Under normal circumstances, humans are not born with a fear of any
particular object or condition (i.e., a phobia) nor an addiction to any
substance or situation. Though there are
different psychological theories related to how people acquire phobias and
addictions (e.g., genetic predispositions, chemical imbalances, environmental,
and social causes), the most conspicuous is the concept of association.
There are two psychological thoughts related to the laws of association: behavioral and cognitive. The behavioral concept is that of classical and operant conditioning (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). Operant conditioning is a process of associating a response (i.e., behavior) through a process of reward and punishment (i.e., consequence). “An operant that is followed by a pleasurable feeling will be reinforced, whereas one followed by unpleasant feelings will be less likely to recur” (Kowalski & Westen, 2011, p. 185). After a length of time, the repeated positive consequence (e.g., presenting or starting something good or bad) or negative consequence (e.g., ending or taking away something good or bad) changes a subject’s behavior by increasing a desired behavior or decreasing a negative behavior. This process, according to Athabasca University Centre for Psychology (2010), is that of an if-then relationship and considered effective when the following is established:
- A consequence is presented dependent on a behavior.
- The behavior becomes more or less likely to occur.
- The behavior becomes more or less likely to occur because and only because the consequence is presented dependent on the behavior.
With classical conditioning
there is a process of taking a neutral stimulus known as a conditioned stimulus
(CS) and associating it with a natural or unconditioned stimulus (UCS) to evoke
like responses called unconditioned responses (UCR). The most prominent example of classical
conditioning was made by Pavlov when he conditioned a dog to salivate at the
sound of a bell to create a conditioned response (CR), normally produced upon
the introduction of food (UCR). With
that, conditioning is either between two stimuli or between a behavior and a
consequence, which can explain how phobias and addiction develop.
A phobia is “a persistent irrational fear of an object, situation, or activity that [a] person feels compelled to avoid” (Gersley, 2001, para. 1). Many phobias begin during childhood with the causes believed to be “a combination of genetic predisposition mixed with environmental and social causes” (Athabasca University Centre for Psychology, 2010, para 4). Research shows that past memories, such as childhood and traumatic events are stored in the right hemisphere of the brain in a state of unconsciousness, but create a loss of control on the left hemisphere of the brain with specific stimulus (Joseph, n.d.). A classical conditioning explanation of phobias suggests exposure (e.g., to injections as a child), which develops into an uncontrolled emotional reaction (e.g., to hypodermic needles). Even with an adult rational appeal, the fear may persist because neurotransmitters that trigger a fearful response are “outside cortical control” (Kowalski & Westen, 2011, p. 167).
Addiction, on the other-hand can be explained through operant conditioning, for substances such as alcohol, cigarettes, or narcotics as an example. Their use can be pleasurable, creating a reward scenario (consequence), causing its user to acquire more substance (behavior). Unfortunately, repeated use of addictive substances causes neurotransmitters to release a chemical that tries to inhibit the effects through tolerance causing its user to increase his or her use to receive the same reward. Eventually, however, the initial rewards are no longer felt, but the substance is required just to feel normal. To further advance substance addiction the negative effects of withdrawal (consequences) drive the user to increase the intake intervals and amount of substance (behavior), thus causing addiction. According to Kirsch and Lynn (2004), there is evidence that additional substances are more likely to create the same conditioned response (CR) when paired with the first substance (called second-order conditioning). This may explain why many addicts suffer from multiple substances abuse.
Once a phobia or addiction becomes conditioned into someone’s behavioral repertoire the process of weakening it is referred to as extinction. The extinction of a phobia obtained through classical conditioning, requires the weakening of the conditioned response (fear), through the presentation of the stimulus (e.g., object, situation, or activity) without the unconditioned stimulus (fear). Perhaps the process may be to repeatedly expose someone with arachnophobia to spiders, ensuring they are contained to reduce the level of anxiety and fear, then slowly moving the arachnids closer to the phobic. According to Kowalski and Westen (2011) a conditioned response (CR) can be extinguished if the interstimulus interval or time between the presentation of the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) is sufficient; because evolutionarily, unconditioned responses (UCR) (in this instance, fright) engage for longevity endurance (i.e., avoiding things that kill or cause distress). Extinction of operant conditioning such as addiction, suggests that unreinforced behavior will diminish through a lack of consequences. By not reinforcing previously conditioned behavior through reward, the consequences (addiction and withdrawal) will be extinguished. While extinction is possible, “spontaneous recovery sometimes occurs” and old behaviors resurface even without reinforcement (p. 178).
Although operant and classical conditioning are not the only theory regarding phobias and addictions, the behavioral concept of conditioning is one of the most prominent thoughts regarding how these conditions are formed. Operant conditioning suggests that pleasurable experiences are repeated regardless of the consequences, and if the experience turns negative, behaviors will adjust until the negative emotions end; creating the perfect association for addictive behaviors. Classical conditioning maintains that mere exposure to an object when associated with a negative stimulus can develop into a similar, uncontrolled, negative emotional reaction most affiliated with the fears and irrational thoughts of phobic disorders. Although conditioning can explain phobic and addictive behaviors, it also provides a process of extinction to reverse both operant and classical conditioning, all of which strengthen behaviors. However, the most poignant question about behavioral conditioning remains whether an introduced stimulus is a reward for a specified behavior or if it is changing the association of a behavior.
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