Classical And Operant Conditioning Research Paper
Comparing Classical and Operant Conditioning
Ashley Jaramillo
PSY/211
May 7, 2013
Monica Guana
Comparing Classical and Operant Conditioning I will be comparing classical and operant conditioning by explaining fear of heights. Fear of heights is known as Acrophobia. The phobia part does not occur until a person is in an environment that most people would be relatively fine in, such as attending a theme park or being in a building such as a sky scraper for example. Most of the time when treating someone with acrophobia therapists will use graded exposure therapy.
Any fear starts by learning, so if a person has a fear of heights it is most likely …show more content…
But, if the person tells themselves after it is done with “well what was the big deal? What was I so afraid of?”. That negative reinforcement turns into positive reinforcement eventually. This is known as operant conditioning. Sometimes medication for anxiety may have to be prescribed by a psychiatrist if the fear is so excessive. Talking about the fear is a good start, a psychologist can then determine if the fear was learned possibly through observation or if the fear was through a learned experience. If fear of heights is affecting a person’s environment then a change needs to be made in order help treat the fear. By using positive reinforcement and determining if the person’s behavior from the fear was caused by learning through experience or observed environmentally, it can help determine how to further treat the person. But, if the fear goes untreated the anxiety and stress from it will only grow bigger creating more of an issue for the person and being able to live their everyday lifestyle. Psychotherapy is very helpful in treating anxiety disorders and phobias . In order to treat acrophobia a person needs to find a therapist who can meet their needs. Therapists will help focus on the best way to treat the person with this disorder, the most common way is using cognitive behavioral therapy. Restructuring a person’s thoughts into positive thoughts is another helpful tip used, and talking about the fear and identifying what is
Ashley Jaramillo
PSY/211
May 7, 2013
Monica Guana
Comparing Classical and Operant Conditioning I will be comparing classical and operant conditioning by explaining fear of heights. Fear of heights is known as Acrophobia. The phobia part does not occur until a person is in an environment that most people would be relatively fine in, such as attending a theme park or being in a building such as a sky scraper for example. Most of the time when treating someone with acrophobia therapists will use graded exposure therapy.
Any fear starts by learning, so if a person has a fear of heights it is most likely …show more content…
But, if the person tells themselves after it is done with “well what was the big deal? What was I so afraid of?”. That negative reinforcement turns into positive reinforcement eventually. This is known as operant conditioning. Sometimes medication for anxiety may have to be prescribed by a psychiatrist if the fear is so excessive. Talking about the fear is a good start, a psychologist can then determine if the fear was learned possibly through observation or if the fear was through a learned experience. If fear of heights is affecting a person’s environment then a change needs to be made in order help treat the fear. By using positive reinforcement and determining if the person’s behavior from the fear was caused by learning through experience or observed environmentally, it can help determine how to further treat the person. But, if the fear goes untreated the anxiety and stress from it will only grow bigger creating more of an issue for the person and being able to live their everyday lifestyle. Psychotherapy is very helpful in treating anxiety disorders and phobias . In order to treat acrophobia a person needs to find a therapist who can meet their needs. Therapists will help focus on the best way to treat the person with this disorder, the most common way is using cognitive behavioral therapy. Restructuring a person’s thoughts into positive thoughts is another helpful tip used, and talking about the fear and identifying what is