Running head: PHOBIA'S AND ADDICTIONS

Phobias and Addictions Kelly Flood PSY/300 June 17, 2013 Brian Hawkins

PHOBIA'S AND ADDICTIONS

Phobias and Addictions Phobias and addictions are feelings that most have a hard time facing, these are feelings that people have to overcome. People have to learn how to control their fears and addictions; there are different ways we can learn how to deal with these feelings. According to (Kowalski and Westen 2009), learning theory, the concept that learning is adaptive and shapes behavior, forms the fundamental concepts of the behaviorist perspective. Known together as associative learning, classical and operant conditioning are two common, yet distinct ways in which humans learn behavior. In order for people to function and adapt in society they learn through classical and operant condition. These conditions can cause emotional distress when someone develops phobias and addictions. A phobia is a fear, it could be spiders, snakes and any type of object, and they will feel the need to avoid these things. People have a hard time functioning with their daily life, this can cause anxiety. They are many people that will avoid something or somewhere in fear, this can cause and anxiety attack. There are phobias that are learned through classical conditions are when one stimulus is associated with another and this causes a response to the original stimulus. I have a fear of spiders, I am afraid of getting bit. When I see a spider I avoid it at any cost. I associate a spider with getting bit, causing me to get sick. This causes me anxiety, I will call for someone to kill the spider of take a vacuum and suck it up, but I will not get to close. Operant learning is when there is a relationship between someones behavior and the rewards or punishment occurs for a certain type of behavior. Someone will get

PHOBIA'S AND ADDICTIONS

addicted to something if it is enjoyable. Someone will not get become addicted to something if they dislike it, this is not enjoyable. There is a feeling of pleasure when someone is addicted to something, when someone feels this they want more. Researchers have learned that if we feel rewarded for something right away people want more, making it addictive. Operant conditioning gives people the options to have a better life, offering a reward. The reward that would have to be offered to someone with addictions would have to be life changing. If someone is able to remove anything negative, and offer things that are positive and have meaning this give a person and incentive to move forward. People have a more positive behavior when they know they are being rewarded and not punished. Classical and Operant conditioning are two types of learning that have to do with the consequences of someones behavior. Classical conditioning is when stimulus triggers another, such as fear; I associate spiders with getting bit and becoming ill. This is a behavior that can cause anxiety and disrupt someones life. This is a form of learning that causes people who have any type of phobia to become a big part of them functioning in society. Operant conditioning is when someone receives a reward or punishment for their behavior. People will change their behavior when they are being rewarded, this gives them motivation. People become addicted to many different things, if they are offered something that means a great deal to them, they will work hard to fight that addiction.

PHOBIA'S AND ADDICTIONS

People feel pleasure and this will lead to addiction, if someone feels disgust with something they will most likely not get addicted. Extinction occurs with both classical and operant conditioning. Extinction with classical conditioning is when a something is weakened over time; a spider to me would not be as threatening if over time I was around them more. The fear would not be as bad, if I got close to a spider and held one, sooner or later the fear I have would no longer have a hold on me. Extinction occurs with operant conditioning, is when someone no longer receives any rewards or punishment for their behavior. When there is nothing offered to someone they stop, if someone is trying to fight an addiction, and they know there is nothing to look forward to they give up. When people realize that their addiction gives them no pleasure they lose interest, it doesnt feel good anymore. There are ways people learn how to change their behavior. These learning conditions that were discussed in this paper are what we live with every day. There are many things that will trigger a fear, it is the way people learn how to overcome these fear that will be life changing. There are people that know if their behavior is positive they are rewarded, even if it is just a hug and kiss. People know that negative behavior is not reward and some will end up lonely. Life is what we make of it, I am sure that most would rather be rewarded each day, and I am sure that people would like to face their fears and have less anxiety.

PHOBIA'S AND ADDICTIONS

References: American Psychiatric Association. (February 10, 2010) http://www.psych.org/MainMenu Kowalski, R., & Westen, D. (2011). Psychology (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley

PHOBIA'S AND ADDICTIONS