Power Of Conditioning Essay

Conditioning is when we associate something with something else so that eventually both things get similar reactions from us. As defined in The Developing Person 10th edition, page 34, “the processes by which responses become linked to particular stimuli”. When I was younger, whenever we needed medication, my mother would mix it in with some grape juice so that we wouldn't taste the strong bitterness but rather would rather indulge in the flavored of grape juice that was normally only allowed on Sabbath. This worked for a couple years, I’m sure, but after while my association to grape juice was with feeling sick. I began to want to throw up, or felt as though I had a headache after just a little sip of my once-favorite drink. This was the power of conditioning. My body had become conditioned to associate grape juice with feeling ill. It is very possible that conditioning was in very thought that had driven my mother to use grape juice and as a tool to administer my medication. She …show more content…
“According to cognitive theory, thoughts and expectations profoundly affect attitudes, beliefs, values, assumptions, and actions.” (The Developing Person 10th edition, page 47) Piaget was one of the first major cognitive theorists and psychologists. He came up with four main periods of time that connected to a certain type of cognitive development. Namely, sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Piaget also presented the idea of a cognitive equilibrium. It works this way: we have a certain idea or feeling towards something, a new idea or experience challenges this equilibrium in our mind, we've now experience disequilibrium with confusions and questions. Lastly, we adapt our original thought through assimilation or accommodation to form a new cognitive