PSYC 3410 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5, 8: Reciprocal Inhibition, Systematic Desensitization, Aversion Therapy
Document Summary
Classical conditioning is salient in our lives when it comes to the development of fears and anxieties. Normally fear conditioning is good because it teaches an individual to fear something that is dangerous, however, sometimes in irrational fears where the fearful events are not dangerous at all (overexageration = phobia) In the little albert experiment, the baby was conditioned to fear a toy rat because it was paired with a loud noise, however, he started fearing objects that looked similar to the rat (generalization) Although little albert learned fear, this experiment does not show the development of a true phobia because that usually occurs after one pairing. Observational learning, temperament, preparedness, selective sensitization, us revaluation, incubation, and history of control are all involved in the development of a phobia. Observational learning: many phobias are acquired when observing fearful reactions in others even if the individual had no direct confrontation with the cs.