Essay title: Discuss whether ‘learning’ can explain phobias about snakes or ‘creepy – crawlies’.
Introduction This essay will examine both behaviourist and cognitive approaches to learning and phobias. It implies that it is worth examining both points of view before reaching any conclusion, therefore this essay will attempt to explain and give different views about learning and acquiring snake and spider phobias .Explanations concerning learning will be viewed from theoretical positions and presented in contrast, while phobias will be considered in the categories of their origin and development. Brief descriptions of phobia treatment techniques will be also mentioned. The conclusion will point to how phobias might be acquired and which concept illustrates that issue the best.
Linking statement Psychology of learning aims to explore the process of learning as a natural phenomenon marked by experience. It appears that learning is linked to the development of both adaptive and maladaptive behaviours as conditions change .This tendency to perform is being influenced by factors like conditioning, reinforcement and specific environmental events that occur.
Main part of essay: Paragraph 1 Learning is generally concerned with acquiring knowledge and skill. “The process of learning can be said to have occurred when a relatively permanent change in behaviour or behaviour potential has been produced by experience”.(Zimbardo ,McDermott, Jansz and Metaal ,1995) In support of the phenomenon of learning three kinds of learning will be presented. All of them involve cause- and- effect relations between behaviour and the environment. Habituation is based on ignoring unimportant event, once a novel stimuli occurs
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Paragraph 2 One of the main approaches in psychology towards learning is Behaviourism. It is based upon the idea that all behaviours are acquired through conditioning. This theory of learning implies that conditioning occurs through interaction with the environment. According to Behaviourism, behaviour can be studied and observed without consideration of any mental processes. There are three types of conditioning: habituation, classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Habituation is a method of learning not to respond to unimportant event that occurs repeatedly. From an evolutionary perspective habituation makes adaptive sense. Organism tends to ignore the stimulus that has no significance. Martin, G., Carlson, N.R and Buskist, W. (2007) Classical conditioning is a technique used in behavioural training in which a naturally occurring stimulus is paired with a response. Next, a previously neutral stimulus is paired with the naturally occurring stimulus. Eventually, the previously neutral stimulus comes to evoke the response without the presence of the naturally occurring stimulus. The two elements are then known as the conditioned stimulus and the conditioned response. Classical conditioning involves learning about the conditions that predict that a significant event will occur. Martin, G. N., Carlson, N.R & Buskist, W. (2007) Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning) is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behaviour. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between behaviour and a consequence for that behaviour. Operant conditioning is based on spontaneous behaviour, not reflexes.
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Paragraph 3 Conditional emotional responses
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Conclusion Learning takes place within the nervous system. Experience alters the structure and chemistry of the brain. Performance is the behavioural change (or new behaviour) produced by this internal change. Martin, G., Carlson, N.R and Buskist, W. (2007)