; these are reinforcement, punishment, and extinction (Haselgrove & Hogarth, 2012). Reinforcement increases the frequency of behaviour while punishment strives to suppress undesirable behaviour. Both reinforcement and punishment can be characterised by either positive or negative stimulus; positive implies that a stimulus is presented following the response and negative means is withdrawn after a response. Organisms will always strive to avoid behaviours that cause pain and increase the frequency of behaviours that cause pleasure. Relationship between Classical Conditioning and Phobias Classical conditioning causes phobias experienced by people. Phobias refer to irrational fears whose extent cannot be warranted by their cause. Phobias have the potential of interfering with the daily functioning of the sufferer (Haselgrove & Hogarth, 2012). For example, a person may develop an irrational fear of car horns if he hears a car honking and see it swaying before crashing into an intersection. This fear is considered irrational if the sufferer is afraid to use the ways that are characterised by hooting vehicles and crossroads and ends up changing the day’s plans. The level of fear is irrational since it has changed the affected person’s normal daily functioning. Relationship between Classical Conditioning and Observational Learning The social learning theory posits that leaning by observation characterises most of the modern educational settings. Observational learning occurs through observing the behaviour of other people in social contexts (Kabitzke & Wiedenmayer, 2011). Albert Bandura used the Bobo doll experiment to investigate the working of observational learning. Educationists have found classical conditioning widely applicable in observation learning. The conditioned stimulus predicts the occurrence of the unconditioned response. Conditioned response constitutes a response to the prediction of unconditioned response. In observational learning, learning is vicarious and the motivation to learn is determined by the behaviour that is performed by the role model. For example, when a child observe her teacher dressing smartly, she may develop a behaviour of decency in order to look like her teacher. Application of Operant Conditioning to Clients Biting a Finger Biting fingernails is an undesirable behaviour that the client wants to abandon. I will ask the client to confirm whether she knows that nail-biting is socially unacceptable. The client can take photos of her fingernails, examine them and decide whether that is what they want their fingernails to look forever. I will ask the client to study the nails of people who do not bite their nails. The comparison will reveal to the client the ugliness of her nails, and the need to keep her nails smart like those of another person will act as a reinforcement to stop biting her nails. The pain associated with ugly looks will act as punishment for behaviour change. I will advice the client to cover her fingernails with adhesive bandages and nibble inhibitors. Availability and easy accessibility of the nails acts as the reinforcement that makes the client to bite nails. Covering them using adhesive bandages and nibble inhibitors will lead to extinction of behaviour since the client will no longer access the nails for biting. Extinction will be enhanced by the long period when the client will not be able to access her fingernails. Regular Exercising The first step the patient should do is to Set SMART goals. SMART goals constitute specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. The aims of the taking the exercises should clarify the changes the client wants to achieve through exercising. For example, reduce weight by 30 pounds after six months. Second, the client should monitor behaviour changes. Positive change will motivate the client to continue exercising. Monitoring will involve keeping track of body changes in order to see if the desired effects are occurring. For example, I will advice the client to keep a chart of daily weights. Third, the client should reinforce the desired behaviour. This can be achieved by keeping a record of behaviour whose positive results will serve as a reinforcement. If the client a consistent pattern of weight loss, they will be motivated to continue with the exercising program. Fourth, I will advice the client to eliminate incentives that impede the performance of desirable behaviour and cause extinction. These incentives include fatty foods, candies, sleeping, and discouragers. Importance of Classical and Operant Conditioning Classical conditioning is useful in understanding phobias. The theory enables people to recognise that their emotional reactions are learned from the environment (Kabitzke & Wiedenmayer, 2011). Classical conditioning also provides ways of treating phobias such as counter-conditioning, systematic desensitization, prolonged exposure to the feared stimulus, and aversion therapy. Classical conditioning is also applied in advertisements where products are paired with personalities in order to elicit positive emotions (Haselgrove & Hogarth, 2012). The main weakness of using personalities is that not all of them are liked by all people; this may lead to dislike of the product by some people in the population. Classical conditioning is applied in behaviour change, especially in classroom and therapeutic settings. Educators pair desirable behaviours with good things in order to modify behaviour. Operant conditioning is used in explaining variety of behaviours such as language acquisition, learning and addition. Behaviour exhibited in the environment are either suppressed or encouraged by their consequences (Kingsbury, 2011). The theory has practical applications such as the token economy that can be used in classroom, counselling centres and prisons to enhance the process of behaviour change. Effective use of strategies compliments, affirmation, approval and encouragement provides excellent avenues to behaviour modification. Trainers, however, should not overuse one type of reinforcement because the recipients may become used to it and lead to extinction. Conclusion Learning from the environment constitutes the major influence of learning from the environment. The experiments of classical and operant conditioning are applicable in modifying human behaviours because learning in animals is almost similar to learning that occurs in humans. People who are interested in applying classical and operant conditioning theories should closely study the principles of each theory and ensure adherence to the required steps. Over-using the tenets of the theories may lead to extinction or nonresponsive behaviour. References Kingsbury, K. (2011). Learning. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan. Haselgrove, M., & Hogarth, L. (2012). Clinical applications of learning theory. Hove: Psychology Press. Kabitzke, P. A., & Wiedenmayer, C. P. (2011). Effects of the stimulus and chamber size on unlearned fear across development. Behavioural Processes, 86(2), 257-262. Read More