PSYCHOLOGY FINAL PROJECT 7

Psychology Final Project: The Treatment of Phobias Using Classical Conditioning

The Treatment of Phobias Using Classical Conditioning

Introduction

There are a wide range of ideas and concepts in psychology that have been widely explored in the past. Most of these have practical implications and application in real-life settings. As a matter of fact, thanks to psychology, we now have better understanding of not only ourselves but also of other people, i.e. with regard to what informs certain behaviors and decisions, etc. In this text, I concern myself with phobias. This is a topic that I would like to learn more about owing to the fact that phobias happen to be one of the most misunderstood and least explored anxiety disorders. In addition to defining phobias and their presenting features, this text will look into how classical conditioning could be used in the treatment of the said anxiety disorder.

Discussion

What are phobias?

From the onset, it would be prudent to note that as the American Psychological Association APA (2022) points out, phobia happens to be one type of anxiety disorder. Some of the other anxiety disorders that have been identified by the author in this case are inclusive of, but they are not limited to; separation anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), etc. As an anxiety disorder, phobia does not have an assigned

What this means is that various definitions have been floated in the past in an attempt to describe the same. According to Brazier (2020), a phobia could be conceptualized as a type of anxiety disorder that causes an individual...…so as to ensure that the fear response is counteracted (Langbehn, 2019). The author indicates that technology has come in handy in efforts to aid the counterconditioning process. This is more so the case with regard to the deployment of virtual reality simulations. In this case, the author points out that the person exhibiting irrational fear to some event or item is exposed to the said event or object in a controlled environment (Langbehn, 2019). This helps ensure that counterconditioning takes place in a controlled and safe manner.

Conclusion

While some phobias are essentially harmless, other forms of phobia could be debilitating (with regard to impairing an individuals performance of basic tasks) and result in reduced quality of life for an individual and those close to them. For this reason, there would be need to explore the various treatment…