Fear is a vital response for survival, in the face of threats and is also an important component of behavioural defence systems in mammals. Ivan Pavlov (1920’s) introduced the concept of classical conditioning. Classical conditioning can be used to learn various emotions including fear; this is known as a conditioned emotional response (Carlson, 2010, p.g 369). In this essay, Pavlovian (cued) fear conditioning and contextual fear conditioning will be discussed, and then the neural mechanisms underlying fear conditioning will be evaluated using various studies carried out on animals and humans.
In Pavlov’s fear conditioning, an emotionally neutral conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented in concurrence with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US). Following one or several pairings, the CS is able to elicit responses that would naturally occur when danger is sensed. The responses are innate and they automatically occur in the occurrence of appropriate stimuli. Some of the responses that usually occur are behavioural (freezing), autonomic (change in blood pressure or heart rate) and endocrine mechanisms (secretion of stress hormones) {Aggleton, 2000, p.g 292}.
One of the classic examples of fear conditioning is the experiment carried out on little Albert by Watson and Rayner (1920). Little Albert was an infant (11 months old), who was conditioned to fear white rats. Initially when he was exposed to the white rat, little Albert would approach it and play with it. After awhile, when little Albert tried to touch the rat, a loud noise (US) was created which would startle little Albert and cause him to cry (unconditioned response –UR). This pairing was repeated a few times. Later on, when the rat (CS) was again presented to little Alber...
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...er. Some of these responses include: freezing, change in blood pressure or heart rate or secretion of stress related hormones. Neural mechanisms underlying fear conditioning have been significantly analyzed in recent years. Two major components underlying fear conditioning are the amygdala and the hippocampus. The amygdala deals with the association formation, whereas the hippocampus deals with contextual fear conditioning. These findings are usually found from lesion, neuroimaging and behavioral studies. However, there are also other critical issues being researched on, such as: whether amygdala is the storage place for fear memory or what the accurate amygdala circuit that mediates fear conditioning is. Advancements in exploring underlying neural mechanisms can help to better learning and memory, and also help to understand the basis of fear and anxiety disorders.
The study by Watson and Rayner was to further the research of Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov was a Russian physiologist whose most famous experiments involved that of animals, specifically the unconditioned and conditioned reflexes of canines, in reference to salivation and conditioned emotional response. Pavlov demonstrated that if a bell was rang each time a dog was fed; ultimately the animal would befall conditioned to salivate at just the sound of the bell, even where food is was no longer present (The Salivation reflex). Watson and Rayner set out to further the research of conditioned stimulus response, with little Albert. ‘These authors without adequate experimental evidence advanced the view that this range was increased by means of conditioned reflex factors.’ (B.Watson, R Rayner , 1920).
Fear of flying is created by the unconscious mind as a protective mechanism. When using the neutral stimulus explanation, Lauren may not have had a relevant response of interest. Lauren may have learned something or heard someone from her past that caused the continuous fear. Due to the facts in this case, there’s little information to provide us regarding Lauren. First we know she’s afraid to fly, but we have no further information regarding the condition that caused the fear or the circumstances to what led to this fear. The first step in Pavlov’s theory is trying to discover how Lauren’s fear came about, but without more information one can only speculate or guess how Lauren’s condition developed. Pavlov’s theory states several actions and read actions that could have caused Lauren’s Condition.
To test if the fear had been learned specifically for the white rat or was generalized, Watson brought in similar stimuli. First, Albert was tested to make sure he still experienced fear with the rat and he did. Then, a white rabbit was placed in front of him and he experienced fear almost immediately. Many other stimuli were tested (dog, white fur coat, and cotton) and the same response, fear was present.
Hollis, K. (1997). Contemporary research of Pavlovian conditioning: A new functional analysis. American Psychologist, 52. 956-965.
Kurayama, Matsuzawa, Komiya, Nakazawa, Yoshida, Shimizu, (2012) confirmed that these neutral stimuluses deed indeed has an effect and played a role in fear conditioning in people. The case showed that Treena had indeed learned to be scared of the incident and it proceeded to become a cue for to get anxious and get panic attacks. It has been claimed that patients with panic disorder exhibited fear potentiated startle responses to safety cues and therefore reduced discrimination between safety and danger signals during acquisition, indicating that the safety signal was processed as the aversive event in contrast to the danger signal (Nees, Heinrich, Flor, 2015). It also showed that the her failing to answer the question had affected her in other classes when she would not participate in other classes hence, this showed that the neutral stimulus has developed and grew into a conditioned stimulus which evoked feelings of fear and anxiety in her, in other words it had become a cue for her to be scared and
In observational learning, a child takes note of what his or her mother or father considers to be threatening. On the other hand, children can also be conditioned by their own life experiences through a process called operant conditioning (SOURCE). In some instances, children tend to generalize their fears, subsequently forming a phobia. For example, a young girl who became increasingly cautious of flying insects after an unpleasant encounter with a nest of agitated yellow jackets. After being assaulted by these creatures, she associated all flying bugs with the painful sting of a yellow jacket. Of course, children can also be classically conditioned to display a fearful response; that is, they learn to associate an unconditioned fear-relevant stimulus with a conditioned stimulus, provoking a conditioned, fearful response. One of the most well-known examples of this is an experiment involving a young boy, famously dubbed Little Albert. Little Albert learned to fear small furry animals in a laboratory setting when the presence of these creatures was paired with loud banging noises (SOURCE). From the aforementioned experiments and studies, it is undeniable that external circumstances and experiences assist in the configuration of fear in
Ivan Pavlov developed a theory called classical conditioning which proposes that learning process occurs through associations between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus. Classical conditioning involves placing a neutral signal before a naturally occurring reflex like associating the food with the bell in Pavlov experiment. In classical conditioning, behavior is learnt by association where a stimulus that was originally neutral can become a trigger for substance use or cravings due to repeated associations between those stimuli and substance use (Pavlov, 1927).
Classical conditioning is a part of everyday life, and it has been around for as long as living organism have been around. Most people have no idea that classical conditioning occurs on a daily basis. It can happen anywhere, our homes simply watching TV, or being outside in the public. Classical conditioning is a way of learning that happens when two stimuli are presented together, which then become associated with each other. Classical conditioning was first discovered by Ivan Pavlov, and it is so closely associated to him that it is sometimes even called Pavlovian Conditioning. Classical conditioning was later reinforced by John Watson with the “Little Albert” experiment, and recently with the Cockroach experiment by Makoto Mizunami and Hidehiro Watanabe . Classical conditioning does not only affects humans, it affects all animals ranging from the smallest bacteria to dogs and cockroaches. This type of conditioning is also used in marketing and even treating phobias.
“At the University of California at Irvine, experiments in rats indicate that the brain’s hormonal reaction to fear can be inhibited, softening the formation of memories and the emotions they evoke” (Baard).
Classical conditioning refers to a type of learning in which a previously neutral stimuli took on the ability to stimulate a conditioned response in an individual (Gormezano & Moore, 1966). To prove that environment was more impactful than genetics, Watson conducted an experiment on an infant, little Albert. Initially, Albert showed little fear towards rats. When Watson repeatedly exposed Albert to the rat accompanied by a loud noise, the latter began to develop fear towards not just the rat but also other furry animals. Watson successfully showed that the acquisition of a phobia can be explained by classical conditioning (Watson & Watson, 1921). Regardless of their genes, the associations of the right stimuli can result in the development of a new behaviour in any individual.
Pavlov’s theory is known has classical conditioning ‘He is remembered for the salivating dogs which illustrates very usefully the central behaviourist idea that behaviour can be predicted, measured and controlled, and that learning a matter of stimulus and response (Wallace 2007:97).’
Watson, J. B. (1920). Conditioned emotional reactions. The American Psychologist, 55(3), 313-317. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/
‘An adequate hypothesis of fear must utilize physiological concepts of cerebral action in addition to psychological terminology. The hypothesis proposes that "fear originates in the disruption of temporally and spatially organized cerebral activities; that fear are distinct from other emotions by the nature of the processes tending to restore equilibrium." The sources of fear involve conflict, sensory deficit, or constitutional change. ‘
The strength of classical conditioning is that it can help to explain all aspects of human behavior. Any of behavior can broke down into stimulus-response association, so that according to the classical conditioning, conditioned stimulus will lead conditioned response to occur, then the scientist can observe and determine the behavior (McLeod, 2014). In the case of Pavlovian conditioning, he found that when the conditioned stimulus (bell) was paired with an unconditioned stimulus (food) was presented to the dog, it would start to salivate. After a number of repeated this procedures, Pavlov tried to ring his bell by its own...
Pavlov’s classical conditioning is a learning process in which a substantial stimulus is connected with a common one; therefore, the significance of the common stimuli is heightened (Berger, 2011, 40). There are two necessary parts of classical conditioning which pertain to the first core concept of the nature-nurture development. The first deals with biology. Pavlov...