Phobias and Addictions

Phobias and Addictions in Classical and Operant Conditioning

Ryan Atkins

PSY/300

August 16, 2010

Jennifer Murphy

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY: I certify that the attached paper, which was produced for the class identified above, is my original work and has not previously been submitted by me or by anyone else for any class. I further declare that I have cited all sources from which I used language, ideas and information, whether quoted verbatim or paraphrased, and that any and all assistance of any kind, which I received while producing this paper, has been acknowledged in the References section. This paper includes no trademarked material, logos, or images from the Internet, which I do not have written permission to include. I further agree that my name typed on the line below is intended to have, and shall have the same validity as my handwritten signature.

Ryan Atkins

Phobias and Addictions in Classical and Operant Conditioning

Every one of us is conditioned in some way or another, either classically or operant, without even being aware of it. These types of conditioning could affect us and have us acquire a phobia or addiction based on something that happened. Phobias and addictions are simply emotional matters of the mind. Phobias can be developed through classical conditioning; whereas addictions can be developed through operant conditioning. While they are both types of behavior modification, they are truly different from one another.

Do you think of a certain someone- boyfriend, girlfriend, lost loved one- every time you smell a certain perfume or cologne? Maybe a certain song was playing when you met your husband or wife; and now every time you hear it, you think of them. Even a random day in the year can remind you of a person, place or event that happened. These are all little glimmers of classical conditioning. Ian Pavlov, a Russian psychologist, is the man most commonly associated with classical conditioning. His original experiment was...