Title: Critical Analysis of a Psychological Concept
Classical conditioning, a form of behaviorism, as defined in, Exploring Psychology in Modules by David G. Myers and C. Nathan Dewall, is “a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events” (248). In other words, classical conditioning is when two stimuli are paired repeatedly (first and second) and the response (leaving the classroom) that was once given by the second stimuli (being dismissed) is eventually given by only the first stimuli (school bell ringing).
Nick, as a child, had a favorite fruit, kiwi. Nick always ate kiwis, one summer before his first year of middle school, he ate them almost every day. There was never any problem with this during …show more content…
Nick was conditioned to be allergic to kiwis. Nick has a pollen allergy, usually in the summer. So, while Nick was eating kiwis all summer long he was also having a reaction to pollen. Nick accidently paired a neutral stimulus (eating kiwi) with something that causes an allergic reaction in him (pollen which produces an allergic response). Nick now has a conditioned response (allergic response) at the taste of a kiwi (not just to the pollen). It’s important to understand how classical conditioning is done because people may be conditioning themselves to various things – food allergies, fears. And conditioning is also found in everyday life – advertising. We pair two things frequently without realizing it. We may pair Coca-Cola with happiness. During Christmas, we see Santa Claus figures and may feel happy (unconditioned stimulus and unconditioned response). When we see a Coca-Cola can we may feel nothing before being conditioned. Now, pair Santa Claus and Coca-Cola we are happy again because we see Santa Claus. Now, after we pair these two things, we may feel happy when we see a Coca-Cola can even when it’s not Christmas season (conditioned response and conditioned stimulus). We are pairing things all the time and we should be aware that we are doing it so we do not condition ourselves to do things we do not mean to do (i.e., …show more content…
If people think they are allergic to a food they avoid it and because when they are avoiding it, they feel fine. They were conditioned to avoid a food in order to feel fine even if they are not truly allergic to a food because someone who they trust (a doctor) told them they are allergic to it. So, even if Nick is not allergic he has conditioned himself to have allergic reactions not only by him classically conditioning himself but also by his doctor telling him he was
Classical conditioning, a form of behaviorism, as defined in, Exploring Psychology in Modules by David G. Myers and C. Nathan Dewall, is “a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events” (248). In other words, classical conditioning is when two stimuli are paired repeatedly (first and second) and the response (leaving the classroom) that was once given by the second stimuli (being dismissed) is eventually given by only the first stimuli (school bell ringing).
Nick, as a child, had a favorite fruit, kiwi. Nick always ate kiwis, one summer before his first year of middle school, he ate them almost every day. There was never any problem with this during …show more content…
Nick was conditioned to be allergic to kiwis. Nick has a pollen allergy, usually in the summer. So, while Nick was eating kiwis all summer long he was also having a reaction to pollen. Nick accidently paired a neutral stimulus (eating kiwi) with something that causes an allergic reaction in him (pollen which produces an allergic response). Nick now has a conditioned response (allergic response) at the taste of a kiwi (not just to the pollen). It’s important to understand how classical conditioning is done because people may be conditioning themselves to various things – food allergies, fears. And conditioning is also found in everyday life – advertising. We pair two things frequently without realizing it. We may pair Coca-Cola with happiness. During Christmas, we see Santa Claus figures and may feel happy (unconditioned stimulus and unconditioned response). When we see a Coca-Cola can we may feel nothing before being conditioned. Now, pair Santa Claus and Coca-Cola we are happy again because we see Santa Claus. Now, after we pair these two things, we may feel happy when we see a Coca-Cola can even when it’s not Christmas season (conditioned response and conditioned stimulus). We are pairing things all the time and we should be aware that we are doing it so we do not condition ourselves to do things we do not mean to do (i.e., …show more content…
If people think they are allergic to a food they avoid it and because when they are avoiding it, they feel fine. They were conditioned to avoid a food in order to feel fine even if they are not truly allergic to a food because someone who they trust (a doctor) told them they are allergic to it. So, even if Nick is not allergic he has conditioned himself to have allergic reactions not only by him classically conditioning himself but also by his doctor telling him he was