In what ways can classical conditioning principles be used to treat problem behaviours in humans PDF

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Classic conditioning in humans...

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1st Year Psychology Essay Cover Page

Registration number Class Class Leader Date Title of Coursework

201903154 Psychology 1a Joanne Cummings 12/11/2019 In what ways can classical conditioning principles be used to treat problem behaviours in humans?

Declaration I have read and understand the guidelines on plagiarism (found in the class handbook) and declare that this coursework is entirely my own work. All sources have been acknowledged in the text and included in the reference section. All quotations from other authors are marked as such in the text.

Classical conditioning can be defined as the associated learning behaviour in which an unconditioned response (example: dog) is paired with two stimuli. Psychologist Ivan Pavlov unintentionally discovered classical conditioning through learning the behaviour and link between his dogs and food. Pavlov’s aim was to measure the salivary response his dogs had to

food, however, upon doing so he discovered that the dogs began to salivate before the food arrived. This serendipity marked the beginning of classical conditioning which lead to Pavlov testing further methods to trigger the salvation. Pavlov began using a tone before feeding the dogs each time and while dogs salivate to food, they do not typically salivate to tones therefore Pavlov had to make a link in order for the experiment to succeed. The experiment can be broken down as follows: unconditioned stimulus (UCS) = food, unconditioned response (UCR) = unconditioned dog, conditioned stimulus (CS) = tone, conditioned response (CR) = conditioned dog. The discovery of classical conditioning meant a stimulus any organism recognises can produce a physical reaction in the body, mind or attitude.

Watson and Rayner (1920) expanded on Pavlov’s experiment but instead they wanted to find out if classical conditioning could be applied to humans. Watson and Rayner were specifically focused on phobias and 9-month-old little Albert. Little Albert was shown a white rat, monkey, a rabbit and masks however Albert was not phased until he heard the sound of a hammer strike a steel bar. When Albert was 11-months-old he was presented with the white rat again, followed by the strike of the hammer seconds later causing Albert to become startled. After several weeks, little Albert had a learnt phobia (an irrational fear) of rats which lead onto other generalised phobias with a similar white appearance, including Santa’s beard. This experiment would now be classed as unethical through the current British Psychology Society (BPS) guidelines due to the psychological harm. Watson and Rayner’s experiment is an example of classical conditioning principals being used on humans; the purpose of the experiment was to prove that phobias are a learnt behaviour that is formed through an experience or a situational factor. Classical conditioning has also been used in humans to reverse a phobia or anxiety – this is called systematic desensitising, not to be confused by ‘flooding’ which refers to the same idea, however through a prolonged period of time.

Desensitising was established during the 1950s by Wolpe. Desensitising happens in stages, here is an example of those stages when the phobia is dogs:

Stage 1: The client is taught breathing exercises. Stage 2: The client looks at photos of dogs and their anxiety rises and creates a stimulus as the fear builds up. Stage 3: The client continues their breathing exercises while looking at a dog sat in a cage only meters away. Once the client feels comfortable, they move onto stage 4.

The following stages depend on the phobia and client’s cooperation. For a dog phobia, the next step would be having the dog out of the cage but held on a leash. It is important to remember only to continue with the other steps when the client is ready as this makes the client feel in control and therefore more likely to proceed further. The next few steps involve the dog getting closer and closer to the client until the client is able to pet the dog.

Flooding (implosion therapy) can be split into two ways: in vitro or in vivo. In vitro involves the client looking at images or listening to the phobia, while in vivo actually exposes the client to their phobia in person. Studies by Menzie & Clarke, 1993 suggest in vivo is more successful when treating phobias, that being said, both of these methods can also have an opposite effect on the problem; example: A client with a phobia may become more anxious than before – making the phobia worse. The structure of the conditioning can be done in multiple ways depending on the client, the size of dog and severity of the phobia. The client may need numerous sessions just repeating the first few steps. This Morning – a British television show – introduced Rosie James, a woman with a phobia of dogs. Their structure was simple; they brought in a smaller dog and asked Rosie if the dog was allowed to come closer (this was them giving the client control) and then eventually they brought in a different type of dog which was bigger and appeared more energetic. Rosie’s heart rate when up and she explained that she felt more frightened because the dog was bigger, and livelier. Lastly, they introduced her to a welltrained German Shepard dog which Rosie felt was too much. This was the introduction to Rosie Lewis and her phobia and therefore was not treating her at this moment, however, it can be suggested that the temperament of the dog during the desensitisation can have an impact on the client which could prolong the treatment. There are many variables that come into play

when treating a phobia and therefore this is a disadvantage of this treating method. In Rosie James’ case, she had built up a fear of dogs since she was three-years-old because a dog licked her on the face. Despite the dog showing Rosie affection, her experience of this as a child was unexpected and unpleasant and she has not come across other dogs (or any animals of the same nature) since and therefore it could be more difficult to treat the phobia, although possible. With phobias, it is typical that more than one session is needed when treating an individual, therefore this ties in with flooding. Overall, as a phobia is a learnt behaviour, it can be unlearned, making this an advantage.

It can therefore be suggested that classical conditioning principles can be used in both causing and treating problem behaviours in humans. It can also be argued that as a phobia is learned through our environment, that nature is more significant when compared to nature in the nature verses nurture debate – this is an advantage of classical conditioning. On the other-hand, a disadvantage of classical conditioning is that it relies purely on behaviour; for example: if a child in a classroom encounters a spider for the first time and another child shows fear of the spider, then the child who first encountered that spider will begin to react in a similar way due to the stimulus it creates. This can become a lifelong problem if for example a friend or family member throughout the child’s life also makes clear that they do not like spiders – this can cause a phobia to form, and in order to treat that phobia through classical conditioning principles the client with a phobia would need to cooperate effectively. Therefore, freewill is not fully taken into account. To conclude, classical conditioning principles can be used to effectively treat problem behaviours in humans.

References

Mcleod, S. (2015). Systematic Desensitization - A Treatment for Phobias | Simply Psychology.

Retrieved 6 November 2019, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/SystematicDesensitisation.html Mcleod, S. (2018). Classical Conditioning | Simply Psychology. Retrieved 4 November 2019, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/classical-conditioning.html Neese, B. (2018). Consumer Behavior Theories: Pavlovian Theory - Husson University. Retrieved 6 November 2019, from https://online.husson.edu/consumer-behavior-pavlovian-theory/ This Morning. (2015). Terrified Of Dogs [Video]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Sq1JqVbSf-s Mcleod, S. (2019). Behavioral Therapy | Simply Psychology. Retrieved 8 November 2019, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/behavioral-therapy.html Williamson, M., Cardwell, M., & Flanagan, C. (2007). Higher psychology. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes....