Classical Conditioning In Relation to Distrust in Relationships

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Classical conditioning is the theory that involves a subject learning a new behavior by the process of association. A naturally occuring stimulus (the unconditioned stimulus) is paired with a response (the unconditioned response). Then, a neutral stimulus (the conditioned stimulus) is paired with the unconditioned stimulus and eventually the conditioned stimulus produces the initial response of the unconditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus being present. The response, therefore, becomes the conditioned response. This study had a major influence on the psychological study of behaviorism. “Behaviorism is based on the assumption that learning occurs through interactions with the environment” (Cherry 1). Classical conditioning was discovered by the work of Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936). Pavlov first experimented on classical conditioning by proving he could train a dog to salivate to the sound of a bell the same way a dog naturally salivated to the sight of food. Associating food with the sound of the bell, Pavlov was successful in training the dog to respond the same way to the bell as he would involuntarily respond to the food alone.

Behaviorist John B. Watson and graduate student Rosalie Raynor expanded on Pavlov’s initial discovery and used classical conditioning to prove that phobias could be established in humans by associating a neutral stimulus to a stimulus that already creates fear in a subject. This experiment was proven with what is known as the Little Albert Experiment. There are three stages in the classical conditioning process; stage 1: before conditioning, stage two: during conditioning, and stage three: after conditioning. In stage one of Watson’s experiment, infant, Little Albert,...

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...her person is caught messaging the third person repeatedly, the person being deceived associates the sound of the incoming messages with the feeling of betrayal. So after establishing the association between the sound of incoming messages and the second relationship happening between messages that are coming in, the person being deceived becomes fearful and paranoid every time they hear the ringtone of an incoming message.

Bibliography

Cherry, Kendra. “Introduction to Classical Conditioning.” About.com Psychology. About.com, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.

Cherry, Kendra. “The Little Albert Experiment.” About.com Psychology. About.com, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.

Krauss, Susan. “Fulfillment at Any Age.” Psychology Today. Sussex Directories, Inc., 15 Jan. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.

McLeod, Saul A. “Classical Conditioning.” Simply Psychology. N.p., 2008. Web. 09 Mar. 2014

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