Learning Principles

Module 3

Classical conditioning as a basis for treating human behavioral difficulties .... the early years

• Mary Cover Jones was interested primarily in the unconditioning process. That is, if classical conditioning theory can in fact explain human behavior, and if some resulting behavior is unwanted, how can we change what already exists? Early on, many psychologists knew that when helping an individual deal with a phobia, talking did not help. Of course, the Freudians did not want to believe that, but the truth was that simply discussing one's fears was not always enough to make them go away. Further, simply waiting for extinction did not seem to help. In fact, waiting may actually compound the problem.

  

  Consider someone who is afraid of the dentist. Because of some occurrence in childhood, I am I mean this friend of mine is afraid of the dentist. Therefore, whenever he thinks about going to the dentist, he becomes anxious. The surest method to quickly decrease the anxiety is to determine not to go to the dentist, and to think about something else, let's assume golf.  Voila', the anxiety is gone. Not only is the anxiety gone, but a new pairing is created. Now I, I mean this friend has connected sudden relaxation and calmness with golf!  An addict is born.

  

  Mary Cover Jones did find that two things do work very well to "uncondition" a subject.  The first is to watch others engage in the behavior that one is fearful of.  Therefore, watching other people handle snakes, over time, will decrease the anxiety that many people have concerning snakes. (This approach is similar to Bandura's Social-Cognitive Theory that you will learn more about in the coming weeks.)

  Another approach that is particularly beneficial is to pair the Conditioned Stimulus with a new conditioned response. A new response that is incompatible with the first.  Let's assume that your family pet has passed away from old age. Your child is very distressed by this, and now every time she sees a dog, she becomes tearful and sad.

  Unconditioned Stimulus =========> Unconditioned Response

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  • Loss of a family pet =======> Sadness, Crying

  

  First, we identify an emotional response that is incompatible with sadness and crying. One alternative is happiness and fun.  As a parent, you might choose to occasionally bring up the loss of the pet, while your child is engaged in fun activities such as eating ice cream, or at the amusement park. In these settings, the child is feeling other very positive emotions, and a quick reference to the family pet is not likely to be so overpowering as to completely eliminate these feelings. Do not dwell on the pet, but make a brief comment such as "That terrier looks a lot like Snippets." Over time, your statements can become more direct, "I really miss Snippets" or "We had a lot of fun with Snippets." These comments will be a stimulus to think about the lost pet, but will be in a new context, creating a new pairing.

  Thoughts of Snippets ====> Amusement Park ====> Happiness

  

  Eventually, the intermediary of the amusement park will no longer be necessary, and the thoughts alone will create some happiness -- although not of the same amplitude as the original stimulus (see above).

  How can you use this in school?  Before continuing, consider what S-R models you can implement in your classroom. (TIP: what can you do for your non-readers?)

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