Lesson  5:  Applica/ons  of  classical  condi/oning  

VCE Psychology Units 3 & 4

From  last  lesson………….  

Outline the following for Pavlov’s experiments

• Unconditioned Stimulus - • Unconditioned Response - • Conditioned Stimulus - • Conditioned Response - • Neutral stimulus -

Answer  

• Unconditioned Stimulus – Meat Powder

• Unconditioned Response - Salivation

• Conditioned Stimulus - Bell

• Conditioned Response - Salivation

• Neutral stimulus - Bell

What is classical conditioning?

Classical  condi4oning    refers  to  a  type  of    learning  that  occurs  through    the  repeated  associa4on  of    two  (or  more)  different    s4muli.  

Learning  is  only  said  to    have  occurred  when  a    par4cular  s4mulus    consistently  produces  a  response  that  it  did  not  previously  produce.  

Who first described classical conditioning while conducting research into the digestive system of dogs?

Applica4ons  of  classical  condi4oning  Classical  condi4oning  has  a  number  of  ‘real-­‐life’  applica4ons.    

Applications of classical conditioning

Graduated exposure

Aversion therapy

Presenting successive approximations of the

CS until the CS itself does not

produce the CR.

The inhibition or discouragement of undesirable behaviour by pairing it with an aversive stimulus.

Flooding

Treatment method for fears/phobias by

extinguishing the CR.

Graduated exposure involves gradually presenting successive approximations of the CS until the CS itself does not produce the CR.

It is a process that involves the extinction of the association between the CS and the CR.

It is also known as ‘systematic desensitisation’.

Graduated exposure It has been successfully used to eliminate a range of problems involving fear and anxiety responses such as a fear of flying.

Source: Digital Vision

•  teach the person a relaxation strategy

•  break down the CS into a sequence arranged from least to most anxiety-producing (a fear hierarchy)

•  gradually begin to extinguish the CR by pairing items in the hierarchy with relaxation by working upward through items in the hierarchy.

Graduated exposure

The steps in graduated exposure are:

•  visual imagery (imaginal exposure)

•  real-life exposure (in vivo exposure)

•  virtual reality technology.

Graduated exposure

Source: Macmillan Australia

Graduated exposure can be done by using:

The best results appear to occur using in vivo graduated exposures.

The  process  of  graduated  exposure  

Graduated exposure

Before conditioning

During conditioning

After conditioning

UCS UCR UCS UCR CS CR

Relaxation training

Relaxation

Relaxation training PLUS Successive approximations of the Phobic stimulus

Relaxation Phobic stimulus

Relaxation

Describe the process by which someone with a fear of enclosed spaces (e.g. using a lift) could overcome it using graduated exposure.

Graduated exposure

Source: Image Source

Aversion therapy inhibits (blocks) or discourages undesirable behaviour by pairing it with an aversive stimulus.

It has been used successfully to treat many different behaviours such as alcoholism, drug dependence, nail biting, gambling, inappropriate sexual behaviours.

What is aversion therapy?

What kinds of aversive stimuli could be used in aversion therapy? List three.

Source: Up the Resolution

Aversion  therapy  was    used  in  Anthony  Burgess‘s    book  A  Clockwork    Orange  (1962),  which  was    adapted  as  a  film  by    Stanley  Kubrick  in  1971.    

Alex  de  Large  is  offered    freedom  from  a  long  jail    sentence  if  he  is  prepared  to    undergo  aversion  therapy    for  his  violence:    

Aversion therapy at the movies

•  de Large is given a drug that induces extreme nausea and anxiety

•  he is strapped into a seat before a large screen and his eyes are clamped open (so that he cannot close them)

•  he is forced to watch an unrelenting series of graphically violent films whilst feeling increasingly sick and panicky.

Using  the  case  of  Alex  de  Large,  complete  the  following:  

Aversion therapy at the movies

Before conditioning

During conditioning

After conditioning

UCS UCR UCS UCR CS CR

Nausea & anxiety inducing drug

Nausea & anxiety

Nausea & anxiety inducing drug PLUS violence

Nausea & anxiety

Violence (without drug)

Nausea & anxiety

Flooding  involves  bringing    the  client  into  direct  contact    with  the  CS  and  keeping    them  in  contact  with  it  un4l    the  CR  is  ex4nguished.  

The  principle  underlying  this    technique  is  that  anxiety    will  be  experienced  at  a    very  high  level  and  then    gradually  diminish,  thereby    enabling  the  client  to    experience  the  CS  in  the  absence  of  the  CR.    

Flooding

Source: Macmillan Australia

Describe the process by which someone with a fear of heights could overcome it using flooding.

Flooding

Source: Image Source

Quick  quiz  •  Ques4on  1:  What  does  graduated  exposure  involve?  •  Answer:  Gradually  presen4ng  successive  approxima4ons  of  the  CS  un4l  the  CS  itself  

does  not  produce  the  CR.    •  Ques4on  2:  The  best  results  when  using  graduated  exposure  appear  to  occur  via  

imaginal  exposure.  True  or  false?    •  Answer:  False,  best  results  are  using  in  vivo  graduated  exposures.    •  Ques4on  3:  What  does  aversion  therapy  involve?      •  Answer:  Inhibi4ng  or  discouraging  an  undesirable  behaviour  by  pairing  it  with  an  

aversive  s4mulus.    •  Ques4on  4:  The  idea  behind  aversion  therapy  is  that  the  undesired  behaviour  

becomes  the  CS.  True  or  false?  •  Answer:  True.      •  Ques4on  5:  Name  one  behaviour  that  can  be  treated  by  aversion  therapy.  •  Answer:  Alcoholism,  drug  dependence,  nail  bi4ng,  gambling,  sexual  behaviours.      •  Ques4on  6:  Flooding  involves  bringing  the  client  into  direct  contact  with  the  CS  in  

order  to  strengthen  the  associa4on  with  the  CR.  True  or  false?  •  Answer:  False,  it  is  designed  to  ex4nguish  the  associa4on  with  the  CR.    •  Ques4on  7:  What  is  the  underlying  principle  of  flooding?    •  Answer:  That  anxiety  will  be  experienced  at  a  very    

high  level  and  then  gradually  diminish.