Case 1: The Case of Bobby
Target behaviour: Bobby will clean his room on a daily basis.
Operational definition: Bobby will not need to be reminded to clean up his room, and his room will always be clean and neat.
The reinforcement system Bobby’s undesired behaviour of failing to clean his room, is encouraged by his father’s failure to establish an operant conditioning approach. Rather, he simply reminds him that the room needs to be cleaned, without establishing any reinforcements or punishment. Bobby’s father can strengthen his behaviour towards cleaning by applying an operant conditioning approach which will help strengthen his positive behaviour and will weaken his negative behaviour through positive or negative reinforcement or through …show more content…
Operational definition: Jacky will not be afraid of dogs and will not avoid them anymore.
How Classical conditioning accounts for this Phobia Jackie has remained fearful of dogs through classical conditioning which has led to involuntary responses which have originated from her past experience which led to association of dogs with danger. By learning to associate these two stimuli, she developed a classical conditioning. She learned to view the presence of dogs as naturally threatening and after a certain period of time, the mere mention of dogs is enough to trigger her reflex. In her case, the mention or sight of a dog becomes the conditioned stimulus which produces a response without any occurrence of an attack or any sign of danger. Therefore, in her mind, the thought of a dog or sight of it signifies danger and poses a threat to her, hence the need to stay away from the …show more content…
In her case, the dog phobia has been maintained due to her avoidance of dogs hence, she has not learned that she can tolerate the fear and that the phobia can come down on its own without necessarily escaping it. By being around dogs, she can learn that they are not as dangerous as she has imagined (May, 2013). An exposure therapy would help her enter the feared situation through an imagined exercise at first, and later through reality but gradually. By starting with situations which are mildly anxious and building up as fears are encountered, she would gradually be at ease around dogs. This In-vivo exposure can begin with her looking at a picture of a dog, and grow her ease around them to the point where she can play with them. This gradual exposure can help teach her how to interact with the feared stimuli, which in this case are dogs, and eventually be at ease. This exposure can include a cognitive component which can help distort her thoughts in relation to her phobia, especially the thoughts that the dog is going to
Target behaviour: Bobby will clean his room on a daily basis.
Operational definition: Bobby will not need to be reminded to clean up his room, and his room will always be clean and neat.
The reinforcement system Bobby’s undesired behaviour of failing to clean his room, is encouraged by his father’s failure to establish an operant conditioning approach. Rather, he simply reminds him that the room needs to be cleaned, without establishing any reinforcements or punishment. Bobby’s father can strengthen his behaviour towards cleaning by applying an operant conditioning approach which will help strengthen his positive behaviour and will weaken his negative behaviour through positive or negative reinforcement or through …show more content…
Operational definition: Jacky will not be afraid of dogs and will not avoid them anymore.
How Classical conditioning accounts for this Phobia Jackie has remained fearful of dogs through classical conditioning which has led to involuntary responses which have originated from her past experience which led to association of dogs with danger. By learning to associate these two stimuli, she developed a classical conditioning. She learned to view the presence of dogs as naturally threatening and after a certain period of time, the mere mention of dogs is enough to trigger her reflex. In her case, the mention or sight of a dog becomes the conditioned stimulus which produces a response without any occurrence of an attack or any sign of danger. Therefore, in her mind, the thought of a dog or sight of it signifies danger and poses a threat to her, hence the need to stay away from the …show more content…
In her case, the dog phobia has been maintained due to her avoidance of dogs hence, she has not learned that she can tolerate the fear and that the phobia can come down on its own without necessarily escaping it. By being around dogs, she can learn that they are not as dangerous as she has imagined (May, 2013). An exposure therapy would help her enter the feared situation through an imagined exercise at first, and later through reality but gradually. By starting with situations which are mildly anxious and building up as fears are encountered, she would gradually be at ease around dogs. This In-vivo exposure can begin with her looking at a picture of a dog, and grow her ease around them to the point where she can play with them. This gradual exposure can help teach her how to interact with the feared stimuli, which in this case are dogs, and eventually be at ease. This exposure can include a cognitive component which can help distort her thoughts in relation to her phobia, especially the thoughts that the dog is going to