Introduction:
This class went by really fast and I feel like I learned a lot of information in a short amount of time. What I really liked about our textbook is that it went into so much detail about the subject. The text also used plenty of real life concepts which made understanding each subject a lot easier. What caught my attention in the first slides of our notes was, “Human Problems of Living”: Behavioral Excesses- (over-eating, excessive alcohol consumption), Behavioral Deficits- (shyness, procrastination,lack of motivation), Inappropriate behavior- (when a problem is when and where certain behavior occurs).
What I learned about...Behaviorism:
The early founders of behaviorism include, William James who believed that ideas and theories become true through proving their utility in an applied situation. John Watson who rejected introspective methods and wanted to restrict psychology to experimental methods in order to understand a persons "true" behavior and B.F. Skinner who conducted research on operant conditioning. Overall, chapter one was able to give a good historical introduction to learning and behavior.
What I learned about...Classical Conditioning:
It was founded by a Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. Classical conditioning is a learning process, “whereby one stimulus that does not elicit a certain response is associated with a second stimulus that does; as a result, the first stimulus also comes to elicit a response.” (Powell, pg. 502) The unconditioned stimulus is one that naturally, and automatically triggers a response. The unconditioned response is unlearned and it occurs in response to the unconditioned stimulus. The conditioned stimulus is previously neutral stimulus that triggers a conditioned response. The conditioned response is the learned response to the previously neutral stimulus.
-Example of Classical Conditioning: I dated this guy for over three years and he always wore the same cologne. When he broke up with me every time I smelled his cologne it made me really miss him.
What I learned about...Observational Learning:
Observational learning is the, “process whereby the behavior of a model is witnessed by an observer, and the observer’s behavior is subsequently altered.” (Powell, pg. 506) It is also known as social learning because it is often referred too in social situations. Observational learning can be involved in classical and operant conditioning.
My Favorite Part of Class...Learning about Phobias:
According to the American Psychiatric Association, a phobia is an irrational and excessive fear of an object or situation. In most cases, the phobia involves a sense of endangerment or a fear of harm. Phobic symptoms can occur through exposure to the fear object or situation, or sometimes simply thinking about the feared object can lead to a response. Some of the symptoms of phobias are, dizziness, breathlessness, nausea, sense of unreality, fear of dying. Sometimes these symptoms can result into a full-scale anxiety attack. Some individuals may begin to isolate themselves, leading to severe difficulties in daily life. Some types of phobias are Social, Agoraphobia and Specific. Social is the fear of social situations. Agoraphobia is the fear of being trapped in an inescapable place or situation. Specific is fear of a specific object.
There are many different treatments for Phobias. In exposure treatments, the patient is exposed to the fear object in order to help them overcome their fear. One type of exposure treatment is flooding, this is when the patient is confronted by the fear object for an extended length of time without the opportunity to escape. The goal of this method is to help the individual face their fear and realize that the fear object will not harm them.
The reason I chose Phobias as my favorite part in this class is because of how interesting it is. People have so many different and odd phobias that people don’t always think of. In the future I want to be able to help people that have phobias, obsessive-compulsive and other mental disorders.
I found this video of a lady that has a fear of clowns known as, Coulrophobia.
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